Santa Claus was the center of attention last weekend in the village, but another holiday icon is finally coming home to East Hampton this weekend after spending the last five years wandering around the South Fork.
The Hampton Ballet Theatre School’s annual production of “The Nutcracker” is returning to Guild Hall for four shows that start Friday night in the newly renovated theater.
“We’ve been traveling around so much — we’ve done so many different theaters, mostly schools,” said Sara Jo Strickland, director of the ballet school, which is now in its 17th year teaching dance in Bridgehampton. “Other places had been welcoming, but it was always a struggle to get what we needed.”
In recent years her ballet productions, including “The Nutcracker” each December plus springtime shows such as “Peter and the Wolf,” have been staged at Southampton High School, the Avram Theater on the Stony Brook Southampton college campus, the Children’s Museum of the East End, Pierson Middle and High School, and the Bridgehampton School.
Returning to Guild Hall has infused a fresh energy for the 80 young dancers and 25 adult performers as well, Ms. Strickland said. “Everyone who has been at Guild Hall to perform is so excited to come back, and the people who are new in the cast are excited, too. They know it’s a really nice theater.”
Audiences can expect improved sight lines, sets, lighting, and sound, as well as more comfortable seats. Even the stage will seem bigger: According to Ms. Strickland, the “grand drape” (the curtain that opens and closes at the front of the stage) now clears the proscenium, which it did not do previously. This gives the dancers three more feet of performance space on each side of the stage.
As for the production itself, Ms. Strickland has introduced some updated choreography and had new dresses made for the big party scene.
Dancing the lead roles this year are seven professional-track students: Major Bovio, Leila Genender, Summer Lillie, Olivia Quinn, Shoshana Sobey, Avery McCleland, and Lauren Rosario. They will partner with professional guest artists including James Monroe Stevko, Nick Peregrino, Amar Smalls, and Malik Berry.
Showtimes are Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 1 and 7, and Sunday at 2. Tickets range from $35 to $50 in advance and $40 to $55 at the door and are available on the ballet school’s website or by phone at 888-933-4287.
“The energy is going to be really exciting, and being back at Guild Hall is exciting,” Ms. Strickland said. “That energy is going to be apparent in the whole production.”