Espresso Nutcracker offers twist on a Christmas classic
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The Dallas Black Dance Theatre is the longest running dance company in Dallas and on Saturday the Dallas Black Dance Academy, the official school of the theatre, will be performing their Espresso Nutcracker, a twist on the traditional holiday performance.
Moriah Perry is a high school senior but this weekend, she'll be twirling across the stage as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Dallas Black Dance Academy's Espresso Nutcracker.
"It's a community and I feel like each student in the academy becomes even closer when we do the nutcracker," said Perry, a senior at Booker T Washington High School and a 10-year member of the Dallas Black Dance Academy.
The Nutcracker performance is a classic Christmas time tradition but the Espresso Nutcracker is the only Nutcracker performance in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with a cast made up predominantly of dancers of color.
"For classical ballet children of color were typically not able to train in classical ballet," said Katricia Eaglin, the Dallas Black Dance Academy director. "This gives our students the opportunity and our community to see, that we encourage students to do classical ballet, they can do classical ballet and if other students are in the audience they see that its possible for them too."
Eaglin is the creator and producer of the Espresso Nutcracker. To make it different from the rest, she added some features you won't find anywhere else.
"Our land of sweets is different primarily because we include the Duke Ellington Nutcracker Suites," said Eaglin.
The performance even includes an African dance in the "Land of Sweets."
"We felt like that part of the world was left out so we wanted to include that," said Eaglin.
And in this performance the students are the stars.
"Having the privilege and honor to be Sugar Plum Fairy this year really makes me feel like I've finished what I've started here at Dallas Black Dance Academy," said Perry.
When she steps on the stage on Saturday night she knows she'll be inspiring other young dancers in the audience to pursue their dance dreams too.
"I picture myself being one of those kids," said Perry. "To me I was one of those kids and I really had to realize that it takes time, it doesn't happen overnight."
Perry and the rest of the cast will perform the Espresso Nutcracker at 7 p.m. on Saturday night at the Majestic Theater in Dallas. To get your in-person, on demand or livestreaming tickets, you can go to dbdt.com.