Join us in the Brown-Forman Theater the Frazier for a very special reading of the Nutcracker by Royal Ballet Soloist, Assistant Ballet Mistress, and Associate artistic Director of Louisville Ballet, Helen Starr.

Starr was a soloist with the Royal Ballet and principal dancer at London Festival Ballet. She worked with many renowned ballet choreographers such as Mikhail Baryshnikov and Peter Schaufuss. Over her 40-year career, she has danced and taught in 36 countries on five continents.

Starr worked alongside with artistic director, Alun Jones at the Louisville Ballet. The couple introduced “The Sleeping Beauty” to the production 30 years ago. They also worked with contemporary and modern dance and pillaring it with classical works.

In a piece written by Annie Honebrink, Jones describes Starr’s impact at the ballet: “She’s a wonderful role model, especially for the women…But for the men too, because of all the great choreographers she’s worked with and all the fine dancers she’s known. She’s an inspiration. She shares her knowledge with anyone who wants to listen. She knows everything about dance history and is willing to pass it along.”

Followed by the reading, what better guide to comment other than Alun Jones, the Artistic Director for the Louisville Ballet. Jones worked from 1978-2002, and set a precedent for staging classical ballet after he joined in 1975 which reflects the importance of the current director Robert Curran. He created new choreography for the Nutcracker and in 1995 he gave the production updated costumes and sets. He took the stage in some productions as Drosselmeyer. He retired from his position as the artistic director in 2002.

Annie Honebrink wrote of Jones: “Under his leadership, the company flourished and grew exponentially. Jones fondly refers to that period as a “wonderful time” and a “golden era.”

This event is included in the price of general admission