Archie the dog to retire from Festival Ballet after his 19th season

November 20, 2018 7:31 pm

By Liz Tufts

Email: ltufts@abc6.com

Twitter: @LTuftsABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – He’s been a fixture in festival ballet’s production of The Nutcracker for the past 18 seasons, appearing in more than 125 performances.

Since he was only 5 months old, Archie has been prancing across the stage, getting quite the reaction from the audience—a role his fellow dancers say he’s taken very seriously.

“He’s quite the diva, he has a star quality that I can’t really put into words”, said Festival Ballet Dancer Kristen Evans, who started on stage with Archie almost 18 years ago.

“He’s the first person you see when the curtain goes up for the nutcracker”, she said. “You can hear the audience whisper and he sets the tone for the whole evening.”

But sadly, Archie’s age is catching up to him, and after this season, he will be retiring.

“Lately he’s been pretty slow and not energetic or eager”, said artistic director Misha Djuric.

Next month will be Archie’s last performance with festival ballet, but the company wants to continue the tradition.

Festival Ballet will be hosting a dog audition in December in hopes of finding the perfect replacement, and the criteria are pretty simple.

“A good smile is always key”, Evans said. “A nice prance would be great, just energy.”

However, Archie doesn’t plan on missing out on the holiday tradition once he retires. Instead of being the star on stage, he’ll be a familiar face in the audience.

“He’s done so much already in his big career”, said Evans. “We are excited for him to go off into his retirement and enjoy his well-deserved naps and treats.”

The audition will be held at Festival Ballet Providence on Hope Street, Sunday, December 2nd from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.