ST. GEORGE — Tired of the same old “Nutcracker” ballet? Had enough of the dark Drosselmeyer and his dancing dolls? If Clara’s dreamland of sticky sweets has grown stale, then maybe it is time for something new.

Enter Odyssey Dance Theatre’s “ReduxNut-Cracker,” a fully reimagined version of the classic ballet set to take Southern Utah by storm as the acclaimed dance company brings their show to the Dixie State University Cox Performing Arts Center, 385 S. University Avenue in St. George, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Known locally and nationally for their daring and creative choreography, Odyssey Dance Theatre has taken Tchaikovsky’s original score and arranged it in a pop and hip-hop style, according to a press release for the event.

In this modern version, Clara is a young lady whose imagination is captivated by the technology of today and is drawn into her smartphone to a magical world where classic characters get a modern makeover — Drosselmeyer drives a DeLorean, the soldiers are robots and the mice are gangsta’s full of hip-hop swagga, according to the same release.

This is the first time the dance company has brought the show to Southern Utah and it is an amazing opportunity for fans of the arts to take advantage of this magically reinvented, quintessential Christmas tale.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online or at the Cox Performing Arts Center Box Office.

About Odyssey Dance Theatre

According to their Web page:

Odyssey Dance Theatre’s mission is to provide quality entertainment and artistic excellence in theatrical dance as a professional dance company; to provide employment for Utah’s talented dancers; to exercise and maintain fiscal responsibility and be debt free; and to make theatrical dance more accessible to a wide audience, by utilizing current social themes and music, as well as creating and re-creating classical and full-length works that are exciting to young and old alike.

The nonprofit dance company has received numerous accolades including winner of Best of State in Dance for 10 years in a row; Best of State of all Arts and Entertainment in 2007 and 2015; Best Choreographer 2009 Odyssey Founder and Artistic Director Derryl Yeager; Best Individual Dancer 2010; Odyssey Associate Artistic Director/Principal Dancer Eldon Johnson; Best Individual Dancer 2012 Odyssey Associate Artistic Director/Principal Dancer, Veronica Yeager; Best Individual Dancer 2013 Odyssey Principal Dancer Dayna Marshall; and Best Youth Dance Group 2011 and 2012 Odyssey 2.

Odyssey Dance Theatre is funded, in part, by the Zoo, Arts and Parks tax.

Event details

• What: Odyssey Dance presents “ReduxNut-Cracker”
• When: Wednesday, Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m.
• Where: DSU Cox Performing Arts Center, 385 S. University Avenue, St. George
• Cost: $15-$30
• Purchase Tickets: Online | In person at the Cox Performing Arts Center Box Office

Email: [email protected]

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