Our Live Orchestra
Where movement and music meet.
Ballet and classical music have always been deeply connected. For decades, Lake Erie Ballet Company has brought dancers and musicians together to create a richer live performance experience. Our orchestra is an important part of Erie’s Nutcracker, bringing Tchaikovsky’s iconic score to life from the orchestra pit of the Warner Theatre.
Today, it is increasingly uncommon for ballet productions to be able to present performances with a full live orchestra. The cost and coordination required make it a significant undertaking, which makes this tradition especially meaningful to us. When the curtain rises, the dancers are not simply moving to music. They are performing with it.
The Art of Live Performance
The conductor responds to the stage, the musicians respond to the conductor, and the dancers listen and move with the music as it unfolds in real time. That relationship creates a living conversation between the dancers and the orchestra, making each performance unique.
Tchaikovsky and The Nutcracker
The music does more than accompany the choreography. It helps shape the emotion, character, and atmosphere of every scene. For many audience members, hearing this familiar score performed live is part of what makes the experience so memorable.
Supporting Erie's Performing Arts Community
A live orchestra creates an energy that cannot be duplicated by a recording.
Our musicians are an important part of the production and of Erie’s broader arts community. Presenting ballet with a live orchestra brings together dancers, musicians, choreographers, teachers, technicians, families, and audiences in one shared artistic experience. It also gives young dancers the valuable opportunity to learn how to respond to live phrasing, tempo, and musical dynamics.
A Tradition Worth Experiencing
Keep Live Music Alive- Fund the Orchestra for LEBC
For generations of Erie families, the sound of the orchestra tuning below the stage has been part of the anticipation of The Nutcracker.
The theater darkens.
The conductor raises the baton.
The first notes begin.
And music and movement come together in the way ballet was meant to be experienced.
Presenting ballet with a live orchestra brings together dancers, musicians, choreographers, teachers, technicians, families, and audiences in one shared artistic experience. It also gives young dancers the valuable opportunity to learn how to respond to live phrasing, tempo, and musical dynamics.
Funding a Live orchestra is no easy feat. Today, many ballet companies across the US are facing economic hardships and have had to end collaboartions with their local orchestras. Lake Eire Ballet Company knows this struggle first hand.
Without the support of our donors, our live orchestra cannot exist for Erie's Nutcracker
We ask that music-lovers, Nutcracker-lovers, and Ballet lovers all come together to donate and fund directly to our Live Orchestra Pledge
Thank You To Our Donors For Supporting Our Live Orchestra:
