''The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale'' is a Canadian animated television film, which aired on CBC Television in 2015."‘The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale’ Premieres December 14"
''

Animation World Network Animation World Network (often just "AWN") is an online publishing group that specializes in resources for animators, with an extensive website offering news, articles and links for professional animators and animation fans. Specifically, AWN co ...

'', December 2, 2015. Based on the autobiographical short story "The Curse of Clara, or My Big Fat Disappointment" by Vickie Fagan, the film centres on her experience as a young girl studying

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

Canada's National Ballet School Canada's National Ballet School, also commonly known as the National Ballet School of Canada, is a classical ballet school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Along with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, it is a provider of professional ballet t ...

who is cast in the role of Clara in the school's annual production of ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchai ...

'', only to learn of the longstanding legend that the role is cursed because nobody who played Clara as a student has ever gone on to play the starring role of the Sugar Plum Fairy as a professional adult dancer."The Curse of Clara and her sugar-plum dreams: Knelman"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', December 23, 2015. Her only guide through her fears and worries is her crush on hockey star

Phil Esposito Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in ...

, whom she regularly imagines coaching and guiding her dancing. The film premiered on December 14, 2015 on CBC Television, before receiving a repeat airing on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

. At the

5th Canadian Screen Awards The 5th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 12, 2017, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2016. Nominations were announced on January 17, 2017. Awards in many of the technical catego ...

in 2016, the film won the award for Best Animated Program or Series."Canadian Screen Awards 2017: Baroness von Sketch Show, Orphan Black big winners"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

, March 8, 2017.

Cast

Saara Chaudry Saara Chaudry (born June 7, 2004) is a Canadian actress. She is most noted for her performances in '' The Breadwinner'', for which she won an ACTRA Award for Best Voice Performance

as Victoria "Vickie" Fagan of Niagara Falls *Chloe Gillard as Peter *Zoe Fraser as Bella *

Sara Botsford Sara Botsford (born August 4, 1951) is a Canadian television and film actress. She starred in the CTV drama series '' E.N.G.'' (1989-1994) for which received Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role. Career S ...

as the ballet mistress *

Sheila McCarthy Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an A ...

as the narrator *

as himself *

Karen Kain Karen Alexandria Kain (born March 28, 1951) is a Canadian former ballet dancer, and was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 2005 - 2021. Early training and childhood Kain's mother enrolled her daughter in ballet training ...

as herself * Bob Cole as himself

References

External links

* 2015 television films 2015 films Canadian animated television films Canadian Screen Award-winning films CBC Television original films Films based on The Nutcracker and the Mouse King 2010s Canadian animated films {{2010s-Canada-film-stub