Contact: Public Relations
(863) 680-4118

St. Petersburg Ice Ballet performs 
"The Nutcracker" at FSC

LAKELAND, Fla. (Dec. 3, 2002) - Florida Southern's Festival of Fine Arts welcomes Russia's St. Petersburg Ice Ballet in Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" Dec. 17. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in Branscomb Auditorium. 

The stage transforms into a wintry ice rink as the skaters dance to the holiday classic. E.T.A. Hoffman's tale of a young girl's Christmas Eve adventure lends itself remarkably to ice, says Robert MacDonald, the Festival's director. "The combination of ballet and ice dancing is quite magical." 

The St. Petersburg Ballet made its debut performance in 1967, combining ballet with figure skating to create the new genre. Since then, the company has been seen in more than 5,000 performances by audiences around the world. 

Tickets are $20. FSC students are admitted free of charge; non-FSC students are admitted at half price. For ticket information, please contact the Branscomb Auditorium box office at (863) 680-4296. 

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. 

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