The Akron Nutcracker

Did you Know?

Dance Institute at The University of Akron

Dance Institute at The University of Akron offers recreational and pre-professional programs for students ages 7 through high school. Founded in 1967, Dance Institute is nationally recognized for its curriculum which prepares students for careers in concert dance performance and dance education. Directed for 28 years by Gena Carroll and for 14 years by her daughter, Lana Carroll Heylock, Dance Institute established a heralded reputation for training and performance excellence. Dance Institute’s training emphasizes the artistic development, technical proficiency, and positive dance experience of each student, and the physical, educational and creative value of dance training.

The University of Akron

The University of Akron was built on a hilltop in Akron — a word meaning “the highest point.” For the past 150 years, that’s where the university has set its sights, rising from one peak to another in engineering, business, technology, health care, and the arts and sciences.

Verb Ballets

One of Northeast Ohio’s oldest and most respected dance companies, Verb Ballets has gained a reputation for artistic excellence and exemplary community engagement since 1987. Under the leadership of Dr. Margaret Carlson, former principal dancer for Cleveland Ballet, and Richard Dickinson, MFA, former Ohio Ballet dancer, the company is committed to the creation and mounting of dance works of the highest caliber. The company strives to act as a catalyst to promote learning, nurture wellness, and encourage dialogue about the dance art form. As a contemporary ballet company, the dancers combine classical ballet training with strong artistry. Internationally acclaimed, the company has toured Cuba and Taiwan.

ArtSparks

Founded on the belief that the arts play a vital role in fostering the creativity and self-confidence necessary to become a productive citizen, ArtSparks classrooms encourage children to develop discipline, a standard of excellence, and a belief in themselves that carries over into all aspects of their lives. Through in-school partnerships, residencies, workshops, and public performances, ArtSparks brings joyful dance and music programming to students with exceptionalities and to students who may not have the opportunity to experience the art of dance.

Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens

In 1910, F.A. Seiberling, co-founder of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, began to purchase land in Portage Township, a farming area on the west side of the Akron city limits. Seiberling and his wife, Gertrude, wanted to build a home large enough for their growing brood and their extended family. They also wanted the house to function as a center for entertainment and events for the greater Akron community. They named it Stan Hywet, Old English for stone quarry — after the property’s most prominent natural feature. After the death of F.A. Seiberling in 1955, Stan Hywet became a non-profit historic house museum, opening for tours so that the public could benefit from the cultural, educational, and inspirational riches of one of the most significant achievements in architecture and horticulture to come out of America’s Industrial Age.