Perhaps best known for its yearly Nutcracker in Savannah productions accompanied by a live orchestra, the troupe will cover an unusually large amount of ground for a year-end production.

 “I’m calling it a classical and jazz contemporary evening,” says Savannah Dansse Theatre Artistic Director Suzanne Braddy. “We’ll be opening with a pas de deux from Swan Lake. We’re also doing the third act of Coppelia. And we’ll have two guest artists for the evening, Serguei Chtyrkov and John Cronin. There will also be a couple of new pieces choreographed by Karen Burns.”

Not only will students of the Islands Dance Academy be performing; the school’s adult class, taught by Kathleen Collins, will also take its turn on the stage.

“We’re doing a piece I choreographed several months ago called ‘Variations on a String,’ referring to the strings of the violin, cello and double bass. It uses three very different pieces, performed by Bach, Yo Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Mark O’Connor, and also a piece by Alison Krauss,” Collins says.

“The first section is very contemporary and frenetic. The second section very lovely very lyrical and very melodic,” she says. “The third section is heavy in not just steps, but expression – it’s like the end of a harvest. There’s been a fabulous crop and this is the hoedown.”

Braddy, whose usual venue for Savannah Danse Theatre productions is the Lucas Theatre downtown, says while it’s unfortunate that a scheduling conflict kept her from her normal venue, the temporary move to AASU “will be a nice change. I’ll miss downtown, but I don’t know if anyone will miss downtown parking.” ƒç

Savannah Danse Theatre/Islands Dance Academy performs its Spring Showcase Tuesday, May 15, in the Fine Arts Auditorium of Armstrong Atlantic State University at 7:30 p.m. Tix are $12 adults, $10 seniors and $6 under 12 years. Call 897-2100.