ATLANTA BALLET TO TAKE STAGE                                                                                                           
AT WCU 'S NEW ARTS CENTER NOV. 11

Atlanta Ballet members perform

CULLOWHEE – The inaugural season at Western Carolina University's Fine and Performing Arts Center will continue Friday, Nov. 11, as the internationally acclaimed Atlanta Ballet presents selections from “The Nutcracker” and other works.

The performance, part of the center's 2005-06 Subscription Series, will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Founded in 1929, the Atlanta Ballet is the longest continuously running ballet company in the United States. The company is no stranger to Western Carolina, having held an annual dance camp for the Southeast's top dance students for the past several summers on the Cullowhee campus.

“The Atlanta Ballet consistently manages to incorporate more artistic variety and local talent into its performances than any ensemble in the Southeast,” said Paul Lormand, performance director for the Fine and Performing Arts Center. “This show will provide a preview of the festive holiday season with selections from ‘The Nutcracker' as well as other works, all packed with dazzling visual imagery and glorious music.”

Individual show tickets are available. Ticket prices are $20 for adults; $17 for senior citizens; $15 for Western faculty or staff; $9 for children age 3 to 17; $7 for non-WCU college students; and $5 for Western students. Group rates are available.

The performance is sponsored in part by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and by Harrah's Cherokee Casino and Hotel.

Also on the Subscription Series:

Thursday, Dec. 1 – “Riders in the Sky: A Holiday Spectacular,” Grammy Award-winning music of the American West, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 2 – “An Evening with Groucho,” with Frank Ferrante as Groucho Marx, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 12 – The Von Trapp Children, featuring descendants of the famous singing family from “The Sound of Music,” 3 p.m.

Thursday, March 2 – Illusionist/Extraordinist Craig Karges, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, March 31 – “The Piano Men,” the music of Billy Joel and Elton John, by Jim Witter, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 30 – Luma, a techno-circus that uses the dark as a canvas and light as the brush to paint a story of how light occurs to humanity, 3 p.m.

In addition to the shows planned for the 1,000-seat performance hall, the center also includes a Fine Art Museum, which is showcasing its inaugural exhibitions, with about 100 new acquisitions and recent major gifts to Western's growing university art collection. The exhibitions continue through Dec 16.

For more information about performances, call the box office at (828) 227-2479. For more information about exhibits, call the gallery office at (828) 227-3591. For more information about the Fine and Performing Arts Center, visit the Web site at http://fapac.wcu.edu/ .