Manhattan Youth Ballet and Manhattan Movement & Arts Center announce Auditions for The Knickerbocker Suite on Saturday, September 20, 2014 at the Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, 248 West 60th Street, NYC (between Amsterdam and West End Avenues) in the Lincoln Center area.  Registration opens at 4pm, with auditions at 4:30pm (7-9 years), 5:15pm (10-13 years), and 6pm (14 years and up). Audition fee is $20, payable by cash, check or credit card.  If selected, there is no participation fee, only a costume fee of $50.

The Knickerbocker Suite will be performed from December 12-14 and December 19-21, 2014 at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center. The Knickerbocker Suite features New York City landmarks, such as The Statue of Liberty, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and NY sports teams, weaved into the time-honored holiday tale of The Nutcracker. Classic Nutcracker scenes like "The Land of the Snow" are transformed into a snowy frenzy of shoppers dancing in and out of stores like Macy's and Bloomingdale's for last minute gifts. Perhaps one of the more well-known scenes, "Mother Ginger and her Polichinelles," will be played by the Statue of Liberty and dancing immigrants who just arrived from Ellis Island.

With scenes of shoppers on Fifth Avenue, the angels at Rockefeller Center, the Statue of Liberty, NY sports teams and the romance of Central Park in the winter, The Knickerbocker Suite is a celebration of New York City, its culture and the magic of the holiday season. The production features the choreography of Deborah Wingert, Daniel Ulbricht, Brian Reeder, Marina Stavitskaya and Natalia Boesch with a story by Rose Caiola and Elliott Arkin, as well as a photo project by acclaimed photographer, Erin Baiano and illustrations by artist Katy DeHay.

For more information about The Knickerbocker Suite, visit www.manhattanyouthballet.org.