"The Nutcracker All Jazzed Up" to take Civic Center stage

Dec. 15—LIMA — Lyn Mulcahy said that Civic Center audiences can expect a different version of "The Nutcracker" if they attend either show this Sunday.

But the owner of Lyn's Academy of Dance in Elida promised a "jazzed-up" performance from her students of all ages at the 1 and 5 p.m. shows.

"I hope they can come away thinking that they saw some excellent dancers," she said. "We've got great scenery and stage set-up in the Civic Center which always gives you a memorable performance. So I'm hoping that they see a great performance, but also a lot of dancers having a great time on stage and enjoying what they love to do."

"The Nutcracker All Jazzed Up" will feature the traditional story of Clara and the Mouse King, but with Lyn's special flair.

"It's a traditional story, but we incorporate roles that are a little bit heavier than your traditional ballet version," Mulcahy said. "We have students from 18 months to 18 years old performing in the show. It's a fast-paced fun show that lasts about an hour and 20 minutes."

Mulcahy said that she was looking forward to seeing some of those new students on stage for the first time.

"I have a lot of small little angels that have never been on stage so I'm really excited to see them," she said. "And I'm very excited to see my seasoned high school performers move into some of the lead roles that they've always looked forward to performing. And now they'll be carrying the show, so I think we've got some excellent elite dancers who have worked very hard and will have a great performance."

Preparations started with casting and auditions in September and they were worth the work.

"Every student in our studio gets to participate in this performance and it's not just the veterans," she said. "And then we have people audition for extra roles or lead performances. They aspire to play Clara or the Prince or the Mouse Queen growing up because they put the roles in their memory bank so it's really neat to watch them step into them."

To buy tickets to either show, visit the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center website.

For more information on the show or Lyn's Academy of Dance, visit the school's website.

Reach Jacob Espinosa at 5678-242-0399.