A ballet performed this weekend is being used to not only entertain, but also to directly benefit students.

All money raised beyond the cost of the The Nutcracker Ballet, as performed by the Heartland Ballet Company, is going toward scholarships for music students, Susan Day, Department of Performing and Visual Arts lecturer, said.

The music department plans on giving out the money as continuing student scholarships as well as scholarships for incoming freshman, Barry Ellis, director of bands at UW-Platteville, said. “The quality of the department will go up because of our ability to attract the highest caliber students.”

The HBC, based out of Dubuque, Iowa, has been performing The Nutcracker Ballet since the 1980s, Marina O’Rourke, director of the HBC, said. The ballet uses four sets and 160 costumes, and has 38 dancers, all from the tri-state area.

“Last spring here we had a big concert of all Aaron Copland music and within that concert we did Appalachian Spring, which is a ballet, and the Heartland Ballet danced with us,” Ellis said.

Because of the success of the company’s performers, they were asked to come back and perform this Christmas.

“It is a professional, incredible ballet. If you go see The Nutcracker in Madison, it won’t be any better,” Ellis said. “I can guarantee that those who attend this ballet will thoroughly enjoy it.”

“We’ve never had the Nutcracker [at UW-P] before,” Day said. “The Nutcracker is traditional for many families, so we thought it’d be a good thing to offer.”

The Nutcracker is a Victorian-era Christmas story, O’Rourke said. After opening presents, including a nutcracker, the main character Clara falls asleep. She ends up having a nightmare where the
Nutcracker and an army of mice battle the evil rats. Clara helps the Nutcracker and is rewarded for her courage.

“It’s very much a Christmas story, so it gets you in the mood for the holidays,” O’Rourke said.

If the ballet is successful this year, the music department is hoping to make it a UW-P tradition, Ellis said.

The HBC will be performing The Nutcracker Ballet at the Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 9. Tickets cost $22 for general admission, $15 for senior citizens and UW-P faculty and $10 for UW-P students and children under 18.

Tickets are reserved seating, so the sooner you call, the better seating you will get, Ellis said.