Show Synopsis

Act I

Our story takes place one magical Christmas Eve, as the Stahlbaum family busily finishes last minute preparations for a grand party. A tableau is presented and we see a Vertep, a Ukrainian puppet theatre, where Dr. Drosselmeier’s nephew entertains a group of children in the market. They are eagerly anticipating the Christmas Eve celebration about to take place. As the children depart with their gifts, the Vertep reveals itself as a puppet workshop. The mysterious Dr. Drosselmeier is attending to his work.

An enchanting city streetscape sees the guests begin to arrive, dressed in their holiday finery. With a flourish of his great black cape, the mysterious Dr. Drosselmeier appears, greeting joyful Ukrainian carolers.

Dr. Drosselmeier’s arrival to the Stahlbaum party is magical. He brings a doll as a gift, which performs a delightful dance with the children.  A Ukrainian marionette brings yet more joy to the young party guests. However, it is the Nutcracker doll, Drosselmeier’s gift to his goddaughter Clara, that wins her heart. Clara’s brother Fritz teases her by snatching the Nutcracker away from his sister. After some playtime, Drosselmeier urges them to be gentle with the Nutcracker doll before placing it beneath the Christmas tree. He beckons the carollers and their Christmas star.

After the guests leave the party, Clara sneaks back to the darkened parlour to check on her beloved Nutcracker. The clock chimes, striking midnight. As Clara peers into the darkness, she suddenly realizes she isn’t alone, as she is surrounded by an army of menacing mice.

A cannon blast downs a battalion of mice while the Nutcracker, now come to life, leads toy soldiers into battle. The fight rages on until the Mouse King corners the Nutcracker in a duel. Clara comes to the Nutcracker’s aid and defeats the Mouse King by pulling off his tail.

The spell broken, the Nutcracker transforms to a handsome Prince who declares his eternal gratitude to his young heroine, Clara. With the beauty of swirling snowflakes in the winter wonderland around them, the Prince whisks Clara away to his fantasy fairytale kingdom… far from the mischievous mice and Clara’s childhood home.

Act II

Clara and the Prince journey to the magical fairytale kingdom. Upon their arrival at his palace, they are entertained by his friends with a magnificent dance celebrating the Carol of the Bells.

Once inside, a magnificent Waltz of the Flowers greets them, and their welcome continues as dancers from faraway lands perform for the pair: an energetic Trepak, a merry Chinese trio, elegant Spanish dancers, a mysterious Arabian girl, a graceful Sugarplum Fairy, and a dazzling Hopak are presented in a most spectacular fashion. Soon, the Prince asks Clara to join him in a romantic and lyrical pas de deux.

Suddenly, Clara is back in her family’s parlour, cradling her Nutcracker doll. She sighs, realizing her wonderful journey was but a fantasy. Or was it? Dr. Drosselmeier later visits with his young nephew, who bears a striking resemblance to Clara’s beloved Prince….

2019 Playbill

Shumka Nutcracker Study Guide

2019 Cast

Clara (Kyiv Ballet – National Opera of Ukraine)
Tetyana Lozova

Prince (Kyiv Ballet – National Opera of Ukraine)
Yaroslav Tkachuk

 Principals & Soloists
Drosselmeier (Shumka) – Joe Hoffman
Fritz/Chinese (Shumka Alumnist) – Jeffrey Mortensen
Mr. Stahlbaum (Virsky) – Viacheslav Ilinskyi
Mrs. Stahlbaum (Citie Ballet) – Kylee Hart
Columbina/Trepak (Shumka) – Kathleen Symborski
Marionette (Shumka) – Arlyssa McArthur

 Waltz of the Flowers (Citie Ballet)
Audrey Boccara, Kylee Hart, Jinah Kim, Matthew Klippenstein, Mingyi Liang, Isabella Pisapia, Mitchell Przybilla, Lydia Redpath, Morgan Thiessen

Trepak (Shumka)
Marko Gauk, Brenden Kuzma, Michael V. Sulyma

Spanish (Citie Ballet)
Audrey Boccara, Kylee Hart, Jinah Kim, Matthew Klippenstein, Mingyi Liang, Isabella Pisapia, Mitchell Przybilla, Lydia Redpath,Morgan Thiessen

Arabian (Shumka)
Larissa Sulyma

Sugar Plum Fairy (Citie Ballet)
Kylee Hart

Guest Artist
Jeffrey Mortensen, Shumka Alumnist

Artists of Kyiv Ballet – National Opera of Ukraine – Kyiv
Tetyana Lozova
Yaroslav Tkachuk

Artists of Virsky – Ukraine’s State Folk Dance Company – Kyiv
Kostiantyn Frolov
Viacheslav Ilinskyi
Maksym Karpenko
Denys Turchak

Artists of Citie Ballet – Edmonton
Audrey Boccara
Kylee Hart
Matthew Klippenstein
Jinah Kim
Mingyi Liang
Isabella Pisapia
Mitchell Przbilla
Lydia Redpath
Morgan Thiessen 

Artists of Canada’s Ukrainian Shumka Dancers – Edmonton

Artists of Viter Ukrainian Folk Choir – Edmonton

Dancers of the Shumka School of Dance – Edmonton

2019 Credits

Running time: 1 hour, 27 minutes

Presenter: Ukrainian Shumka Dancers; Darka Tarnawsky, Executive Director
Creative Producer: Michael H. Sulyma, Sulyma Productions Inc.; Kim Nahachewsky, General Manager, Sulyma Productions Inc.
Production Artistic Director/Choreographer: Viktor Lytvynov
Artistic Consultant / Snowflake Waltz, Hopak Choreographer / Choir & Mouse Children Staging: John Pichlyk
Sugar Plum Fairy, Waltz of the Flowers Choreography / Spanish Staging: Jorden Morris
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Additional Music Arrangements: Yuri Shevchenko
Set & Costume Design: Maria Levitska (National Opera of Ukraine)
Lighting Design: Pierre Lavoie
Musical Recording: The National Opera Orchestra of Ukraine – Conductor, Oleg Riyabov
Schedryk (Carol of the Bells) Musical Recording: Arrangement, Yuri Shevchenko; The Kyiv City Symphony – Conductor, Oleksiy Baklan
Chief Sound Recording Engineer: Slavko Halatyn

For Shumka:
Executive Director: Darka Tarnawsky
Senior Creative Director: Leslie Sereda
Creative Directors: Tasha Orysiuk, Paul Olijnyk
Artistic Associate: Joseph Hoffman
Technical Director: Jeff Osterlin
Production Stage Manager: Joshua Semchuk
Head Carpenter: Tianna Tolley McLean
Audio Assistant: Misha Hlebnicov
Video Creations/Projections: Andrew Scholotiuk
Wardrobe: Trinity Chopyk, Joyce Howell
Wardrobe Assistants: MaryAnn Baziuk, Shirley Borys, Pinky Eugenio, Marian Gauk, Ella Maciuk, Tanya Skitko, Cheryl Stachniak
Properties: Stephen Romanow
Transportation: Vlodko Tarnawsky
Marketing & Media Coordination: Bottom Line Productions Inc.
Video Production Services: Blue Toque Productions
Graphic Design: Helen Adhikari
Programs & Outreach Administrator: June Eeles
Shumka School of Dance Principal: Peter Eeles