15cThe Dance Theatre of Fayetteville will perform "The Nutcracker" at Methodist University on Dec. 2, 3, and 4, starting at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday will be a 3 p.m. matinee.

"We do the whole Act One with the party scene [and] with the mice and soldiers,” Artistic Director Leslie Dumas said. “Act Two is when Clara is in her dream, and the Land of Sweets.”

"The Nutcracker" is a beloved two-act Christmas ballet created by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1892 and has been synonymous with the North American Christmas season since the 1960s.

“We try to keep it Victorian as much as possible,” Dumas said. “We try to keep costumes looking older, not modern.”

The Dance Theatre of Fayetteville has been performing "The Nutcracker" for over 20 years. As a nonprofit, the studio gets children involved with other duties, like passing out fliers or putting fliers up.

“We are a children’s Nutcracker,” Dumas said. “We take any dancers [in the Nutcracker production as long as they’re in a dance class somewhere].”

Behind the production, there are a lot of dedicated parents who dress, monitor and help the kids on stage.

“Our Nutcracker is fun for the kids,” Dumas said. “We make it very kid-oriented, [and] small children come because they see other small kids dancing.”

This Nutcracker production will be slightly different from others because there will be some tumbling during the Russian Dance. The Dance Theatre of Fayetteville is inside Countryside Gymnastics.

The Russian Dance is in the second act, Dumas said.

“There’s lots of ballet stuff in it, so I work with the gym [and] the boys help me out with tumbling because my dancers aren’t tumblers.”

Tickets can be purchased in advance, $12 for adults and $7 for students between grades K-12. Tickets at the door will be $15 per adult and $7 for K-12 students. Kids under 5 get to watch the show for free.

“We have five different dance studios in the area, and we’re always welcoming new dance studios,” Dumas said.

Anne Clark founded this rendition of "The Nutcracker" in the 1970s, and when she retired, Dumas took over.

“I’ve been working [The Nutcracker] since she retired," Dumas said. “We have all of our performances at Methodist.”

The Dance Theatre of Fayetteville is located at 330 McArthur Road, inside Countryside Gymnastics. For more information about "The Nutcracker" and Dance Theatre, visit www.dancetheatreoffayetteville.org

"The Nutcracker" is a beautiful way to start December, according to the Dance Theatre of Fayetteville, and this will be the first year since the pandemic began that there will be no COVID-19 protocol.

The Dance Theatre of Fayetteville’s performances are scheduled Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2 and 3, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 4, at 3 p.m. in the Huff Concert Hall at Methodist University. Methodist University is located on the north side of town at 5400 Ramsey Street.