The Spectacular Clare and The Chocolate Nutcracker Had Everyone
Carma Henry
Dancing in Their Seats in 2021
From ballet to hip-hop, to jazz, modern day R&B, calypso, African dance, and music from around the world, there was something that you heard, that you loved. On Saturday, November 27th, at 7 p.m., 150 dancers primarily children and youth lit up the stage with brilliance, hard work, dancing genius, discipline, and pure African American funk. Under the vision and leadership of the creator and Executive Producer Beverly Page, and Artistic Director Jere’ James, Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts came alive.
On a cultural, ecstatic, and global perspective, there were no dance forms missed, and the dancers never stopped moving the entire show. I have seen the show many different times, and each year it gets better, and Saturday night, it rocked downtown Orlando. If you were not there you missed a special treat. The show started with George Benson’s music “On Broadway” and mentally the dancing took you back to the partying in the twenties, and at that point you were under the spell of the show.
The scenes were magnificent, and Joas Pedro Mascarenhas, first year art student at Valencia College, who created the beautiful scenes, is extremely talented with vibrant colors and energy. This performance was dance at its best, and everyone that danced in the show did it with passion and exuberance. Some members of the principal cast were Marl Sallis as Clare, Ma’Liyah Chatman as Young Clare, Dominiq Luckie as the Nutcracker Prince, Laura Pretel as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Brian Allen Martin & Carol-Ann Clenton-Martin as Clare’s Parents.
Finally there were the rehearsals, the coordination of dancers, and the execution of the show. There were 28 members in the production crew starting with the Artistic Directors of Rhythmic Creators, production assistant, choreographers, technical director, art director, stage manager, visual artist, marketing director, filmmaker, and costume designer.
Thank you to all the sponsors, the parents, and the vision of Beverly Page, the City of Orlando, and Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. This was a great evening for multi-cultural art, and Black History. Now it is time to take this great show on the road to Broadway, as George Benson started off the show singing, there’s magic in the air.
