Carl Hutzler's Blog

For the past couple of years I have photographed a number of performances for the Conservatory Ballet of Reston, Virginia. This year I shot two performances of their classic Nutcracker which they have done for over 30 years running. The dancers are incredible, especially considering that everyone is high school age and younger. Several of the dancers last year graduated and are performing in NYC, Germany and one even attended the world famous Vaganova School in Russia (she was the only American ever admitted to the school).

Not only are the dancers wonderful, but the costumes are completely hand made by the staff at the Conservatory. Julia Redick, the Artistic Director, would simply not have it any other way.

Combine the costumes, well rehearsed dancers, and great lighting, and the stage is set for some easy clicking. I will post some more images in the next few days, but I thought this one of Lexie Overholt with partner Stas Bolotsko stood above the rest on my initial scan of the images.