Behind the Scenes of the Nutcracker Market, Nov. 11-14 at Reliant Center

Guest writer: Lorena Capellan, PR Intern

It’s that time of year again!  The Nutcracker Market is about to begin, and the sounds of cracking nuts are beginning to fill the air. This year’s Market includes more than 300 vendors, 15 of which are new vendors with never-before-seen holiday items.  It is the perfect place for holiday shopping, especially with the wider aisles allowing more room between vendors. 

So, what goes on behind the scenes for the preparation of the Nutcracker Market? It is a year’s worth of work for Houston Ballet to plan such an enormous event.  Once the Nutcracker Market ends, preparation for the next year begins.  Vendor applications begin pouring in around March 1st, and there is a high return in vendors so there are a limited number of booths leftover for new vendors (tough competition!).

Choosing the theme for the Nutcracker Market is also an extended process.  The Nutcracker Market Committee compiles a long list of ideas for themes, and the chairman for the year decides the final theme.  “Holiday Under the Big Top” is this year’s theme chosen by Chairwoman Shawn Stephens.  Themes are chosen early since vendors like to incorporate the theme into their booth decoration.

Some of the work done right before opening day of the Nutcracker Market includes carpeting the entire hall and inspecting vendor’s booths.  The committee must ensure that vendors receive their allotted space which can also impact the line-up of booths. There are also numerous volunteers that keep the Market running smoothly for the 85,000+ shoppers in attendance.  It’s a lot of work to plan the greatest shopping event in Houston, but once the Nutcracker Market ends on November 14, the planning begins for the next year.

For more information about this year’s Nutcracker Market, “Holiday Under the Big Top”, visit http://www.houstonballet.org.

-Lorena

Update from St. Louis Tour

Guest writer: Jim Nelson, general manager (blog written on Saturday, October 9)

The company is here in St. Louis performing a triple bill featuring Stanton’s Falling, George Balanchine’s Apollo, and Christopher Bruce’s Hush.  We’re performing at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri St. Louis.

Over the past decade, we’ve really focused on deepening the impact our tours have on the cities we travel to through the addition of master classes, pre-performance lectures, student performances, and direct interaction with local dance communities.

In conjunction with the three public performances here in St. Louis, we have presented a student matinee, a master class led by ballet mistress Louise Lester, pre-performance talks with company dancers, and we are participating in a three week teaching residency.

Yesterday’s student matinee was the culmination of the multileveled outreach effort.   Many of the students attending the performance are also participating in the residency program.  Former Houston Ballet soloist Sandra (Sandy) Organ-Solis and former Houston Ballet principal dancer Kristine (Krissy) Richmond are the featured teaching artists in the three-week residency that began two weeks before the company’s arrival and will continue through next week.

The program reaches more than 300 under-served middle and high school students at urban schools and community centers.  Krissy and Sandy have been teaching five days per week and have focused on dance technique relating to our performances as well as the history of modern dance, improvisation, collaboration, and healthy life styles for dancers.  

At yesterday’s student matinee, I was backstage with the dancers, and at one point during Hush the students in the audience exploded in spontaneous rhythmic clapping to the music—something we’ve never experienced in performances of Hush.  It was a great moment of connection between our dancers and the children in the audience, and it’s a perfect example of the magic of live theater.   After the performance, I met a few of the students as they were heading back to their busses and I asked one little girl what her favorite part was, and without hesitation her face lit up and she said “everything was my favorite!” 

The company’s opening performance was brilliantly danced and was received with screams of bravos and extended curtain calls.   It’s such a pleasure to share our beautiful artists with audiences outside of Houston—I have such a gratifying job!

This morning, the company is taking class with Dance St. Louis’ artistic director Michael Uthoff.   We have two more performances today and return to Houston tomorrow.

You can see photos from the tour on our Flickr site.

-Jim

Dancing with the Houston Stars Recap

Guest writer: Lori Lang, PR intern

The hit television show Dancing with the Stars may last all season, but Houston Ballet’s latest fundraiser Dancing with the Houston Stars, featuring local celebs partnered with veteran dancers of Houston Ballet, was a one-night-only, very exclusive engagement.  Much like the TV show, there were contestants in sequined costumes performing complicated dance routines before a panel of judges. The similarities ended there.

On Friday, September 24, more than 170 guests gathered around the indoor pool at the home of John and Becca Cason Thrash to enjoy top-notch dancing by some of Houston’s most notable names, with food and drinks provided by the best hot spots in town.

Showcasing their dancing skills were Monsour Taghdisi, partnered with Dawn Scannell in a tango; Phoebe Tudor and Phillip Broomhead in a mambo; Diane Lokey Farb and Damian Schwiethale in a disco; Lynn Wyatt and Oliver Halkowich in a cha cha; and Pat Burk and Kristine Richmond in a meringue.  It’s no surprise the dances included lifts, spins, and some very intricate footwork. The partners had been spotted frequently at the Houston Ballet Academy studios getting ready for their big debut in the months leading up to the event.

In the end, attendees cast their votes, naming Phoebe Tudor and Phillip Broomhead the winners.

Dancing with the Houston Stars Champions Phoebe Tudor and Phillip Broomhead

In between performances, guests were treated to dinner catered by Monarch at Hotel ZaZa, RDG + Bar Annie, Eddie V’s, and Sprinkles Cupcakes, to name a few. Dom Perignon champagne (limited Andy Warhol edition), Belvedere vodka, and wine selections from The Tasting Room also flowed freely throughout the evening.

The sensational event raised $230,000 for Houston Ballet.  Rumor has it that requests for a repeat performance next year make it fairly certain that the 1^st Annual Dancing with the Houston Stars is only the beginning.

-Lori