(Philadelphia Theater Company) This year, the magic and the splendor of the Holiday Season would be welcomed by the Philadelphia Dance Theater, which would perform with a hundred artistes, the ever popular holiday season play, the 'Nutcracker'. It must be noted that the very first Nutcracker Ballet performance was given in the year 1892, and it is the story of a young and lonely orphaned German girl named Laura, who dreams of a Nutcracker Prince. This particular production by the Philadelphia Dance Theater Company was choreographed by the 'Artistic Director', Joy Delaney-Capponi, and a very important feature of the play is the profusion of lavish Victorian hand made costumes that the actors on stage wear during their renditions. (100 dancers to welcome the Holiday Season November 12 when The Nutcracker comes to Horsham stage)

One costume in particular is certainly eye catching, and this is the eight feet by ten feet wide skirt that Mother ginger wears during the play, with the purpose of hiding eight children under her skirt during the play. Some of the other dazzling features of the production by the Philadelphia Dance Theater are the 'growing tree', which literally expands from a mere eight feet to a massive twenty feet as the play and the scenes unfold. The fact is that the audience is literally drawn into the story that is unfolding in front of them, and when special effects like, for example, falling snow, fog rolling on to the stage when there is a battle being enacted are added to the show, the effect created is that of a wonderland and a mystical setting that would amaze and surprise the viewers.

The primary dance style in the Nutcracker by the Philadelphia Theater Company is that of Classical Ballet, and at times during the play there is character dancing, with an additional international flavor. For...

In addition, there are two important guest performers as well, and this would make the play a very popular one indeed. They are Yosebel Delgado from the Pennsylvania Ballet School, who is renowned for his clean and well articulated pirouettes, and Abdul Manzano from the Sarasota Ballet School in Florida, who is extremely popular for his explosive and surprising leaps across the stage, and also for his compelling stage presence. What is very important about the Philadelphia Theater Company is the fact that it has been, through the years, providing a veritable showcase for displaying the vicarious talents of many young dancers of the area, and in some certain cases, siblings, and also their parents. (100 dancers to welcome the Holiday Season November 12 when The Nutcracker comes to Horsham stage)