(November 21, 2015 – Toronto, Ontario) – Inspired by the autobiographical short story “The Curse of Clara or My Big Fat Disappointment” by Vickie Fagan (pictured below), Smiley Guy Studios has announced that their new, original animated special The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale will be broadcast on CBC-TV as part of their 2015 holiday programming lineup.
In the story, a young dancer’s dreams come true when ballet, hockey and the holidays converge. Vickie, a small-town girl, is accepted into the prestigious National Ballet School in Toronto, and lands the
coveted role of Clara in the Company’s annual production of The Nutcracker. Things look like they couldn’t get any better. And they can’t, because that’s when Vickie finds out about the mysterious “Curse of Clara”. According to local legend, the young girls that star in the production almost never go on to become professional ballet dancers. Thankfully, she has a good friend, the 1972 Canada-USSR Summit Series, and imaginary mentor Phil Esposito to keep her “on pointe”.
The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale features the voices of Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Phil Esposito and Bob Cole (Hockey Night in Canada) and National Ballet of Canada Prima Ballerina Karen Kain as themselves with Sheila McCarthy (Little Mosque on the Prairie, Emily of New Moon) as the narrator, Sara Botsford (E.N.G., Legal Eagles, Still of the Night) as the ballet mistress and Saara Chaudry (Max and Shred, Degrassi) in the roles of Vickie and Clara.
The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale premieres December 14 at 7 p.m. ET/PT (7:30 p.m. NT) and rebroadcasts on Christmas Day, December 25 at 5:30 p.m. ET/PT (6 p.m. NT) on CBC-TV.
