New Ballet Ensemble’s NutRemix returns to the stage this weekend, bringing its take on Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. With a story set on Beale Street, this performance, presented by Nike, blends ballet, hip-hop, flamenco, Memphis jookin, and West African dance. For it, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Big Band puts a fresh spin on the original score, mixing in Duke Ellington’s and Booker T. and the M.G.’s classics. Since its conception in 2002, the show has become a beloved tradition for Memphis, but this year a newcomer — Larray Curry — will take to the stage as the Memphis Angel.
For those not familiar with The Nutcracker, the Memphis Angel is a character unique to NutRemix and a role originated by the famous street dancer, Memphis’ Lil Buck. “I’m filling some big shoes in a way,” Curry says of Buck, once his mentor. “Buck is very artistic, and we kind of come from the same background. To be able to portray his artistry that he set the bar for, it’s a blessing.”
Yet even with such a high bar, Curry’s confident about taking on the role. After all, he’s been dancing since he was 13 years old, when he first saw his cousin imitate Michael Jackson’s signature moonwalk. “I’m originally from Gary, Indiana, which is the same place where Michael Jackson was from,” Curry says. “My grandma’s house is right next to Michael Jackson’s childhood home. … I fell in love with how Michael Jackson moved, and then it led me to watching other dancers. Once I moved to Memphis, I got brought into the jookin world, and then I started to meet people like Lil Buck and Ladia Yates and a lot of the Memphis street dancers.”
Eventually, he joined the L.Y.E. Academy, a competitive dance team; worked with rappers like NLE Choppa and Lil Baby; and later toured with Lil Buck’s Memphis Jookin: The Show, Powered by Nike. “That opportunity led me here at New Ballet,” he says.
His NutRemix role is “like the narrator in the show,” he says. “The Angel is a person who brings peace to the chaos, and I’ve had the opportunity to choreograph pieces in the show, to be able to give the story a new interpretation.”
The role is also a chance for Curry to elevate the status of jookin to the other dance forms featured in the show, and to be an example for younger audience members, like his students who take his hip-hop and jookin classes at New Ballet. “Being able to teach and inspire and motivate as a positive figure, it brings me so much fulfillment,” he says. “I really enjoy serving the youth and showing them the ropes, opening their minds. Once I started to dance, it really opened me up, and my confidence began to skyrocket.”
In the meantime, Curry looks forward to seeing the NutRemix come together as student dancers perform alongside professionals. “We work so hard,” he says, “morning to night, seven days a week. I’m very excited to show the new interpretation of the Memphis Angel, too.”
