Ventana Ballet & Red Nightfall Productions present the 6th anniversary production of:
The Watchmaker's Song
An immersive reimagination of The Nutcracker
Dorothy O’Shea Overbey
Director of Red Nightfall Dance Theatre
Artistic Director & Choreographer of The Watchmaker’s Song
Appearing as The Snow Queen
AJ Garcia-Rameau
Director of Ventana Ballet
Executive Director & Producer of The Watchmaker’s Song
Appearing as The Sugar Plum Fairy
Neill-Cochran House Museum
AUSTIN, TX
Neill-Cochran House Museum
December 7-9 + 14-16 - Evening* Shows
December 10 - Interactive Kids Matinee Shows - 12pm Doors & 2pm Doors
*Weekend 1 Evening Times:
Thu. Dec7 @7:30pm (Doors & VIP Reception begin at 7pm)
Fri. Dec8 @7:30pm (Doors & VIP Reception begin at 7pm)
Sat. Dec9 @6:30pm (Doors & VIP Reception begin at 6pm)
Sat. Dec9 @8:30pm (Doors & VIP Reception begin at 8pm)
*Weekend 2 Evening Times:
Thu. Dec14 @7:30pm (Doors & VIP Reception begin at 7pm)
Fri. Dec15 @6:30pm (Doors & VIP Reception begin at 6pm)
Fri. Dec15 @8:30pm (Doors & VIP Reception begin at 8pm)
Sat. Dec16 @6:30pm (Doors & VIP Reception begin at 6pm)
Sat. Dec16 @8:30pm (Doors & VIP Reception begin at 8pm)
** VIP guests are invited to join a special holiday reception with the artists before the show begins. VIP guests also receive Front Row Seating to the Finale. **
** All tickets include admission to the immersive performance as well as drinks. Proceeds support artist payment and future immersive productions! **
A Letter from the Directors…
Dearest Distinguished Guests,
Season’s Greetings! We are so excited to present to you this evening The Watchmaker's Song, our annual immersive twist on the classic story of The Nutcracker.
In its sixth annual presentation at the Neill-Cochran House, The Watchmaker's Song features a jazzy and exciting score of music, written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. This upbeat rearrangement of Tchaikovsky's original Nutcracker score sets the stage for Act 1 of our performance, which takes place on the front lawn of the House, sharing the story of Clara and her Party Dancer friends, Dame Mouserink, Princess Pirlipat, the Nutcracker, and of course, the Watchmaker himself.
Just after the grand appearance of the Snow Queen, the Watchmaker invites our guests into the House for Act 2 of The Watchmaker's Song, where guests may tour the various rooms, each of which feature a guest performer from various cultural dance traditions. This year, The Watchmaker's Song features Argentinian Tango, Spanish Flamenco, American Tap Dance, Egyptian Bellydance, Indian Bharatanatyam, and Traditional Chinese Dance. We are so proud to bring cultural inclusivity to the forefront of The Watchmaker's Song, highlighting the diversity of our local dance scene. In the back room, we invite all the guests to join us for a grand finale, where they meet Mother Ginger and the Dolls, and the Sugar Plum Fairy.
It is the shared mission of Ventana Ballet and Red Nightfall Dance Theatre, the two co-presenters of The Watchmaker's Song, to provide performance opportunities to local professional performing artists, to highlight less heard artistic voices, to create more accessible options for guests to experience performance art, and to present art in a way that is immersive and unique. As always, we are truly grateful to our partners at the Neill-Cochran House Museum for hosting this special ballet year after year.
With love & gratitude,
AJ Garcia-Rameau
Executive Director & Producer of The Watchmaker’s Song
Appearing as The Sugar Plum Fairy
Director of Ventana Ballet
Dorothy O’Shea Overbey
Artistic Director, Writer, & Choreographer of The Watchmaker’s Song
Appearing as The Snow Queen
Director of Red Nightfall Dance Theatre
About the Show…
The Watchmaker’s Song is a whimsical version of the Nutcracker holiday favorite that engages the audience in both the traditional components of the Nutcracker Ballet and also some elements of the original story by E.T.A. Hoffman.
Upon entering the cozy, festoon-lit courtyard of the Neill-Cochran House Museum, guests can grab a seasonal cocktail and immerse themselves in this enchanted holiday tale. A mysterious character, The Watchmaker himself, emerges from the crowd and invites the attendees to follow him down the brick-laden path surrounding the shaded oak property of the 19th century home.
Just around the corner from the courtyard, the party dancers invite the guests to join in a holiday swing-dancing party set to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s jazz rendition of the original Tchaikovsky Nutcracker music. Guests can enjoy a holiday party and pop-up performances on the front lawn, meeting some charming characters, who then invite the party-goers to experience more of the magic inside the historical house.
Indoors, each room of the house features live installations of cultural music and dance. “Indoors is where the audience discovers a world of dance. Instead of The Nutcracker's dances inspired by different cultures, here are actual dances from different cultures, performed by local residents who really know them,” wrote Robert Faires in the 2019 Chronicle review. “The setup allows the audience to make intimate connections with these cultural dances and their dancers—something one couldn't do with a traditional Nutcracker.”
The event culminates with a special finale of ethereal characters in the grand room before the audience exits the House, returning to the real world. Faires wrote, “Granted, it's a long way from battling evil mice under the Christmas tree and taking a magic sleigh to the Land of Snow, but threaded throughout all this updated fun—and it is fun—are nods to the original ballet.”
Watch last year’s trailer here:
Casting
Meet the Directors
Meet the Artists
THANK YOU!
SPONSORS
Tito’s Handmade Vodka (Season Sponsor)
FISCAL SPONSOR
The Austin Creative Alliance
City of Austin Cultural Arts Division
IN-KIND BAR SPONSORS
Tito’s Handmade Vodka
Still Austin
Austin Eastciders
The Austin Wine Merchant
IN-KIND RAFFLE SPONSORS
Mantis Massage
Sour Duck
Movin’ Easy Dancewear
East Austin Succulents
Black Swan Yoga
Barre3
Castle Hill Fitness
IN-KIND PRODUCTION SPONSORS
Só Dança & Movin' Easy Dancewear (Shoe Sponsor)
First Street Studio (Rehearsal Venue)
Austin School of Classical Ballet (Marley Stage Flooring)
David Keeton Jr. & KH IT Services LLC (Flamenco Staging)
First Street Studio (Rehearsal Venue)
The Neill-Cochran House Museum (Performance Venue, Austin, TX)
The Ingenhuett on High (Performance Venue, Comfort, TX)
The French Cow (Cast Lodging, Comfort, TX)
DESIGN SPONSORS
Farid Zarrinabadi (Photography & Videography)
Jack (Photography)
Ty Graynor (Videography)
Madeleine Robb (Outdoor Lighting)
SPECIAL THANKS
Art Seen Alliance (Outdoor Stage)
Rock & Roll Rentals (Audio Equipment)
Affordable Sound & Printing (Prints)
Tribeza, KMFA, Austin Chronicle (Advertising)
SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS
THANKS TO OUR CREW & BARTENDERS!
Thank you for creating the space for us to focus on the art! Thank you Priscilla, Ish, Shelby, Jio, Mason, Kathryn, Jake, Justin, Erin, and Rachelle!
THANKS TO OUR REHEARSAL CAPTAINS!
Thank you to our dancers, Rachel Culver, Kanami Nakabayashi, and Navaji David Nava, for going above and beyond to lead many of the rehearsals!
THANK YOU TO OUR PROP DESIGNERS!
Special thank you to Aidan DeWitt, Jane Schwartz, Navaji David Nava, and Tikiri Shapiro for their crucial contributions in dramaturgy and prop-making.
About Ventana Ballet
Ventana Ballet is a professional dance company based in Austin, TX, specializing in contemporary ballet dance performance. The word ventana, meaning window, embodies the company’s organizational mission and vision, seeking to provide artistically relevant, technically proficient, and publicly accessible dance performance and education opportunities to the community. Ventana Ballet’s mission is to inspire, entertain and educate audiences through disciplined and innovative approaches to presenting next-generation choreographic works. More information about Ventana Ballet can be found on the company website at VentanaBallet.com.
About Red Nightfall Dance Theatre
Founded by Dorothy O’Shea Overbey in 2017, RNDT specializes in crafting immersive experiences through interdisciplinary dance/theater performance. Our mission is twofold: to forge new mythologies that resonate with contemporary audiences and to amplify the voices of underrepresented artists whose work defies conventional categorization.
Support
Ventana Ballet’s mission is to create fair-pay opportunities for performing artists and keep ticket prices as low as we can. In order to do that, we rely heavily upon the support of our community. If you’re able, please consider a donation. For credit card donations, please click the PayPal button below. Also, we accept Venmo!
Ventana Ballet is grateful to you and all of our supporters!