Chi Cao, Star Of The Film "Mao's Last Dancer," Leads Cast of Ballet Hawaii's "Nutcracker"

Online, November 5, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Ballet Hawaii is thrilled to announce that Chi Cao, Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancer and star of the Bruce Beresford film "Mao's Last Dancer," will join a distinguished cast and more than 160 dancers in Ballet Hawaii's 2011 production of "Nutcracker" this holiday season at Honolulu's Blaisdell Concert Hall. The fairy-tale magic begins at 8:00 p.m. on Friday December 16 with a festive opening night for this stellar production featuring New York City Ballet's Sterling Hyltin (Snow Queen) and Andrew Veyette (Snow King and lead Russian), Carolina Ballet's Lilyan Vigo Ellis (Sugan Plum Fairy), Timour Bourtasenkov (Arabian) and Gabor Kapin (Chinese and Harlequin Doll), and Broadway star John Selya (Soldier Doll and Spanish). The enchantment continues with two additional performances: Saturday, December 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 18 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets go on sale Saturday, October 15 and range from $35 to $75.

"Chi Cao is a virtuoso classical dancer and it is an honor to welcome him to Honolulu as he interprets the role of Cavalier in our 2011 'Nutcracker' production," said Ballet Hawaii artistic director Pamela Taylor Tongg. "Not only is it a thrill for our young dancers from across Hawaii to rehearse and perform with an artist of his caliber, it adds a new level of artistic and creative innovation to have Chi Cao part of our time-honored production."

Rounding out the cast are Sterling Hyltin and Andrew Veyette, both principal dancers with New York City Ballet. Ballet Hawaii is also honored to welcome Broadway start John Selya, who most recently starred in the new Twyla Tharp Broadway musical "Come Fly Away," the 2009 Broadway revival of "Guys and Dolls," as well as "Damn Yankees" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'." Born and raised in New York City, Selya's dance career was inspired when, at age 10, he saw his sister perform in "The Nutcracker."

In addition, Ballet Hawaii warmly welcomes the return of three dancers who are familiar faces to Honolulu audiences, Carolina Ballet's Lilyan Vigo Ellis, Timour Bourtasenkov and Gabor Kapin. Beloved for their beautiful interpretation, Vigo Ellis and Bourtasenkov were featured in the 2010 production of "Nutcracker." Carolina's Gabor Kapin is also well-known to local audiences: He starred in Ballet Hawaii's recent "Romeo and Juliet" production.

Ballet Hawaii's "Nutcracker" boasts beautiful sets and lavish costumes, choral accompaniment by the Hawaii Opera Theatre Youth Chorus, surprise touches and of course, the captivating music of Tchaikovsky. The annual production offers unique performance opportunities to aspiring young dancers from a variety of backgrounds while sharing a time-honored holiday tradition with the greater community. Based on the E.T.A. Hoffmann tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" and showcasing the unique Aloha spirit of holiday magic, Ballet Hawaii's "Nutcracker" is what Christmas is all about.

The 2011 Ballet Hawaii production of "Nutcracker" is sponsored by First Insurance Co. of Hawaii, Pension Services Corp., Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Wall2Wall, and Honolulu Mayor's Office of Culture and Arts. Ballet Hawaii also gratefully acknowledges its 2011/12 season sponsor, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Waikiki.

Tickets: Prices range from $35 to $75 and are sold at Ticketmaster: 1-800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com, as well as the Ward Avenue Blaisdell Box Office. For more information, please visit ballethawaii.org.

Opening Night Celebration: Join Ballet Hawaii on Friday, December 16 for a beautiful opening night celebration! The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. Each ticket includes gourmet dining from Hawaii's finest restaurants, parking, post-performance back stage reception and a VIP "Nutcracker" ticket. Call 808-521-8600 for reservations and more information.

About Timour Bourtasenkov
Timour Bourtasenkov began his professional education with the Moldavian Opera House and the Bolshoi Ballet. Upon coming to America, he danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet, New Jersey Ballet and the New York-based Daring Project. In 1998, Bourtasenkov joined Carolina Ballet as a principal dancer and founding member of the company. His repertory includes ballets by Marius Petipa, August Bournonville, George Balanchine, John Cranko, Frederick Ashton, Antony Tudor, Jose Limon, Peter Martins, Robert North, Margo Sappington, William Forsyth, Richard Tanner, Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Christopher Wheeldon. Carolina Ballet's Artistic Director, Robert Weiss, has also created numerous principal roles for him in the company's repertory.

Bourtasenkov has choreographed works for Carolina Ballet, Infinity Ballet, New Jersey Ballet and most recently, the New York Choreographic Institute, using New York City Ballet members. His ballets include Light and Dark, sections of Messiah, Rag House, Elements, Memories, Visions, Intrigue, Dance of the Spirits, Fallen Dreams and Tango! Tango! Tango! Bourtasenkov won the Bronze Medal in the VII Massako Ohyo World Ballet Competition of Osaka, Japan and the V International Competition of Paris, France. He was awarded a jury prize at the Second Luxembourg International Ballet Competition. In addition, Bourtasenkov has appeared in two movies: The Long Way and The Magic Star. In 1996, he filmed Little Red Ridinghood, directed by Davis Koplan and choreographed by Elena Tchernichova. In 1996, Mr. Bourtasenkov became the Artistic Advisor of Infinity Ballet and in 2005, he was named the Artistic Director of Carolina Performing Arts Center in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

About Chi Cao
Born in China, Chi Cao trained at the Beijing Dance Academy and the Royal Ballet School. He joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1995 and was promoted to Principal in 2002. Chi is a virtuoso classical dancer and often leads the Company in the classic repertory. His superb technique won him the gold medal in 1998 at Varna, the 'Grandaddy' of all ballet competitions. Chi's talents however are not just restricted to his considerable technical abilities. He is also an exciting interpretive artist with a number of created roles to his credit. With his frequent partner, Nao Sakuma, Chi has also represented the Company at a number of prestigious occasions, dancing at the NATO gala in Birmingham (2000) and Birmingham¹s gala to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's golden jubilee (2002). In 2008, he took a six-month leave of absence from the Company to star as Li Cunxin in Bruce Beresford¹s film Mao's Last Dancer. - Courtesy Birmingham Royal Ballet

About Lilyan Vigo Ellis
Lilyan Vigo Ellis was born in Miami, Florida where she began her study of dance training privately with Liana Navarro. Vigo Ellis attended Harid Conservatory for two years and graduated from North Carolina School of the Arts in 1996. Vigo Ellis came to Carolina Ballet from the Southern Ballet Theatre in Orlando, Florida where she was a principal dancer. A founding member of the company, she has created many principal parts in new works including Robert Weiss' Firebird. She is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award.

About Sterling Hyltin
Sterling Hyltin was born in Amarillo, Texas. She began her dance training at the age of six at the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, where she studied with Ann Etgen and Bill Atkinson. Hyltin entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, full time in the fall of 2000. In October 2002, Hyltin became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and in 2003, she joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. In 2006, she was promoted to soloist. Hyltin was promoted to principal dancer in May 2007.

About Gabor Kapin
Gabor Kapin came to Carolina Ballet from Budapest, Hungary where he was a student at the Hungarian Dance Academy for nine years. While at the Hungarian Dance Academy, Kapin danced the pas de deux in "Flames of Paris" and "Giselle." He performed in "Nutcracker," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Coppelia" at the Hungarian National Ballet. In 1998, Kapin reached the finals of the Nureyev Competition in Hungary.

John Selya
John Selya received 2003 Tony and Drama Desk nominations and the TDF/Astaire Award for Best Male Dancer and a Theatre World Award for "Movin' Out," his Broadway debut. Most recently, he starred in the new Broadway musical "Come Fly Away" by Twyla Tharp, the Broadway revival of "Guys and Dolls" (2009), as well as "Damn Yankees" (2008) and "The Times They Are A-Changin'" (2006). He was born in New York City and trained at the School of American Ballet. Selya joined American Ballet Theatre in 1988. In 2000, he joined Twyla Tharp Dance. Most recently, he was awarded choreographic residency at the Joyce SoHo. He also appeared in Woody Allen's "Everyone Says I Love You."

About Andrew Veyette
Andrew Veyette was born in Denver, Colorado, and began his dance training at the age of nine, studying with Betty Downs at Dance Arts in Visalia, California. Veyette continued his studies at Westside Ballet in Santa Monica, California. While at Westside Ballet, Veyette trained with Yvonne Mounsey and was personally coached by Nader Hamed. Veyette entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, in the fall of 1998. In the spring of 2000, Veyette became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and later that season he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. In 2006, he was promoted to soloist. In 2007, Veyette was promoted to principal dancer.

To learn more about Ballet Hawaii, visit www.ballethawaii.org.