LAKE HAVASU CITY – The holiday season would not be complete without the magic of sugar plum fairies and the story about a wooden prince that comes to life within a dream of a child’s imagination.
Ballet Havasu will be bringing in a Christmas tradition with their season’s production of The Nutcracker. Nathan Cottam is the artistic director of Ballet Havasu. The dancer and choreographer loves to dedicate his time to inviting people to theater arts and dance performances.
Cottam grew up in Buffalo, NY and was immersed into a world of theater and music. These experiences eventually lead to studying ballet at Brigham Young University.
After his completion of a Bachelor’s degree in sociology, Cottam attended the University of Arizona where he earned a Master of Fine Art. Cottam has previously produced three tours in Serbia.
It was in 2022 that he accepted an offer to be the Artistic and Executive Director at Ballet Havasu. The Nutcracker is a story adapted from author and composer Ernst Theador Amdaeus Hoffman’s The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.
It is a story of Clara, a young girl who adores the nutcracker gift given to her on Christmas Eve by her Uncle Drosselmeyer. The tale takes the audience into child-like dream sequences of the Mouse King and his army of mice as the Nutcracker Prince defends Clara by leading an army of toy soldiers.
The performances are combined with musical scores provided by famous Russian Composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. At first, the1892 show that debuted in Saint Petersburg, was not a hit; however, over the decades, the show has become a classic holiday favorite.
Ballet Havasu’s production of The Nutcracker will be on Friday and Saturday December 15 and 16 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Lake Havasu High School’s Performing Arts Center. The last performance will be on Sunday, December 17 from 2 to 4 p.m. Tickets are ten to twenty dollars and can be purchased by visiting Purchase Tickets – “The Nutcracker” – Lake Havasu Performing Arts Center, Multiple dates and times (tickettailor.com).
Come out and experience this beautiful holiday classic!
Phaedra Veronique
