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INSIDE ACCESS: The Nutcracker returns to Virginia Beach for 11th year

Follow Clara as she dreams of sugar plum fairies, the Mouse King, and the Nutcracker Prince Friday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Dec. 16 at the Sandler Center in Virginia Beach.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) —

Clara, the Nutcracker, the Mouse King and company are back in Virginia Beach, and dancers as young as six years old will lace up their slippers for Ballet Virginia International’s 11th year performing The Nutcracker.

The rehearsals and performances get a little hectic, but co-director Suzanne Lownsbury has help backstage.

“I call them my ‘mice handlers’ … I couldn’t do it without them” Lownsbury says about the older dancers that corral the young ones backstage. “That’s what BVI is all about: the family.”

Some of the performers put in more than 100 hours of rehearsal time over an eight-week period. That doesn’t include the 10 four-legged pup performers that audiences will see in each performance.

The Nutcracker will run this Friday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Dec. 16 at the Sandler Center. There will be shows at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. shows on Saturday and Sunday.

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