Around 3,000 people enjoyed the ballet The Nutcracker, the unique presentation of Judy Russell and her organization and the PGSO. Well, you would know that of course, since the Citizen is one of the generous major sponsors of this miraculous event.
Once again it took place in Vanier Hall, a rapidly aging facility which was never built to house a huge production of this sort. It is surprising that the general public stays quiet about the depressing drafty entrance and the tedious corridor where they have to line up before the doors are opened; the hopelessly inadequate bathroom facilities; the weird seating and intolerable acoustics in the hall itself.
The Nutcracker is a fairy story and it is achieved apparently through magic, creating a beautiful illusion for those thousands of people in the audience. It is the huge community cultural event. There are many dozens of performers on the stage, from many ballet studios as well as Judy Russell's Enchainment Dance Studio; the Nova Voce singers, and the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, as well as dozens and dozens more volunteers helping to hide the reality of Vanier Hall.
Vanier Hall with its pit and changing facilities invented from thin air; its decaying electrical system; its inaccessible storage facilities. It is heartbreaking to realize that in another two years, the Nutcracker production will once again be taken for granted.
I suggest a New Years resolution for the Citizen and the other major sponsors of the Nutcracker - please take up the Performing Arts Centre as a cause again. It is desperately needed.
Carolyn McGhee,
Prince George
