Ballet Honors Dancer With ‘Nutcracker’ Performance  Shelby Mertens / Staff Writer  8 hrs ago Last December, tragedy struck on the night of the Rockingham Ballet Theatre’s dress rehearsal of “The Nutcracker.” They had learned that one of their former dancers died at 21 years old, years after receiving a double lung transplant. A year later, the Bridgewater-based ballet company will honor her memory ahead of a performance of “The Nutcracker.” Madison Shinaberry joined the Rockingham Ballet Theatre when she was 9 years old and was invited to dance with the American Ballet Theater in New York City. She was diagnosed with a rare disease that causes increased blood pressure in the arteries that supply the lungs, and received a double lung transplant in January 2009, according to a Dec. 19, 2016, article in the Daily News-Record. The Turner Ashby High School grad went on to attend Washington and Lee University, studied abroad in Europe, interned on Capitol Hill and was a finalist in the 2014 Miss Virginia beauty pageant. She also became a strong advocate for organ donation — all on top of being a talented dancer. Before “The Nutcracker” begins on Sunday, Dec. 17, Elizabeth Shinaberry’s parents, Curtis and Ellen, will present one of her tutus that she wore and made herself to be displayed at the Rockingham Ballet. They will also officially announce a scholarship in her name to cover a Rockingham Ballet dancer’s summer study. “She was very, very determined and a lovely dancer, and very dear to all of us,” said Susan Muterspaugh, artistic director of the Rockingham Ballet Theatre. “We’re very lucky that her parents want to support us in this way and we’re very grateful to be able to receive that support to remember her.” Muterspaugh said her parents will also fund a new set for the ballet next year. Performances of “The Nutcracker” will run on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 17, at 3 p.m. at Bridgewater College’s Cole Hall. This will be the 23rd year of Rockingham Ballet Theatre and its annual production of “The Nutcracker.” “The Nutcracker” today is one of the most widely known ballets, performed across the world during the holiday season. The ballet was adapted from German author E. T. A. Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by Russian composer Pyotr IIyich Tchaikovsky and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in 1892. The ballet tells the story of a young girl named Clara and her beloved Christmas toy, a nutcracker, who comes to life and defeats his enemy, the Mouse King, which returns him to his human form. Kelly Zhang and Theron Smith will be playing the lead roles of Clara and the Nutcracker, respectively. The performance will feature guest artists Joseph Gordon and Lauren King from the New York City Ballet, as well as performers from James Madison University and Bridgewater College. The cast of 40 is made of up dancers as young as 5 and as old as 80, Muterspaugh said. The Rockingham Ballet will be performing the George Balanchine version of “The Nutcracker.” “Everybody’s ‘Nutcracker’ is slightly different. We have our traditions that don’t necessarily translate to somebody’s else production, but a lot of it is very similar. Of course we use Tchaikovsky’s music, the ‘Nutcracker Suite,’” she said. “[We’ll] be doing the Balanchine version of the Grand pas de deux, which is a deviation from the real traditional Petipa choreography.” “The Nutcracker” features universal themes and human elements most can relate with, Muterspaugh said, as well as memorable music. “Also, there’s usually a lot of humor. It’s very colorful,” she said. “The music is catchy if you can say that about classical music. The music stays with you and there’s just a love for the story that people want to come back and see it again and again. They really associate it with the holiday season.” Seeing Rockingham Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” has become a tradition for some area families. Many former dancers and their families come back year after year to catch a performance, Muterspaugh said. “The Nutcracker” is one of two major performances each year for the ballet company, which also performs a ballet in the spring. This year, Rockingham Ballet started a new fundraising event in order to finance this year’s production of “The Nutcracker.” The Dancing Pig Valley’s Best BBQ and Beer Fest was held in September at Brothers Craft Brewing. The event will become annual due to its success. Ticket prices for “The Nutcracker” range from $12 to $22. Tickets can be purchased online. “Everybody puts in a lot of practice time. It’s a lot of work. Everybody has a long week leading up to it, but the people who do it love it,” Muterspaugh said.