K-State Dance presents 'Nut/Cracked and Other Delights' with NYC's The Bang Group
Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021
Talent from the Little Apple and Big Apple combine to present "Nut/Cracked and Other Delights" Dec. 3-5 in Nichols Hall's Chapman Theatre at Kansas State University. The show features students from K-State Dance and 11 professional dancers from New York City's The Bang Group.
MANHATTAN — Celebrate the holidays Dec. 3-5 with Kansas State University's K-State Dance and New York City dance company The Bang Group in "Nut/Cracked and Other Delights," an infectious modern-ballet-tap-jazz dance send-up of the family favorite "The Nutcracker."
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3 and 4 and 2:30 p.m. Dec. 4 and 5, all in the Chapman Theatre in Nichols Hall, which is near the K-State parking garage. Tickets are available online at k-state.edu/mtd/tickets or by calling 785-236-8633.
Eleven professional dancers from The Bang Group will join K-State dance students to perform "Nut/Cracked." Choreographer David Parker has taken everyone's favorite Christmas show, "The Nutcracker," and reimagined it as an inspired festival of dance set to the classic Tchaikovsky score with additional music by Duke Ellington, Glen Miller and others. "Nut/Cracked" turns the sugar-coated ballet into percussive dance theatre, with humor, singing and some jaw-dropping pointe shoe tap-dancing.
The show also features dances by K-State faculty members Stephen Loch and Julie Pentz. Loch's "Looking Forward, Holding Back"explores the tentative excitement of emerging from the isolation of the pandemic into "normal" life. Pentz's "Resilient" and "Sleigh Ride" feature members of the K-State Tap Dance Ensemble, while "Transilient," a jazz piece featuring five dancers, will explore the unknown.
The Bang Group is a rhythm-driven dance company that spans contemporary and percussive forms to create eclectic dances that push the boundaries of performance. The company has toured and performed extensively throughout North America and Europe. Choreographer Parker is a 2013 Guggenheim fellow and, together with Jeffrey Kazin, leads The Bang Group, which they founded in 1995.
The following K-State dance students will perform in "Nut/Cracked":
Savannah Parks, junior in animal sciences and industry, Auburn; Katie Rockers, senior in elementary education, Augusta; Avery Johnson, freshman in biology, Beloit; Rylee Boyd, junior in architecture, Berryton; Grace Walker, senior in life sciences and pre-dentistry, Emporia; Neo Shockley, senior in fine arts, Eureka.
From Greater Kansas City: Avery Moore, senior in human development and family science, Leawood; Abbey Griffin, freshman in nutrition and health, and pre-nursing, Danielle Mitchell, junior in elementary education, and Rachel Schirber, senior in professional strategic selling, all from Overland Park; and Briana Wranosky, junior in marketing, Shawnee.
Priya Kuhn, sophomore in fisheries, wildlife, conservation and environmental biology, Hesston; Lauren Mcdermeit, junior in entrepreneurship and innovation, Iola; Karlena Colon, freshman in theatre, and Kai Smith, sophomore in fine arts, both from Junction City.
From Manhattan: Nadia Dupree Fogle, freshman in pre-psychology; Alyx Glessner, freshman in sociology; Grace Harms, senior in social work; and Aurora Meyer, senior in mechanical engineering.
Taybor Smith, senior in apparel and textiles, Marysville; Hannah Butler, freshman in elementary education, Milford; Zoe Abner, senior in fine arts, Riley; Cassie Meyer, sophomore in dietetics, Tampa; Ann Stegman, sophomore in elementary education and theatre, Topeka; Hope Wedel, senior in fisheries, wildlife, conservation and environmental biology, Valley Center; and Madelyn Dunne, freshman in open option, and Hope Reasoner, senior in music education, both from Wichita.
From out of state: Sami Villasana, freshman in environmental science, Aurora, Colorado; Alicia Bohren, sophomore in animal sciences and industry, Longmont, Colorado; Audrey Henton, junior in dietetics, Kansas City, Missouri; Cully Simpson, sophomore in elementary education, Raymore, Missouri; Masie Dulitz, senior in applied music, Kearney, Nebraska; Mariah Uden, junior in social work, Kenesaw, Nebraska; and Kelby Meisinger, senior in elementary education, Louisville, Nebraska.
From out of country: Emily Hug de Belmont Brugada, junior in business administration, Paraguay.
K-State dance students rehearse for "Nut/Cracked and Other Delights," to be performed with dancers from New York City's The Bang Group, Dec. 3-5 at Kansas State University's Chapman Theatre in Nichols Hall. | Download this photo.
