Dance Centre Kenya will stage a special 10th anniversary edition of The Nutcracker this November, marking a decade of the production’s annual run.
The ballet has become a holiday-season fixture in Nairobi, offering a Kenyan interpretation of the 150-year-old Tchaikovsky classic. Tickets are on sale.
Each year’s cast brings together dancers from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, reflecting the school’s mission to make the arts accessible to all. Dance Centre Kenya currently trains about 500 students, including 50 scholarship recipients from low-income neighbourhoods.
“We want to show the world that you don’t have to fit a certain mould to be a ballet dancer,” says Dance Centre Kenya’s director Cooper Rust, artistic director of Nairobi’s Nutcracker and herself a former professional ballerina. “It’s about passion, talent and working hard at your dreams — not coming from a certain economic background or being a certain shape.”
More than 175 dancers from 25 countries will take part in this year’s production, with performers ranging from teenagers in principal roles to a three-year-old cast as the Fairy Doll.
The artistic director’s nine-month-old son will join the cast as the youngest performer to appear in the show.
Among the featured scholarship students are Fabian Njunge as The Nutcracker, Lavender Orisa as the Snow Queen, Francis Kibe as the Snow Cavalier, Davis Obama as the Sugar Plum Cavalier, and Given Mwaura as Fritz.
A 34-member orchestra, made up primarily of Kenyan musicians and led by conductor Antony Muriuki Kaburu, will perform Tchaikovsky’s score live throughout the run.
As part of its outreach programme, the school will once again provide charity tickets, enabling 500 children from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend the ballet. The initiative supports Dance Centre Kenya’s broader efforts to expand access to dance education and performance.
Performance dates and times
Friday, Nov. 28 – 7:00 PM
Saturday, Nov. 29 – 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM
Sunday, Nov. 30 – 1:00 PM & 4:00 PM
Saturday Dec. 6 – 10:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and 6:00 PM (Gala performance)
Sunday Dec 7 – 1:00 PM & 4:00 PM
