performing arts
The
Moscow-
ayne
W
connection
Raising the curtain on WPU’s partnership
with The Great Russian Nutcracker
WRITTEN BY CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
On December 2, for the fourth year in a row, William Paterson
University’s Shea Center will host the Moscow Ballet as it
presents The Great Russian Nutcracker. The story of how this
annual partnership was forged shows how the performance
and found that the Shea Center for
Performing Arts at William Paterson
University was listed in the top 10
performing arts venues in the United
States,” says Akiva Talmi, Moscow
Ballet’s North American producer.
Talmi reached out to Al Schaefer,
director of operations and production
manager for the Shea Center, who
thought the possibility of the Moscow
Ballet coming to WPU was a won-
derful idea. They discussed the
CLASSIC WINTER SCENE The “Waltz of the Magical Snow Forest” in The Great Russian
>
Nutcracker has delighted audiences since it premiered in December 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
34
HOLIDAY 2019 WAYNE MAGAZINE
COMPILED BY CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
D
uring the holi-
day season, the
Moscow Ballet
brings Tchaikovsky’s
timeless Christmas
tale to nearly 150
North American cities ranging from
Medicine Hat in Canada to Los
Angeles, California.
“We were looking for a venue
in northern New Jersey that had
high quality production systems,
of a beloved masterpiece can bring cultures together.