Dances Patrelle presents the 16th annual production of The Yorkville Nutcracker from December 8-11, 2011 at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, E. 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, NYC. Performances: Thursday – Friday at 7pm; Saturday at 2pm and 7pm; and Sunday at noon and 5pm. Tickets are $45-90 and will be available beginning November 1 at 212-772-4448 or in person at The Kaye Playhouse Box Office.

The company presents the 16th annual production of choreographer Francis Patrelle's unique rendition of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's holiday classic The Nutcracker. Set in 1895, The Yorkville Nutcracker takes the audience on an action-packed tour of Olde New York's most beloved landmarks, including a holiday party at Gracie Mansion, dancing at the Crystal Palace in the New York Botanical Garden, and skating in Central Park. Lavish sets and costumes, enchanting music and beautiful dancers from ages 5 to 65 complete this thrilling production, with New York City Ballet principals Abi Stafford and Jared Angle as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. In addition, Kfir Danieli of The Metropolitan Opera Ballet and Natalia Boesch, most recently of Staatsballett Berlin, Germany, will portray the Snow King and Queen. Appropriate for all ages.

"Dances Patrelle's 'Yorkville Nutcracker' can celebrate its enduring appeal and its unique gift to children."
– Eye on Dance
"A Christmas Card to New York." – Haglund's Heel

The company's 2011/2012 season will continue from May 3-6, 2012 with the return of Francis Patrelle's smash hit GILBERT & SULLIVAN, The Ballet!, an evening-length ballet featuring live music and singers, as well as characters from several Gilbert and Sullivan favorites, including The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado and HMS Pinafore. Back by popular demand, this production features collaborations with long-time Patrelle affiliates Warren Helms (Music Director), Gillian Bradshaw-Smith (Set Designer), Rita B. Watson (Costume Designer), and Ben Travis (Lighting Designer). In addition to principal dancers from Dances Patrelle and other American ballet companies, the production will feature roles for students from New York's top ballet schools. The company will also present a special Family Matinee performance featuring a meet and greet with the cast in costume after the show. Performances: Thursday – Saturday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm (Family Matinee); and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets will be available at 212-868-4444 or www.smarttix.com. Appropriate for all ages.

"Mr. Patrelle at his best…Marvelous, really marvelous." – Deborah Wingert, Eye on Dance

Dances Patrelle (dP) is a dynamic professional ballet company that presents two annual seasons in New York — the timeless holiday tradition, The Yorkville Nutcracker, and a spring repertory season, featuring world premieres and classic Patrelle favorites. Mr. Patrelle's body of work includes over 50 original ballets choreographed for Dances Patrelle, and spans an incredibly wide range of styles, from his beloved American Songbook collection, to such contemporary classics as Romeo and Juliet, Madame X, Macbeth and Rhapsody in Blue. Heralded by Lynn Garafola in Dance Magazine as a choreographer with "a personal vision…classical because it is rooted in metaphor and symbolic language [and] populist because of its legibility and broad cultural resonance," Patrelle has also cultivated a long-time collaboration with composer Patrick Soluri, commissioning four original scores including 2009's Murder at the Masque for dP's 20th Anniversary celebration. Known for attracting the great talent of each generation, Dances Patrelle is pleased to count ballet stars Marcelo Gomes, Maria Riccetto, Donald Williams, Lourdes Lopez, Jock Soto, Merrill Ashley and prima ballerina Cynthia Gregory among its past and present dancers. For over 20 seasons, Dances Patrelle has tapped into the human experience, connecting intimately with the audience and continuously reinventing dramatic dance.

"In Francis Patrelle's ballets, the characters come alive. His choreography is full of heart and soul."
– Cynthia Gregory, Prima Ballerina

For more information, visit www.dancespatrelle.org.