‘THE NUTCRACKER’S’ POPULARITY DOING A SWAN DIVE?

‘THE NUTCRACKER’S’ POPULARITY DOING A SWAN DIVE?



MINNEAPOLIS (Wireless Flash) – Could a decline in ticket sales over recent years be the swan song for the Nutcracker Suite? Experts will be tracking this year’s attendance of the ballet to see if the slump in sales over the past few years continues this year too. John Munger, director of research for Dance/USA, has studied the trend for the past decade and says the Nutcracker peaked in popularity in 1993 with an average of 115,000 people attending each ballet company’s yearly run. However, last year, only 81,000 people per company were still sweet on the Nutcracker. Munger says it’s too early to predict if things will turn around this season because it could go either way. He says many people are leery about spending money during a recession, but on the other hand, the September terrorist attacks have created a hunger for community events.

Mon 12-10-01