Half Hollow Hills Kids Perform with NYC Ballet Stars

HALF HOLLOW HILLS STUDENTS SHARE STAGE WITH NYC BALLET STARS IN LONG ISLAND’S LARGEST PRODUCTION OF “THE NUTCRACKER”

Special Guests Include Daniel Ulbricht and Brittany Pollack of New York City Ballet

Children’s Cast Features Half Hollow Hills Students Including Leading Roles of Clara and Fritz

New York Dance Theatre Performances December 16 and 17 at Hofstra University’s John Cranford Adams Playhouse

New York Dance Theatre, under the direction of former New York City Ballet soloist Frank Ohman, will present its 36th season of “The Nutcracker” at Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY on Saturday, December 16 and Sunday, December 17 with performances each day at noon and 5 p.m. With the elegant Christmas Party Scene, the drama of the magical growing Christmas Tree, the Battle of the Toy Soldiers and Giant Mice, the live Snow Storm, and the brilliant dancing in the Land of the Sweets, “The Nutcracker” appeals to all ages.

This year’s production includes more than a dozen students from the Half Hollow Hills school district ranging from Kindergarten to High School. The children are all students at the Frank Ohman School of Ballet in Commack, a division of the New York Dance Theatre. Among the Half Hollow Hills dancers are Emily Yong of Melville in the lead role of “Clara;” Carina San José of Dix Hills in the lead role of “Fritz,” Clara’s brother (both in two of the four shows); and Amanda San José of Dix Hills and Emily Gershowitz of Melville who will share the principal role of the “Snow Queen,” as theatrical magic brings a snowstorm to the Hofstra stage. Other children’s roles performed by Half Hollow Hills residents include party guests, baby mice, toy soldiers, angels and confections that come to life in the Land of Sweets. In all, a cast of 80 children, pre-professional and professional dancers will bring this classic family-friendly ballet to life.

Ohman’s production is the largest Nutcracker on Long Island and the only one performed in the tradition of New York City Ballet’s Lincoln Center version. This year’s guest artists are Brittany Pollack and Daniel Ulbricht of New York City Ballet, who will dance the roles of the Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier. Mr. Ulbricht, a principal dancer at New York City Ballet, builds on his relationship with the Ohman School of Ballet and New York Dance Theatre after teaching a master class to advanced students in March 2017. Ohman School of Ballet students past and present have also taken classes taught by Ulbricht as artistic director of the elite New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSA) ballet program in Saratoga Springs. Philip Duclos and F. Henry Berlin who both performed the role of the young Prince for two consecutive years at Lincoln Center, will share that same role in Ohman’s production. Over the years, Frank Ohman has created original dances and scenes which have been incorporated into the ballet and set his production apart from others on Long Island, but as a former student and soloist under George Balanchine he is one of a select few authorized to use the original pas de deux choreography of his mentor. Mr. Ohman will play the role of the grandfather in the party scene that opens the ballet.

Tickets for this full production ballet are $42.00 and $32.00 (seniors and children 12 and under) available at www.ohmanballet.org or 631.462.0964. Discounts available for scout troops.

About Frank Ohman

Frank Ohman is an internationally known dance professional. His critically acclaimed ballet career began with the San Francisco Ballet in 1959 and in 1962 he joined the New York City Ballet where he was a soloist for twenty-two years. During his distinguished performing career, Mr. Ohman appeared in leading and soloist roles in ballets of George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Frederic Ashton, Antony Tudor, David Lichine, John Taras, and Jacques d’Amboise. He partnered many of the world’s leading ballerinas including Maria Tallchief, Marjorie Tallchief, Melissa Hayden, Suzanne Farrell, Allegra Kent, Patricia McBride, Gelsey Kirkland, Cynthia Gregory, Carol Sumner, Kay Mazzo, and Suki Schorer. He has appeared with the New York City Ballet at the New York State Theater, Kennedy Center, Marinsky Theater, Bolshoi Theater, the White House, and Jacob’s Pillow.

Mr. Ohman has been a prolific choreographer, creating over two hundred original ballets, many of which have been performed by his New York Dance Theatre. He has choreographed for the Boston Ballet, Edmonton Ballet, Syracuse Ballet (where he was director), the Cassandra Ballet of Toledo, the Long Island Philharmonic, the Long Island Lyric Opera, the School of American Ballet workshop performance, American Movie Classics, the PAF Playhouse, the Adirondack’s Long Lake Performing Arts Camp, and Indiana University. He assisted in the re-staging of Balanchine’s “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” for the 1981 revival of “On Your Toes” and the 1986 New York City Ballet revival.

Mr. Ohman is currently directing his talents towards teaching, choreography and artistic direction. He has been a guest teacher at the Boston Ballet, the School of American Ballet, the St. Louis Ballet, and the National Dance Institute. In 2004, he was invited to be the guest Ballet Master of the Ballet Philippines where he spent three weeks sharing his knowledge and teaching the company in the style of George Balanchine.

When not teaching at the Ohman School of Ballet, guest teaching, choreographing or directing, Mr. Ohman enjoys painting and sculpting.

About the Frank Ohman School of Ballet

The Frank Ohman School of Ballet was founded in 1979 by Frank Ohman, former soloist at New York City Ballet (NYCB) and one of the few remaining direct links to the teaching of George Balanchine. Located in Commack, the school serves as a training ground for promising young dancers and offers aspiring students the opportunity to learn classical ballet in the tradition of George Balanchine. The school is a non-competition, non-recital school, focusing on proper classical ballet technique. A division of the New York Dance Theatre, Inc., the Ohman School has become an integral part of the company, and is one of the very few not-for-profit ballet schools in the region. It offers three studios with state-of-the art flooring to Balanchine specifications and a highly qualified teaching staff headed up by artistic director Frank Ohman.

####