'Spanish Nutcracker' scheduled for Dec. 1

The Piscataway Cultural Arts Commission will present the Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre in "Sueno de Una Nina: A Spanish Nutcracker" at 7 p.m. on Dec. 1 at Quibbletown Middle School, 99 Academy St., corner of Washington Avenue, Piscataway.

The new production celebrates the diversity of Spain's dances and music spanning seven centuries, while embracing the themes of the holiday classic "Nutcracker" tale.

The story will follow Clarita and her family and friends as they celebrate Three Kings Day in the Plaza de Toros, where everyone will dance and watch as the kings present gifts to all. When Clarita's naughty brother Fernando breaks a matador doll given to his sister by their aunt, Tia Maria, he begins a chain of events that transports Clarita to magical places.

The brave matador and his little pica- dors and matadors will engage in a battle against the Great Toro King, danced to the farruca, the dance and music of the bullfight. Clarita will then be taken to the Land of the Majas, where dances will include the 19th-century Goyescas, the colorful verdiales, the Gypsy flamenco and more.

Admission is free of charge. The event is funded in part by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the American Music Center Live Music for Dance Program.

For more information on the performance, call Kitty Juttner at (732) 563-4117 or Eva Lucena at (732) 255-4071, e-mail at alboradadance@aol.com, or log on to www.alboradadance.org.

The mission of the nonprofit Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre (Eva Lucena, executive and artistic director) is the cultivation and preservation of dances and music from Spain.