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McFall’s Nutcracker charms Fox Theatre for final time

Published

9 years ago

January 1, 2018

We Speak Media

One of the opening scenes in the Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker, where Marya's family prepares to open Christmas gifts.

The world looked a lot different in 1995, and so did Atlanta.

The Braves were crowned World Series champions, and were still making homeruns out of Turner Field. The city doubled as a construction site, as Atlanta geared up for its debut on the world stage for the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Meanwhile, the Fox Theatre was preparing for a nerve-wracking debut of its own: a brand new version of the classic Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker. The show had been a personal gift to the city in 1959, given to the Atlanta Ballet by the New York Ballet co-founder himself, George Balanchine.

This prestigious history loomed over John McFall, the Atlanta Ballet artistic director who dared to adapt the iconic play in 1995. Tensions and expectations ran high, but McFall’s version quickly became a holiday season fixture at the Fox Theatre.

So, as the Fox drew the curtain on McFall’s Nutcracker for the final time this past Thursday, there was not an empty seat in the house. For one more afternoon, men, women, and children alike were whisked away to an enchanted land where toys come alive and nutcracker princes save the day.

The Atlanta Ballet was as graceful as ever, leaping and pirouetting across the stage with the ease of veteran dancers in a seasoned company. Airi Igarashi was enchanting in the lead role of Marya; a dainty ballerina plucked right out of a toy music box, with the likeness of a Disney princess.

Per usual, McFall’s rendition delivered on its diverse choreography styles, and hit every step perfectly. Mikaela Santos and Alexandre Barros captivated the crowd with awing stunts and impossible lifts for the Spanish dance, while Monika Haczkiewicz and Keith Reeves were equally as stunning for the Arabian portion.

The lush harmonies of the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and Georgia Youth Choir were star cast members themselves, and added to the overall magical atmosphere. The elaborate costumes and intricate set design, complete with a 38-foot tree and 20 pounds of snow, completed the fairytale feel in the air.

Two decades and hundreds of shows later, the cast took its final bow to thunderous applause and a standing ovation. In 2018, Atlantans can enjoy a fresh faced version choreographed by Yuri Possokhov, but I have no doubt that The Nutcracker will cast the same enchanting spell it always has.

For as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

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Justice Score Grand Theft Auto VI: Original Score Album Arrives December 11, With New Single “Pusher” Featuring Gesaffelstein

Published

2 days ago

November 13, 2026

We Speak Media

Justice performing live in 2018, one member in a blue jacket leaning over the duo's stage rig in stage haze while the other plays at a keyboard to the left, their illuminated cross behind them.

Grand Theft Auto VI now has its sound. Rockstar Games and Justice have announced the game’s official score album, a 30-track, three-hour suite the French duo built to react to the world of Leonida as players move through it, landing December 11 with new single “Pusher” giving a first taste of its instrumental side.

Rockstar Games and GRAMMY-winning French electronic duo Justice have announced the official release and launched pre-orders for the Grand Theft Auto VI: Original Score, out on December 11 via Because Music, Ed Banger, and Rockstar Games.

The Grand Theft Auto VI: Original Score 2xCD and 3xLP – available in a limited crystal clear edition as well as standard black – features 30 tracks and a number of bonus digital tracks comprising a 3 hour-long suite of material from the game. All versions can be pre-ordered/pre-saved here.

Hand-selected for the assignment, Justice (Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay) worked in close collaboration with the team at Rockstar Games to match the thematic beats of the gameplay experience, fine tuning their signature sound to align with the immersive world of Grand Theft Auto VI and the story of Jason and Lucia. As a result, the band’s score is dynamically tuned to game events as they unfold, constantly reacting in response to the different ways players engage with the people and places across Leonida.

“The scope of the game is so large geographically and thematically that it was clear from the beginning the music would also have to be very broad in terms of emotions, genres, and textures” states de Rosnay. “We were given the freedom to explore as many things as we needed to, musically speaking.”

The duo previewed the score via their massive hit “Flower In a Hurricane (ft. Tame Impala, SZA, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard),” which marked Justice’s first non-feature song to hit the Billboard Hot 100 at #62 and debuted at #34 on the US Alternative Radio chart. Today they share another taste of the album with “Pusher,” a preview of the instrumental side of the score featuring their first-ever collaboration with fellow French electronic music pioneer Gesaffelstein. Listen here.

Justice emerged nearly 20 years ago under the iconic Parisian labels Ed Banger Records and Because Music with the groundbreaking single “Waters of Nazareth,” gaining acclaim following their influential debut album featuring the global hit “D.A.N.C.E.” The score represents the next major step for Justice following the massive Hyperdrama campaign, which kicked off with a stage-closing set at Coachella and concluded with a massive arena tour of the US, with a stop along the way to win a Grammy for Best Electronic Recording.

Justice will appear for a DJ set at Simifest in Mexico City on December 5, find tickets here.

Pre-order / Pre-save Grand Theft Auto VI: Original Score: justice.lnk.to/gtaoriginalscore
Stream “Pusher” ft. Gesaffelstein: justice.lnk.to/Pusher
Stream “Flower In a Hurricane” ft. SZA, Tame Impala, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: justice.lnk.to/flowerinahurricane

About Justice

Justice emerged from Paris in the mid-2000s. As the flagship act of Ed Banger Records, they brought a switch-blade edge to the city’s dance music scene. The duo—Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay—gained global acclaim with hits like “D.A.N.C.E.” and multiple Grammy wins, influencing countless artists while staying true to their experimental roots. Their fourth album, Hyperdrama, stands as an ambitious fusion of French touch, space jazz, and hardcore techno, featuring Tame Impala on the Grammy-winning single “Neverender” and Miguel. Following the release of Hyperdrama, Justice launched a massive world tour spanning over 100 dates, anchored by headline performances at major festivals including Coachella, Glastonbury, and Primavera Sound.

About Rockstar Games

Founded by Sam Houser in 1998, Rockstar Games pioneered the open-world genre of video games with the launch of Grand Theft Auto III in 2001. The series’ most recent iteration, Grand Theft Auto V, has sold-in over 230 million units alone. Alongside the other blockbuster entries in the series including Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto has become one of the biggest-selling and most critically acclaimed and influential properties in modern entertainment, selling nearly 475 million units. Rockstar Games’ blockbuster Western series, Red Dead Redemption has sold-in nearly 116 million units worldwide to date, with its most recent release, Red Dead Redemption 2, breaking new ground in fidelity and immersion. The next Rockstar Games release is Grand Theft Auto VI.

About Grand Theft Auto VI

Vice City, USA. Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive. Grand Theft Auto VI arrives November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Pre-orders are available now.