Holocaust Survivors Speak at Nashville Ballet

Two Holocaust survivors, both members of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, will speak about their personal experiences during the Holocaust to dancers and staff members of Nashville Ballet:

Born in Ukmerge, Lithuania, Arthur Pais was forced to live in the Kovno ghetto after his town was destroyed. His entire family was loaded onto a train, where they were transported to concentration camps. His mother and sister were sent to Stutthof in Poland and he was sent to Dachau in Germany with his brother and father. After surviving the concentration camp and an American transport to Munich, he eventually moved to Knoxville, Tenn., where he lives now.

Frances Cutler now lives in Nashville, but was born in Paris during the German invasion of France. Fearing for her safety, her parents brought her to a Catholic children's home. There, her mother visited her until she was deported to Auschwitz in 1942, where she died. Cutler was a "hidden child," living with foster families until moving to America in 1948 to live with an aunt and uncle.

When: Thursday and Friday, Jan. 6 and 7
Noon to 2 p.m.
Pais will speak at Nashville Ballet on Thursday, Jan. 6.
Cutler will speak at Nashville Ballet on Friday, Jan. 7.

Where: The Martin Center for Nashville Ballet
3630 Redmon Street
Nashville, Tenn.

Who: Staff members and dancers at Nashville Ballet will be in attendance.
All members of the media are invited to attend.

Why: The partnership between Nashville Ballet and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission furthers the Commission's goal to remind citizens that prejudice, hatred and violence, as manifested in the Holocaust and other genocides, leads to the destruction of a humane society.

Nashville Ballet forged a relationship with the Tennessee Holocaust Commission and Belmont University, to create a new ballet for adolescent, teen and adult audiences inspired by the historic book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.

Anne Frank premiered in November, 2010. As part of Nashville Ballet's Outreach and Community Engagement initiative, Anne Frank is available to schools and community groups across Tennessee. Host schools and organizations can request that a Holocaust survivor in connection with the Tennessee Holocaust Commission speak to students and audience members in conjunction with an Anne Frank performance.

Nashville Ballet also provides a study guide to further assist educators in discussing this historical event with their students. Anne Frank begins touring to schools and community groups in January 2011.