Updated: Sept. 17 at 11:45 p.m.

On the same day as Syracuse City Ballet’s performance of “An Intimate Evening with Syracuse City Ballet,” the company will unveil its new studio.

A new season for the Syracuse City Ballet starts Friday. The company, now in its 21st year, will present another season with three shows — classic and modern — that has dancers, staff members and parents excited for its start.

“It’s a really exciting season,” said Rachael Cierniakoski, the company’s manager and ballet mistress. “We are kicking it off on Friday with a show in our studios, which are brand new spaces, so it will be a really unique look into the performance because the audience is right in the studio with our dancers. So it is really intimate and up close and personal and they get a kind of different perspective on dance.”

Cierniakoski described it as an “eclectic” show with classical, modern and contemporary ballet pieces.

“It is a very good show to ease everybody into dance if you haven’t seen it before, and if you do know dance, it will also be a great show, because we have such a wide range for the lineup,” she said.

After this performance, the ballet will take on “The Nutcracker.” Syracuse City Ballet’s cast coordinator and ballet parent, Kim Glassford, said she is excited for the company’s performance of the well-known ballet.

“I’ve been doing it for so many years, and I have just grown to love that ballet,” Glassford said. “I did Swan Lake and every year we do a new spring show and sometimes there’s ones I like better than others, but I would have to say Nutcracker has been my favorite.”

Cierniakoski said it’s the famous ballet’s association with the holiday season that not only makes it a fan favorite, but also a ballet company favorite.

The holiday favorite will be performed Dec. 2 and Dec. 3 at the Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater.

The third and final ballet, “Aladdin,” based on the 1992 Disney movie, will be performed March 10 and March 11, 2018 at the Crouse Hinds Theater.

“I always love doing ‘Nutcracker,’ but I am really excited for ‘Aladdin’ this year,” said dancer Hannah Walsh. “It sounds really different than anything we’ve ever done before. I think it’s going to be really fun.”

Cierniakoski said the company hasn’t performed “Aladdin” since 2000.

“It will be a lot of fun to recreate that and see what we can make new,” Cierniakoski said. “It will be a fun and exciting season that will show the range of our dancers for sure.”

Published on September 17, 2017 at 10:07 pm

Contact Mateo: mtestlin@syr.edu