Ventana Ballet & Red Nightfall Dance Theatre present
the 7th anniversary production of:
The Watchmaker's Song
An immersive reimagination of The Nutcracker
AJ Garcia-Rameau
Director of Ventana Ballet
Executive Director & Producer of The Watchmaker’s Song
Appearing as The Sugar Plum Fairy
Dorothy O’Shea Overbey
Director of Red Nightfall Dance Theatre
Artistic Director & Choreographer of The Watchmaker’s Song
The Neill-Cochran House Museum
Austin, TX
The Watchmaker’s Song
December 12-21, 2024
Weekend One:
Thu. Dec. 12th ◈ 7:30pm - Sold Out!
Fri. Dec. 13th ◈ 6:30pm - Almost Sold Out!
Fri. Dec. 13th ◈ 8:30pm - Tix Available!
Sat. Dec. 14th ◈ 6:30pm - Sold Out!
Sat. Dec. 14th ◈ 8:30pm - Sold Out!
Kids Interactive Shows:
Sun. Dec. 15th ◈ 12pm - Sold Out!
Sun. Dec. 15th ◈ 2pm - Almost Sold Out!
Weekend Two:
Thu. Dec. 19th ◈ 7:30pm - Sold Out!
Fri. Dec. 20th ◈ 6:30pm - Tix Available!
Fri. Dec. 20th ◈ 8:30pm - Tix Available!
Sat. Dec. 21st ◈ 6:30pm - Sold out!
Sat. Dec. 21st ◈ 8:30pm - Tix Available!
VIP Experience Tickets+ General Admission Tickets Available
** 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 beverages. Proceeds support artist payment and future immersive productions! **
** Doors open & VIP Reception begins approximately thirty minutes before the show time listed above. **
A Letter from the Directors…
Dearest Distinguished Guests,
Season’s Greetings! We are so excited to present to you The Watchmaker's Song, our annual immersive twist on the classic story of The Nutcracker.
In its seventh 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 Dance, 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 Act 3, the 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
CASTING
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:
Photo by Farid Zarrinabadi
Photo by Farid Zarrinabadi
Photo by Farid Zarrinabadi
Meet the Directors
AJ Garcia-Rameau
AJ Garcia-Rameau (Director of Ventana Ballet) is the Executive Director and Producer of The Watchmaker’s Song. She also appears as the Sugar Plum Fairy in this year’s production!
AJ Garcia-Rameau is a professional dancer, director of Ventana Ballet, partner of First Street Studio, and semiconductor engineer in Austin, Texas. AJ is the founder and director of Ventana Ballet, a professional contemporary ballet dance company based in Austin, TX whose mission is to bring more performance opportunities to local artists and to provide accessible performance opportunities to the community. AJ is also a partner owner of First Street Studio, an accessible performance, rehearsal, and education venue that is home to more than 75 Austin-based performing arts companies and individual professional artists. AJ’s formal training is in classical and contemporary ballet and modern dance. AJ was born in Houston, TX where she received her training at the Houston Academy of Dance and performed with the Exclamation Dance Company. AJ earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and Minor in Dance from the University of Texas while training at the Austin School of Classical Ballet and performing as a company member of BHumn Dance Company and the Austin Classical Ballet. AJDances.com
Dorothy O’Shea Overbey
Dorothy O’Shea Overbey (Director of Red Nightfall Dance Theatre) is the Artistic Director, Writer, and Choreographer of The Watchmaker’s Song.
Born in Alaska and raised in Austin, Dorothy grew up training at Ballet Austin and studying classical piano with UT Professor Emeritus Amanda Vick Lethco. After earning a BFA in Dance Performance and a BA in Philosophy from Southern Methodist University, Dorothy performed with Colorado Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, David Taylor Dance Theatre, Fugate/Bahiri Ballet New York, Dances Patrelle, and many independent choreographers in New York City. While in New York, Dorothy did introductory training at the Atlantic Theatre School, and appeared in commercials, indie films, and Darren Aronofsky’s film Black Swan.
Upon returning to Austin, Dorothy joined the faculty of the Department of Theatre and Dance at UT Austin. In 2013 she co-founded Austin Community Ballet, an organization of dancers in the Austin area that offers professional-level ballet classes in an open, collaborative, non-hierarchical environment. Dorothy is also a partner/owner of First Street Studio, an affordable and accessible rehearsal and performance venue for Austin performing artists.
Red Nightfall Dance Theatre was founded in 2017 to create immersive experiences through film and dance/theater performance. Red Nightfall’s mission is to forge new mythologies that resonate with contemporary audiences and to amplify the voices of underrepresented artists whose work defies conventional categorization. The creation of beauty is not the privilege of the pedigreed, but a birthright to us all.
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
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Ventana Ballet is grateful to you and all of our supporters!
