Reaching Heart School Of Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’ Features NYC Ballet Soloists

Reaching Heart School of Ballet in West Harwich will welcome two soloists from the New York City Ballet (NYCB) to dance the lead roles of The Sugar Plum Fairy and The Cavalier in the dance school’s upcoming production of “The Nutcracker.” One of them began her study of dance right here on Cape Cod.

This year will be the 21st annual production of “The Nutcracker” produced by Reaching Heart Ballet School, directed by Melissa Heart.

“We are very excited to be having two soloists from NYCB performing in our production of The Nutcracker this year,” Heart said. “We have included soloists before from different companies, but never one as prestigious as the NYCB. It is definitely big news for the Cape to have dancers of this caliber performing here.”

Sara Adams, who will dance the role of The Sugar Plum Fairy, began her training on Cape Cod with Virginia Zango Traube at Mid Cape Ballet Academy in Dennis. She studied at Boston Ballet for three years, then attended School of American Ballet in New York City for her high school training. Adams was accepted into NYCB in 2009, and in 2017 she was promoted to soloist. When dancing with NYCB, Adams frequently visited her family on the Cape. It was during one of these visits that she was invited by Heart to teach classes for Reaching Heart School of Ballet in their summer dance intensives. At this time, Adams introduced Heart’s students to the Balanchine technique.

Together, Adams and Heart developed a lasting bond over their shared passion for bringing joy through dance to the students of Cape Cod. This will be the first time Adams will be performing “The Nutcracker” on Cape Cod since 1999, when she was a student at Mid Cape Ballet Academy.

Harrison Coll, who will dance the role of The Cavalier, began dance at age 4. He fell in love with ballet at the age of 6, when he went to Lincoln Center to see George Balanchine’s version of “The Nutcracker.” In 2003 he joined the School of American Ballet as a full-time student. In 2013 Coll joined NYCB as a member of the corps de ballet. Having since then danced almost every possible male role in “The Nutcracker,” from the young Nutcracker Prince to Herr Drosselmeyer, Coll’s favorite role to dance remains The Cavalier, with Sara Adams as his Sugar Plum Fairy.

“I had the pleasure of seeing both of them perform this year in the New York City Ballet,” Heart said. “They are both so stunning. We’re very excited. Sara has taught for me. She is a kind, humble and lovely role model for the students. It’s wonderful to have her.”

“The Nutcracker” will feature over 65 local students aged 3 to 18, exquisite costumes, beautiful scenery and special effects. Performances will take place at Monomoy Regional High School on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. and on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m. Tickets are available online at buy.tututix.com/reachingheart and will be available at the door. All seats are reserved. Tickets are $25 for children; $30 for seniors; $40 for adults; and $45 for VIP in the front few rows. Call 508-430-4303 for more information. Learn more about Reaching Heart School of Ballet at www.reachingheart.com.