“Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” is now streaming on Netflix. Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker. But in our Nutcracker, although we have professionals and teachers playing some of the roles, the kids are the stars.”. Behind-the-scenes at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and their award-winning version of The Nutcracker, which blends a variety of dance traditions. Why couldn’t he be Romeo? Desmond Richardson, amazing, but what role did they give him to play? Olivia Tang-Mifsud and ensemble in The Joffrey Ballet’s “The Nutcracker.”Photo by Cheryl Mann. I thought she deserved to just be her daughter’s mother.”. Tchaikovsky’s score for the original 1892 “Nutcracker” is one of his most famous compositions. Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! “I think viewers will see a reflection of themselves and young people will be inspired to dance and also face any challenges because that’s what this is about,” she said. The film, which started streaming on the platform on Nov. 27, “offers front row access to the grueling rehearsals, the passion and leadership of Allen and DADA’s dance instructors, and the huge commitment and undertaking by the dancers of all ages and backgrounds who come to train at the academy each year regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances or traditional expectations of the dance community,” Netflix added. Background "The Nutcracker" ballet was first performed in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1892. Her annual youth production is an energized remix of The Nutcracker, featuring hip hop, … In the 1960s, as a pre-teen, the Houston Ballet Foundation’s academy rejected her, but eventually gave her a scholarship some years later when it needed to diversify as required by a Ford Foundation grant. Copyright © 2021 Penske Business Media, LLC. So, here we are.”, Don’t expect just any old rendition of the Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ballet. In “Fame,” the hit 1980s TV series, a 30-something Allen in her breakout role as dance teacher Lydia Grant, tells her students, “You’ve got big dreams? “That’s why training in the arts is valuable. The ballet was inspired by "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," published in 1815 by the German author E.T.A. This Article is related to: Television and tagged Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, Debbie Allen, Grey's Anatomy, Netflix. Tickets are on sale for “Nutcracker Sweets,” Houston Ballet’s new on-demand holiday show, which streams Dec. 15-Jan. 8. Royal Ballet principal Yasmine Naghdi had been gearing up to star as the Sugarplum Fairy in a December livestream performance of The Nutcracker when London went back into heavy COVID-19 restrictions. The first project released from Shonda’s producing deal with Netflix, Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker "shines a light on the work of trailblazing icon Debbie Allen and her reimagining of the classic ballet performed annually by the gifted students of the Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA)," Netflix said. And maybe there will be more schools that will be created because that’s what kids need.”, Shonda Rhimes Talks About Leaving ABC for New Netflix Deal, Here's the Real Reason Patrick Dempsey Left 'Grey's Anatomy' Five Years Ago, How Are 'Station 19' and 'Grey's Anatomy' Connected? Join Netflix as they follow the rendition of The Nutcracker ballet at Debbie Allen Dance Academy called Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.. Debbie Allen is well rounded within all aspects of the entertainment industry. It turned into being a lot more about me than I would ever have done, but I’m humbled by that. But we have to get some money and do it right.”, In the meantime, Allen is back at work on “Grey’s Anatomy,” which she co-stars in, as well as directs. He and producer Shonda Rhimes are both parents of DADA students. Oscar Season Burning Questions: IndieWire Answers Readers About a Most Unusual Season, Oscar Season Has a Long Way to Go: Here Are the Contenders Most People Haven’t Seen Yet, 10 Ways 2020 Changed the Film Industry, from Streaming Wars to Film Festivals, How ‘Gunda’ Captured the Hypnotic Images and Vivid Sounds of a Pig’s Life — Toolkit, The Art of ‘Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets’ Is Not Its Manufactured Setup – Toolkit, ‘Dick Johnson Is Dead’: Kirsten Johnson Made Cinema Magic Out of Embracing the Unknown, 35 Must-See New Movies to See This Fall Season, The 7 Best Movies New to Netflix in January 2021, A Reduced-Price ‘Tenet’ and PVOD Debut ‘Fatale’ Stand Out in Home Viewing, ‘Dont Look Up’ First Footage Unites DiCaprio and Lawrence as Netflix Touts 2021 Movie Lineup. All rights reserved. She never saw a live production of “The Nutcracker” as a child because she wasn’t allowed inside theaters in what was still a very segregated Houston. "Rehearsed for just over three months, The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker has become a staple holiday performance in Los Angeles and the largest fundraising event on the school’s calendar.”, Shonda and Debbie first connected years ago, when the TV producer brought her daughter to train at the dance academy. Whether you wear a tiara or your comfiest jammies — or both — is up to you. Othello. Misty Copeland and Lauren Anderson broke that mold. Unfortunetely, the Disney Christmas title The Nutcracker and the Four Realms in favor of another streaming service in November 2020.. Stream it between Dec. 19 and Jan. 1, 2021, starting at $25. "That was our real first relationship. She founded it after one of the nation’s top ballet schools told her daughter, Vivian Nixon, she did not have the right body type for ballet. “There was ‘The Harlem Nutcracker,’ Duke Ellington’s ‘The Chocolate Nutcracker,’ I had worked on a ‘Nutcracker’ that was totally Afrocentric, and I just felt like it was time I needed put my own spice into it,” she said. The 2018 fantasy Christmas themed movie first released in cinemas back in November 2018 to a mixed reception from both fans … And right here is where you start paying, in sweat.”, At 70 years old, with real world stakes, Allen demands a similar kind of dedication from her students. Hoffman titled, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” Here's the Real Reason Ruby Rose Left 'Batwoman' (SPOILERS). So I have high standards and that’s why the production is very professional.”. Go behind the scenes of The Joffrey Ballet’s 2016 production of The Nutcracker in the original documentary film Making A New American Nutcracker.This new production, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, was inspired by the 1893 World’s Fair that took place in Chicago. And it’s wonderful to see these young kids in the room holding their own with these serious professionals.”, The process is quite rigorous, especially for such young, doe-eyed students who range from four and five-year-old preschoolers to teenagers. Episode guide, trailer, review, preview, cast list and where to stream it on demand, on catch up and download. “We’ve been asked to travel with it. Instead, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy hosted a drive-in fundraising gala at the Rose Bowl on Nov. 14. Directed by Oliver Bokelberg. Nutcracker will appear on Netflix next Christmas (Image: Reuters) "I'm really thrilled about that," Kevin grins. Like other yearly traditions, the annual Hot Chocolate Nutracker performance got preempted in 2020. The cast includes Anna-Rose O’Sullivan as Clara, Marcelino Sambe as the Nutcracker/Nephew, Marianela Nunez as … Allen’s academy operates as an architect of change in a racist world. “When you think about the New York City Ballet, and where it started, George Balanchine — who co-founded it — created a production of ‘The Nutcracker’ in 1954, as a means to support and fund the company,” Allen said. “If you go to see the New York City Ballet, they have adults performing all the principal parts, with kids that would just get up and run across the stage. Young Clara (Gelsey Kirkland) falls fast asleep on Christmas Eve and dreams of fantastic and whimsical characters, including the Mouse King (Marcos Paredes) and the dashing Prince (Mikhail Baryshnikov). Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. “It’s wonderful for audiences to see the Fairy Queen as a beautiful Black ballerina that flies onto the stage, which is something that young people will never forget. “Cheer,” the Netflix docuseries about competitive cheerleading, had a similar feel but “Dance Dreams” is profound. You want fame? I thought she deserved anonymity. “Dealing with kids, I’m tough on them because I’m trying to get them ready for what’s out there,” she said. Netflix capitalized on interest in The Nutcracker this season when it released two programs about ballet just before the holidays. “The ballet world has always been very specific, elitist, and not very inclusive,” said Allen, who decided to open DADA in 2001 after her 13-year-old daughter, dancer and actress Vivian Nixon, told her that she didn’t feel embraced and supported while at The Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. “There are mountains to leap over for Black kids,” she said. “Netflix Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker”. Why couldn’t he be the prince in ‘Swan Lake’? Let Us Count the Ways, Here's Why 'Promising Young Woman' Had to End With That Shocking Finale (SPOILERS), Did Clare and Dale Actually Break Up? Every year, students at Debbie Allen Dance Academy perform a genre-busting, cutting edge rendition of The Nutcracker ballet called Hot Chocolate Nutcracker. While in attendance, the students learn from a slew of teachers who are tops in their respective fields, like former Houston Ballet principal dancer Lauren Anderson and tap superstar Savion Glover. It’s going to be called the The Rhimes Center of the Performing Arts, that houses the Debbie Allen Dance Academy.”. It appears the company’s dancers are doing both. “We’re 10 weeks in and still going strong, so we feel confident that we’ll get through the end of this season,” she said. It would make a glorious movie. As audiences are quarantined, a streaming recording of the full “Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” show would likely be desired in this particular moment. “We are built differently, and in the ballet world, you are wanted to be very skinny and fair, as in white. In the world of ballet itself, it is Debbie Allen's adaptation called 'Hot Chocolate Nutcracker', which has been making waves since it debuted over a decade ago. The inspirational feature focuses on the icon's ethos. From Shondaland, “Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” spotlights the career of award-winning entertainer Debbie Allen and follows her group of ingénues as they prepare for Allen’s annual ballet showcase, which is produced via her Los Angeles-based Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA). We’re happy to report, however, that Netflix viewers will still get a chance to watch the academy’s talented Hot Chocolate Nutcracker dancers, thanks to a new Netflix documentary from executive producer Shonda Rhimes. DADA has just now started to very cautiously opening classes to just a few students at a time.