Dance of the Sugar Plum Celebrity

Ballet Austin's casting call for the larger-than-life role of Mother Ginger inThe Nutcracker ends tonight at midnight

Do you happen to know of a hardworking community leader who would want nothing more than to make a special on-stage appearance in one of the most famous ballets of all time? If that’s the case, then Ballet Austin has the perfect way for you to honor a local citizen during this season’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and the deadline is today.

This year’s 49th Annual Production of the traditional holiday ballet follows Ballet Austin’s long-held tradition of having the role of Mother Ginger performed by local Austin celebrities. Past cameos have been made by the late Governor Ann Richards, Lance Armstrong, Robert Rodriquez and Mayor Lee Leffingwell.

Now someone you know will have the chance to become a ballet celebrity for one night. Ballet Austin is currently accepting nominations for anyone that local citizens feel has been an influential and generous community leader. Simply fill out a short nomination form giving a name, photo and description of what makes your nominee so exceptional. The nomination period will be over soon, at midnight tonight (Wednesday, November 2).

After nominations have been accepted and processed, they will be posted online for a citywide poll for the rest of local Austinites and judge for themselves who best deserves the role. Voting will end on November 22 and the winner will be announced on December 1. The finalist must be available to perform at the 7:30 p.m. performance of the ballet on December 22 or they will be passed over for the next finalist.

For anyone who thinks they need to begin stretching and practicing their pirouette and plié, you can relax. The role of Mother Ginger is about as simple as you can get in the world of ballet. The matronly character is simply a performer who stands on top of a 4-foot-tall structure designed like a billowy dress, while wearing heavy makeup and an elaborate headdress. Mother Ginger is then simply wheeled out on stage where her Punchinello-inspired Bon-Bon children dance out from under her dress. The entire role lasts for a grand total of three minutes.

But wait, there’s more! The finalist for the role will also receive eight box seat tickets for the night of the performance to give out to friends and family, access to their own VIP dressing room and commemorative photographs and video of their bravura performance.

So whether you want to nominate yourself, your boss, or your favorite CultureMap contributor, time is running out to let Ballet Austin know that they would be the perfect person to fill the iconic role of Mother Ginger. And if you come up short during the voting period, still consider seeing this one-of-a-kind production of a Christmas classic during the month of December.

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Historic Austin museum will close for more than a year for restoration

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin

The Elisabet Ney Museum will close at the end of 2024 and reopen in mid-2026.

Every building needs some maintenance here or there, and the historic Elisabet Ney Museum needs some extra-special care. Formerly the art studio and residence of its namesake, it's been standing since 1892. It'll spend 2025 in relative solitude, as it undergoes renovation for a year and a half with no visitors allowed.

The museum will close to the public December 30, 2024, and open again in the summer of 2026 if all goes according to plan, a news release from the City of Austin shares. It'll be a quiet period compared to the 21,000 people visiting from around the world each year.

According to a museum overview on the city's website, Elisabet Ney, a European portrait sculptor, bought the property and called her new studio Formosa. She worked on sculptures depicting important Texans like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, and collected works of European contemporaries.

The building at 304 East 44th St. includes 3,700 square feet of museum space, which was converted by Ney's friends after her death in 1907. It retains its unique look that juxtaposes a Neo-Classical main studio from 1892 with a later addition from 1902 including a tower for her husband, Edmund, to write in. It is also on 2.5 acres of land, which has largely been restored to its natural state with native species.

A press release lists these tasks (verbatim) within the scope of the new work, referred to as the Capital Improvement Project (CIP):

Restoration of original exterior wood doors and windows
Upgrades and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system
Replacement of the exhibit and general lighting systems
Repairs to the roof, masonry, plumbing, and interior finishes.

There will also be work to do outside of the building. Workers will replace the pedestrian bridge across Waller Creek, stabilize a 20,000-square-foot portion of the bank, and make the grounds more accessible by adding new pathways.

Funding comes from several sources, according to a release: "the 2012 Bond, Proposition 14, the Parkland Dedication Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, Partners in Preservation through the National Trust, and contributions from the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum."

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