'The Nutcracker' To Play In Towson On Big Screen

TOWSON, MD — The art of elegance comes to life this Sunday when moviegoers may view the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet for the last 2018 airing of composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky's family fairytale, "The Nutcracker." The Christmas classic is playing on the big screen in more than 350 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, including in Towson.

The classic ballet masterpiece was commissioned in 1891 and premiered a year later a week before Christmas. Since arriving in the United States in the 1940s, it has become a holiday favorite.

Russian ballet company the Bolshoi Ballet will perform the ballet live on Sunday.

"This will be the first time in four years that the Bolshoi is doing a live broadcast of 'The Nutcracker.' The last time was in 2014," spokeswoman Dianna Mesion told Patch.

"...the Bolshoi hardly travels to the U.S., so this is a fantastic opportunity to see one of the world's most revered ballet companies," said Mesion, who works for BY Experience, the North American distributor of the Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema series.

"Every year we are continuing to see the growing impact of these performances in cinemas, with audiences of all ages attending," she added.

This rendition of "The Nutcracker" stars the First Soloist Margarita Shrainer as Marie and the Principal Dancer Semyon Chudin as the Nutcracker-Prince.

The hallmark story focuses on a young girl's Christmas Eve experience.

Choreographed by ballet master Yuri Grigorovich, this beautiful production features the heroine Marie on the verge of adulthood, encountering love for the first time in the prince of her dreams. The ballet is full of romanticism and philosophical reflections of ideal love, inviting audiences of all ages on a magical journey through a world of enchantment. As the magical mystery of romantic love unfolds, dancing snowflakes and dolls come to life, accompanied by Tchaikovsky's beloved score.

Tickets are for sale online and at all participating cinemas.

The Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, one of the greatest music and dance stages in the world, was founded in 1776. To this day, it remains a fixture of Russian culture. With more than 250 dancers, the Bolshoi Ballet is one of the largest and most celebrated ballet companies in the world.

"The Nutcracker" will play at Towson Cinemark, 111 East Joppa Road, at 12:55 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 23.

— By Sue Wood, Patch Staff

(Image courtesy of BY Experience)