Alina Slotwinki, 14, of Summit, the daughter of David and Jennifer Slotwinki, is a freshman at Union County Vocational Technical Schools.
Alina will join renowned professional guest artists when they perform multiple soloist roles in this year’s full-length production of New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble’s (NJDTE) beloved holiday classic “The Nutcracker.” Alina joined NJDTE’s Ensemble Company in 2016, and will perform the soloist roles of Chinese, Mouse, Angel, Russian, and Garland.
An extraordinary group of international dance artists, including Princess Grace Award recipient Lyvan Esteban Verdicia of Ballet Hispanico as Father/Russian/Arabian, and Marie-Lorène Fichaux, formerly of Paris Opera Ballet and currently with the Lyon Opera Ballet dancing the classic role of Sugar Plum Fairy, join the Ensemble for three captivating performances. Mikhail Ilyin, formerly of Miami City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, will appear as her Cavalier. Also joining the cast are celebrated dancers Christopher Bloom of Ballet Hispanico in the role of Drosselmeyer/Mother Gigone, and as the Grandmother, former New Jersey Ballet prima ballerina Rosemary Sabovick-Bleich
Performances are at Memorial Auditorium at Montclair State University, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, NJ on Saturday, December 9 at 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm, and Sunday, December 10 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $35 Adult & $25 Child/Student/Senior, and are available at njdte.tix.com.
ABOUT NJDTE:
New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble’s forward-thinking programming empowers dancers with contemporary technologies as well as traditional dance forms. NJDTE, located in Summit, NJ, provides the highest quality, pre-professional training to aspiring dancers through professional experiences with world-renowned dancers, teachers, choreographers, and musicians. Founded in 1969 under the direction of internationally acclaimed ballet master Alfredo Corvino, and led by award-winning Artistic Director Nancy Turano since 1994, NJDTE has maintained a successful dance curriculum with an unparalleled outcome of artistic excellence. NJDTE has been acknowledged for creating innovative training and mentoring programs for dancers and choreographers in the New York City metro area, including MOVEMENT INVENTION PROJECTÒ, MIP2Ò, AiRÒ contemporary choreographic residencies, and INKUBATEÒ, a site-specific dance installation series at Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit, NJ. NJDTE mentors dancers toward higher education and professionalism in dance and provides its alumni with employment opportunities as NJDTE guest artists, faculty, choreographers and staff. www.njdte.org
Photo by Veranika Antanevich
(above) Alina Slotwinki.
