The Mid-Ohio Valley Ballet Co. will present several performances of the “Nutcracker” during December. Four dancers will portray the main character of Clara: front from left, Helena Smith and Amelia Auville, and back from left, Meggan Starcher and Violet Bevins. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — The Mid-Ohio Valley Ballet Co. and the MOVB AFA LLC will present its annual performances of the holiday classic the “Nutcracker” over the next three weekends throughout the Mid-Ohio Valley.

The ballets will be presented at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at Marietta High School Auditorium, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, at Ripley High School Auditorium, 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, at Blennerhassett School Auditorium and 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, at the Lincoln Theatre in New Martinsville.

Tickets for the shows in Marietta and Parkersburg are on sale now and are available at the MOVB Offices, 1311 Ann St., Parkersburg. Box office hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for children under 18.

Tickets for the performance in Ripley are available at Evergreen Florists and Ravenswood Florist. Tickets for the performance in New Martinsville will only be available at the door the night of the show.

Tickets will also be available at the door at each performance.

The Mid-Ohio Valley Ballet Co. production of “Nutcracker” will include guest artists Kitri Held and Jaimon Austin as the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier. (Photo Provided)

The Christmas classic will delight and entertain adults and children alike as it fills the audiences with the Christmas spirit and reminds them of those few brief days that transform the world into a happier, peaceful place.

The “Nutcracker” ballet brings beautiful fantasies, sugar plum dreams and waltzing flowers to the public. The MOVB has toured extensively throughout a four-state region since 1981 presenting the “Nutcracker” to audiences of over 500,000 including thousands of public school children throughout West Virginia and Ohio.

The classic full-length version of the Ballet was first presented in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1892. Original music composed exclusively for the ballet was written by P.I. Tchaikovsky and original choreography was set by M. Petipa and L. Ivanov.

Based on the book by E.T.A. Hoffman, the ballet follows the dreams of a little girl named Clara. At the family Christmas party her godmother Drosselmeyer presents her with a mysterious gift of a Nutcracker and her jealous little brother Fritz promptly breaks it. As the guests depart, Clara comes quietly back into the living room to see her new toy and falls asleep there. Her dreams take her through a fierce battle between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker, a visit to the Land off the Sweets where candy dancers perform for her and finally a journey through the snow kingdom with whirling, dancing snowflakes.

The cast includes:

*Clara and Clarissa : These roles will be alternated by Amelia Auville, Violet Bevins, Meggan Starcher and Helena Smith

*Herr Drosslemeyer: Danny Bayer

*Frau Drosslemeyer: Suzy Gunter

*Mrs. Von Stahlbaum: Jolene Troisi

*Nutcracker Prince: Keegan Marsh

*Mouse King: Elliott Akeman

*Sugar Plum Fairy: Kitri Held

*Cavalier: Jaimon Austin

Featured in Act II – The Land of the Sweets

*Chocolate: Sarah Harvey, Bethany Truax, Helena Smith, Mallory Thomas

*Coffee: Liliana Parson, Millicent Fleak, Emillia Weltner

*Tea: Emma Holt, Caolinn Chag, Emily Taylor

*Trepak: Danae Tibbs, Tessa Barker

*Marzipan: Violet Bevins, Meggan Starcher, Amelia Auville, Keegan Marsh, Elliott

Akeman

They will be joined by 27 children from the MOVB Academy of Fine Arts LLC, the official school of instruction for the MOVB Company.

For more information, visit the website at movballet.com and click on the performances page, call 304-422-5538 or email at movdancel@gmail.com.