Tampa’s most heartwarming Nutcracker belongs to its next generation. The Patel Conservatory’s Next Generation Ballet — one of America’s acclaimed youth ballet companies — stages its full “Nutcracker” at the Straz Center each December, with pre-professional dancers in the leading roles and a cast of hundreds of Tampa Bay students.
Artistic Director Philip Neal (a former New York City Ballet principal) sets the production to professional standards — the same stagecraft, orchestra and spectacle as the touring companies — powered by the electric energy of dancers on the cusp of careers. Alumni now dance with major companies worldwide.
For families, it’s the perfect first Nutcracker: shorter on stuffiness, long on wonder, priced for real budgets.
The future of American ballet rehearses in Tampa. In December, it sparkles.
