Plainfield Girls to Perform with the Moscow Ballet

Seventeen Plainfield children are among 40 chosen to perform the "Great Russian Nutcracker" with the Moscow Ballet when they perform at the Rosemont Theatre in December. Here's a news release on their selection:

Twenty-four children representing Plainfield, Joliet, Shorewood and Romeoville, Illinois, have been selected to join 40 professional dancers from the esteemed Moscow Ballet in the 2013 production of the “Great Russian Nutcracker.” 

The young dancers join 32 other talented youngsters and their professional counterparts at 3 p.m. Sunday, December 8, 2013, at the Rosemont Theatre, 5400 N. River Road, Rosemont, Illinois. The afternoon performance also features a concert of holiday songs by Chicago’s Southport Performing Arts Conservatory’s choir. Tickets start at $26 and can be purchased online atwww.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-320-1733.

The young dancers, an integral part of the “Great Russian Nutcracker,” were selected from two open auditions held in the Chicago area this past summer. The children are between the ages of 6-16 and represent the city of Chicago, Chicago suburbs as well as the Plainfield and Joliet area.

Children from Plainfield include Jessica Bonham (11), Lillian del Alcazar (8), Meghan Ehlers (9), Megan Falge (11), Amelya Fox (10), Jordan Hampton (8), Brooklyn Knoebel (9), Ashton Krepelka (13), Abigail Kresno (12), Emilie McGarr (8), Kelly McGrail (10), Maggie McGrail (13), Madison Mulder (9), Juliana Pina (13), Katie Ramus (7), Kaylor Smith (13), Ellie Thomas (10) and Maura Todd (10).

Representing Joliet are Hailey Donahue (9) and Cheyenne (8) and Savannah Moser (11). Romeoville participants include Kristen Myers (10) and Lilly Hall Risor (6) and from Shorewood, Megan Gardner (10).

The participation of the children dancers is part of the Moscow Ballet’s “Dance with Us” program which brings local dancers on stage to dance side-by-side with professional company members. Choreography master for the local dancers is headed by Altin Naska, co-founder of Chicago’s Southport Performing Arts Conservatory and former professional dancer. Naska has partnered with the Moscow Ballet and overseen the audition process, weekly rehearsals and performance of the young Chicago dancers for the past seven years.