But the Nutcracker to open in Skowhegan Thanksgiving weekend is Andrei Bossov's Nutcracker.

The Bossov Nutcracker in Skowhegan - Michael D. Wyly When the final act ends in the now famous Land of the Sweets, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker refrain accompanies ballerinas clad in black and yellow as honeybees, assuring us that there will be sweetness and honey forever — which, if you are a Russian, far, far North of where sugar cane grows, is a Christmas assurance that is comforting indeed.

Falling in Love Down at Swan Lake - Félicité de La Villejégu The great Tchaikovsky composed Swan Lake’s musical score, 1875-1876, for Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre. Austrian choreographer Julius Reisinger created the dance set to Tchaikovsky’s music and libretto and Bolshoi opened the new ballet, March 4th, 1877.

St. Petersburg 2011 - Alexandra Williams “...awakening in another world, then, finally performing on a stage where we stood together in front of strangers with whom we shared one love, ballet.” Read about Bossov's bi-annual trip to St. Petersburg through the eyes of a ballerina.

Bossov’s Nutcracker Meet the cast and learn the history behind Bossov Ballet Theatre’s 2010 performance of this holiday standard set to the timeless music of Tchaikovsky. Each year Andrei visits this traditional ballet and brings us something classic, yet new.

Bossov’s Sleeping Beauty - Meet the Cast Familiarize yourself with the faces and the stories of the talented performers in the 2010 Summer Intensive production of Tchaikovsky's masterpiece, The Sleeping Beauty, at Bossov Ballet Theatre.

Bossov’s Sleeping Beauty - Michael D. Wyly American’s think of Disney’s timeless animated film, first seen in 1959, when they hear “Sleeping Beauty”. Few realize that it was the Russian ballet set to the music of Russia’s foremost composer who inspired Disney, not the French fairy tale by the same name...

A Ballet Treat for Mom - Michael D. Wyly Mother’s Day Weekend at The Waterville Opera House, Andrei Bossov’s cast of forty talented and professionally trained dancers representing three different continents, and thirteen U. S. States from California to Maine, will present four performances of Andrei’s own Ballet “Alice in Wonderland”.

Why See Bossov’s Cinderella? - Michael D. Wyly The girls are beautiful, the men are strong, the dancing is spellbinding, the costumes are bright, and the music is powerful. This is not Walt Disney’s Cinderella for children. Yet children will love it. And so will their parents. So will a couple on a romantic date or a just for fun date.

2008 Ballet Great Teams With Maine Maestro - Michael D. Wyly We decided to begin by selecting our most dynamic and uplifting numbers that already existed in the repertoires of our two organizations. We picked composers who started something.

2007 Nutcracker - Michael D. Wyly It’s Nutcracker season again and the arts sections of New York Times, Wall Street Journal, L.A. Times – all the big ones – are already rife with reviews. Andrei Bossov will stage his own again this year at the Waterville Opera House and no one should doubt that it is a contender.

2006 The Red Shoes - Michael D. Wyly Andrei’s ballet captures the whole ballet culture. It carries the art-imitating-life in a way so moving it is impossible not to feel involved and to understand what it is to be impassioned with dance, this from beginning to end; but the final scene of the ballet is the most stunning. Also read review from Jim Kanak from the Seacoast Online.

2003 Nutcracker - Bangor Daily News "Andrei Bossov's adaptation of "The Nutcracker" this weekend was just right - sweet, spicy and altogether charming."

Cinderella - Bangor Daily News "One expects great choreography from Andrei Bossov. . . Bossov delivered that choreography, set to Prokofiev’s score, last weekend as the Bossov Ballet Theater presented three shows of “Cinderella” at the elegant Waterville Opera House."

Bolero, and Romeo & Juliet - Waterville "Waterville was treated to elegance and beauty as the Bossov Ballet Theatre performed a wonderful program at the Opera House on Saturday. Led by one of the world's most well-known artists, Andrei Petrovich Bossov, the company performed four pieces inspired by the music of Ravel and Tchaikovsky."

Morning Sentinel - 11/2011 "St. Petersburg ... the hometown of Bossov Ballet Theater dancer and artistic director, Andrei Bossov, who created an adaptation that is closer to the original Nutcracker than more modern versions seen in the United States," writes Doug Harlow in the November 24th edition of the Morning Sentinel.

Morning Sentinel - 10/2009 "Maybe you don't remember Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye, or, maybe, you never heard the tale of the kid from Waterville's North End, the one who gave up football to become a ballet dancer," begins Colin Hickey in the October 5th edition of the Morning Sentinel.

Morning Sentinel - 11/2008 "Gillian Bowen is looking forward to Friday, when her father embarks on his journey. But she's also 'a little nervous.' After all, it's not every day you get to watch your dad board a rocket and blast off into space," writes Scott Monroe in the November 1th edition of the Morning Sentinel (Page C1).

YouTube - 09/2008 Watch an introduction to Bossov Ballet Theatre on YouTube! Part 1 • Part 2

Bangor Daily News - 08/2008 "It's easy to tell when Bossov Ballet's summer students are in town" notes Sharon Kiley Mack in her article, Pittsfield Bossov Ballet grads to Perform 'Cinderella', in the Local News section of the August 1st edition of the Bangor Daily News (Page B2).

Dance Magazine - 01/2008 "There's an unlikely whiff of St. Petersburg, Russia, in the tiny town of Pittsfield, Maine," begins Lisa Rinehart in her article, A Jewel Glistens in Maine, part of the 2008 Summer Study Guide in the January 2008 edition of Dance Magazine (Page 128).

National Public Radio - 04/22/2007 "Pittsfield, Maine, is an unlikely place for world-class ballet, but then Col. Michael Wyly is not the guy you would expect to start a ballet company. The retired Marine commanding officer wanted to make his young daughter's dreams come true, so he lured retired Russian ballet star Andrei Bossov to rural Maine."

Christian Science Monitor - 03/08/2007 "A unique pas de deux: A Soviet ballet star and a medaled ex-marine run a very intense dance school in rural Maine."