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Nutcracker Ballet by
Westside Ballet, Los Angeles, CA
Santa Monica -- For 37 years (in 2009-2010 season),
audiences have thrilled to Westside Ballet's annual
lavish full-length production of "The Nutcracker,"
showcasing the most promising young dancers in Los
Angeles. It's the story of Clara, a girl who
receives a nutcracker for Christmas and is
transported to a magical world of Sugarplum Fairies
and villainous mice.
WESTSIDE BALLET
ANNOUNCES 2009 PERFORMANCES OF THE NUTCRACKER
A West Los Angeles Family Tradition Celebrates its
37th Year
Westside Ballet’s 2009
Nutcracker will be hosted in two locations. It will
first appear at the Smothers Theatre at Pepperdine
University on November 28 at 2:00 pm & 7:00 pm, and
November 29 at 1:30 pm & 5:30 pm. Location: 24255
Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA. Call 310-828-6211
for tickets or westsideballet.com.
Performances resume at the Wadsworth Theatre in
Brentwood/Los Angeles on December 12 at 2:00 pm &
7:00 pm, and December 13 at 1:00 pm & 5:00 pm.
Wadsworth Theater address: 11301 Wilshire Blvd,
Brentwood, CA 90073. Call Ticketmaster at
213-365-3500 or purchase through
ticketmaster.com. All tickets are $30.
Brought to life by falling snow and a Christmas tree
that grows, Westside Ballet's Nutcracker is not only
the longest running production in Los Angeles
history – it's the closest to George Balanchine's
original version in quality, integrity, and
musicality.
Special attention to costumes, choreography and
characters come from the input of an esteemed
faculty at Westside School of Ballet, located in
Santa Monica.
Overseeing the production as Artistic Director is
Yvonne Mounsey, founder of Westside Ballet and
former soloist and principal dancer with New York
City Ballet under George Balanchine. There she
created roles in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and La
Valse, Jerome Robbins’s The Cage, Fanfare, and The
Concert, and Frederick Ashton’s Picnic at Tintagel.
Westside Ballet draws its company from the
affiliated Westside Ballet School, customarily
considered the premier ballet school in Los Angeles.
Students have gone on to distinguished careers with
the country’s top ballet companies.
Past Nutcracker productions have included Monique
Meunier (New York City Ballet, American Ballet
Theater), Anna Liceica (American Ballet Theater),
Martine Harley (Houston Ballet), Melissa Barak (New
York City Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Morphoses, the
Wheeldon Company), Andrew Veyette (New York City
Ballet), Frances Veyette (Pennsylvania Ballet),
Kylee Kitchens (Pacific Northwest Ballet), Sarah
Poss (Dutch National Ballet) and many more.
This year’s Nutcracker features Westside Ballet
alumna Kate Oderkirk, now with Tulsa Ballet, who
will return as the Sugar Plum Fairy for two
performances at Pepperdine University. Oderkirk
trained with Westside Ballet until she was 16, and
performed previously with the San Francisco Ballet.
About Westside Ballet Company - Westside Ballet
Company, a nonprofit organization, is one of the
nation's premier ballet training companies. This
pre-professional company was created by Yvonne
Mounsey and Rosemary Valaire in 1970.
The company provides the promising young dancers of
the Westside School of Ballet the performance
opportunities that are so vital to their growth —
and makes dance more accessible to local children
and families. Based in Santa Monica, California,
Westside Ballet Company now comprises approximately
100 dancers, ages 8 to 18. westsideballet.com
2008 Information:
Westside Ballet's 36th Annual
production of The Nutcracker Ballet showcases the most promising
young dancers in Los Angeles and throughout the U.S. Westside School
of Ballet was was honored as the best ballet school in Los Angeles,
with many of its graduates entering professional companies.
As a special engagement, the 2008
cast was invited to perform excerpts of the Nutcracker with the Los
Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Concert Hall. Past productions have included
Monique Meunier (New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater),
Anna Liceica (American Ballet Theater), Martine Harley (Houston
Ballet), Melissa Barak (New York City Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet),
Andrew Veyette (New York City Ballet) and many more. Special attention to costumes,
choreography and characters come from the input of an esteemed
faculty at Westside School of Ballet, located in Santa Monica. One
such member who works as artistic director for the Nutcracker
production is Yvonne Mounsey. During her distinguished career as a
performer, she joined New York City Ballet as a principal dancer for
George Balanchine. It was there that Mounsey created the role of
Center Spanish in Balanchine's original production of The
Nutcracker. You'll notice the incredible attention to detail in the
Westside Ballet Nutcracker, and like so many who have seen this
beloved annual event in years past, you may notice that the longest
running production in Los Angeles history is the closest to George
Balanchine's original version in quality, integrity, and musicality.
Based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s, "The Nutcracker and the King of Mice”,
not only is the Westside Ballet Nutcracker one of the longest
running productions in Los Angeles history, it also is one of the
most popular. If you have to select just one Nutcracker ballet to
see this year, Westside Ballet production will be among the best.
westsideballet.com.
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