New West Ballet
in association with Norris Performing Arts Center
Presents..
Mark Erickson’s
The Nutcracker
A Christmas Celebration
The Story of Mark Erickson’s The Nutcracker
A Christmas Celebration
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The Nutcracker, originated in 1892 as a two-act classical ballet. The original plot is an adaptation of E. T. A. Hoffman’s 1816 short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.
Choreographed by: Mark Erickson with restaging of traditional pieces by Coral M. Bruni, Ph.D., New West Ballet. The ballet's first choreographer was Marius Petipa.
Additional Choreography and Restaging by: Eugenia Keefer, New West Ballet, Kellie Foy, San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy, and Laurel Stevens, New West Ballet
Music by: Pyotr Tchaikovsky Op. 71a with inserts from Igor Stravinsky
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In Mark Erickson’s adaptation of The Nutcracker, the entire first act entails the family preparation for and holiday party. The story starts with the Stahlbaum family visiting Herr Drosselmeyer (Clara-Marie’s godfather and a mysterious and evil toy maker) to arrange for Drosselmeyer to bring dolls to the party as entertainment for the guests. Clara-Marie is enthralled with the dolls and has chosen the Prince doll as her favorite. Drosselmeyer shows Clara-Marie the Nutcracker doll, a doll he has fashioned after himself, but she is aghast and refuses. He is angry and has other plans for what he will bring to the party this evening.
Herr Drosselmeyer and his assistant arrive at the holiday celebration providing wonderful entertainment for the guests with their magical dolls. Clara-Marie excitedly receives her gift fully expecting the Prince doll to be inside, yet when she opens it, it is the Nutcracker! Upset, she drops the box and the Nutcracker falls to the ground. The assistant rescues it, and there is a shared connection between him and Clara-Maria. Smitten, the two enjoy the rest of the party together until the guests leave.
After the guests leave, Clara-Marie, delighted with her newfound love, sneaks down to reminisce over the party and then falls asleep by the tree.
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Clara-Marie’s dreams carry her off to find her dolls dancing merrily, but alas, a battle soon ensues. The Nutcracker comes to save the day with his battalion of soldiers. Clara-Marie confused, soon realizes the Nutcracker is her Prince, but he sadly dies in battle. Despondent and crying, she is surrounded by angels who bring back-to-life her Prince.
The Prince and Clara-Marie are captivated by a beautiful snow-filled scene and with one final dance together, Clara-Marie realizes it was all a dream . . . or was it?
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Educational materials about The Nutcracker and ballet are available here.
Other organizations with great educational outreach materials include:
Colorado Ballet offers free Nutcracker study guides for both younger and older audiences.
Virginia Ballet also has a wonderful Nutcracker study guide that includes free activities.
A favorite adult resource for ballet is the Petipa Society, who has an excellent history of The Nutcracker ballet.
For more information about our educational materials and outreach opportunities, please email us at newwestballet@gmail.com. We would love to connect with you!
A note from Artistic Director
Coral M. Bruni, Ph.D.
With the recent changes to New West Ballet, we are excited to be able to partner with Norris Performing Arts Center (N-PAC), The Ballet Studio, and San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy (SFYBA) to bring Mark Erickson’s The Nutcracker to our North County audience. This partnership came about from a timely phone call that Mark made to me regarding costumes and turned into this wonderful opportunity for both studios to broaden their performing opportunities. NWB dancers will also be performing with SFYBA in their production of The Nutcracker and in N-PAC’s production of The Nutcracker in Temecula in December.
Enjoy the Show!
~Coral
A note from the Director
Mark Erickson
I would like to thank the entire cast of over one hundred students for their unlimited energy, boundless dedication and just plain hard work in seeing this project through to the performance this evening. I would also be remiss if I did not thank the army of Moms and Dads who have given countless hours of precious time getting children to rehearsals (mostly on time) and simply for their overall support. I sincerely appreciate and give thanks to all of you for your generous and gracious gifts of time, talent, and positive energy to make this ballet possible. And thank you to Bridget Norris of the Norris Performing Arts Center for her support.
The Nutcracker Ballet in its traditional form has made little if any dramatic sense. My goal has always been to make it possible to follow the story before us without the aid of a full-page synopsis. I hope tonight we have accomplished that on some small level. I see our production as a “work in progress” each year getting the opportunity to “tweek” things just a bit. Join us and experience the magic in Clara-Marie’s journey of joy, happiness, fear, her first love, and with that... excitement, trepidation and fantasy!
Best Wishes to All!
Mark Erickson
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Mark Erickson
DIRECTOR
Mr. Erickson divided his time between dance and acting since arriving in California from British Columbia, Canada. Some of his dance credits include lead roles in Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, and a finalist in the International Ballet Competition. He has taught Master Classes in Canada for the Canadian School of Ballet, for Lines Dance Company in San Francisco, and at countless summer ballet programs throughout the United States. Some of Mark’s work in television and film includes a supporting role opposite Mel Gibson in The River, with Rod Steiger in American Gothic, a guest appearance on Amazing Stories, and In Living Color, and he co-starred in Star Trek-Deep Space Nine. After completing an 8-year run in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, in both Los Angeles and San Francisco productions. Mark also produced the award-winning documentary film, “The Making of a Nutcracker”.
Mr. Erickson opened The Ballet Studio in Temecula to train ballerinas. The Ballet Studio is the proud partner of Norris Performing Arts Center, Temecula Valley’s most prestigious center for the performing arts. With parallel vision, we are committed to making a cultural contribution to the lives of our students their families and community while bringing the highest standard of excellence to our training.
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Coral M. Bruni, Ph.D.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Coral began her ballet training with New West Ballet in 1987. Her dancing repertoire consists of many lead roles, with favorites including: “Aurora” in Sleeping Beauty, the leading role in Raymonda, and “Snow Queen” in The Nutcracker. She has performed as a guest artist for San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy, Palomar College, and Mira Costa College. As a ballet instructor, Coral has taught in North County since 1995. Her teaching experience includes positions with New West Ballet, Oceanside Dance Academy, Georgias School of Dance, Ramona-Julian Academy of Dance, and Palomar College. Recently Coral has staged ballets Paquita, La Bayadere, Coppélia, and Les Sylphides. In her spare time, Coral is a mother of three and earned her Ph.D. in applied social psychology at Claremont Graduate University.
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Laurel Stevens
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Laurel began her ballet training in 1994 at Bravo Dance Center in Acworth, GA. After settling in San Diego County. Laurel continued her training with New West Ballet School. Her dancing repertoire consists of lead roles, with favorites including “Raymonda” in Ramonda and the “Arabian Princess” in The Nutcracker. In addition to her ballet training, Laurel has taught ballet, assisted with choreography and rehearsals, served on the board of directors for the New West Ballet Foundation, and has been an integral part of the New West Ballet team. Laurel holds a bachelor’s degree in History with a focus on the Americas and Africa from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Principal Dancers
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Adelina Sibiski
CLARA-MARIE
Adelina Sibiski, at the young age of 17, is the newest member of the New West Ballet team. Adelina has been dancing since she was born at New West Ballet. Her dancing repertoire consists of many lead roles, with favorites, including: “Dew Drop” from The Nutcracker, “The White Rabbit” from Alice and Wonderland and most recently “Swanhilda” in Coppélia. Adelina has performed as a guest artist for the San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy. Adelina holds a certificate of teaching from New West Ballet in both preballet and classical ballet levels and currently teaches at several studios in North County San Diego. Recently, Adelina graduated from Mission Vista High School and attends Palomar College. She’s grateful for the opportunity to perform as Clara in this year’s production of The Nutcracker.
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Sergio Gomez
DROSSELMEYER’S ASSISTANT
Sergio Gomez started dancing at Mission Hills High School in a dance class offered by his school. After graduation he further expanded his dance education by dancing at Palomar Community College in San Marcos. From there he decided to focus on his ballet education by training with New West Ballet. Sergio has performed in a variety of contemporary and modern pieces as well as classical ballets with New West Ballet including principal roles in Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Paquita. Sergio enjoys traveling to perform guest roles. He has guest-starred as the “Nutcracker Prince” in The Nutcracker with The Ballet Studio in Temecula, and the male leads in The Little Mermaid and Paquita for San Francisco Youth Ballet. Now, he is still continuously growing, learning, and dancing daily. Dancing has become his passion and he is grateful for his instructors and sources of inspiration.
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Johnny Fletcher
DROSSELMEYER
Johnny is thrilled to be working with The Ballet Studio, Inc for the first time. Credits: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Gaston), OKLAHOMA (Curly), LEGALLY BLONDE (Callahan). Venues: Moonlight, Sacramento Music Circus, MTW, SDMT, FAN, TVP, Disneyland. Many thanks to the beautiful and talented Sarah for her love and support, and to the creative team, for giving him this amazing opportunity.
New West Ballet Dancers
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William Horning
RAT KING
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Emmy Nourse
MERLITON
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Jessica Reilly
MERLITON
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Samantha Rivera
MERLITON
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Glenna Torrence
SPANISH
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Mary Margaret Torrence
CHINESE
Norris Performing Arts Center/The Ballet Studio Dancers
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Lillian Albright
MAID
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Remedy Allen
RUSSIAN
MARIE’S DOLL -
Winter Allen
RUSSIAN
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Milan Bain
CHINESE
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KC Eubanks
SOLDIER DOLL
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Isabella Heredia
CHINESE
SNOW QUEEN -
Avianna Hughes
MAID
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Amara Kelly
RUSSIAN
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Dominique Kerr
COLUMBINE
MARIE’S DOLL -
Isabella Manning
MAID
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Ivy Navarro
RUSSIAN
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Chloe Pellot
CHINESE
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Paige Sharp
MAID
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Lin Sosa
CHINESE
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Madison Sumpter
CHINESE
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Natalia Willingmrye
DEW DROP
MARIE’S DOLL
San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy Dancers
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Ian Aguilar-Foy
ARABIAN
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Ella Fujikawa
ARABIAN
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Michelle Liu
ARABIAN
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Sebastian Martinez
ARABIAN
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Hiroka Nagai
ARABIAN
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Josh Ornelas
ARABIAN
Cast List
Act I: Toy Shop and the Party
Clara-Marie: Adelina Sibiski
Drosselmeyer: Johnny Fletcher
Drosselmeyer’s Assistant: Sergio Gomez
Mrs. Stalbaum: Andi Albright (11/30), Beverly Stephenson (12/1)
Mr. Stalbaum: Gregory Albright (11/30), Radu Iliescu (12/1)
Fritz: Keegan Kusek (11/30), Garry Willingmrye (12/1)
Party Adults:
Ladies: Andi Albright, Wendy Kolk, Marilyn Navarro, Laurie Wolcott, Julie Zarb
Gentlemen: Gregory Albright, Wesley Albright, Christopher Cummings, William Horning, Radu Iliescu, Daniel Zacharias
Party Children
Clara’s Friend: Savana Jones
11/30: Milly Bradshaw, Audrina Bueno, Maya Darilag, Payden Debin, Gavin Galli, Jedijah Galli, Keegan Kusak, Sabra Price, Octavius Randal, Genesis Rovella, Nathaniel Rovella, Aoife Vasquez, Belle Zarb
12/1: Jade Althen, Zaiba Aziza, Caleigh Babers, Natali Fregoso, Avalyn Galli, Gavin Galli, Jedijah Galli, Amelia Malave, Symphony Monks, Odette Navarro, Octavius Randal, Raegan Reeves, Nathaniel Rovella, Gary Willingmyre
Maids: Lillian Albright, Avianna Hughes, Isabela Manning, Paige Sharp
Columbine: Dominique Kerr
Spanish: Glenna Torrence
Merliton: Jessica Reilly, Emmy Nourse, Samantha Rivera
Chinese: Milan Bain, Isabella Heredia, Chloe Pellot, Lin Sosa, Madison Sumpter, Mary Margaret Torrence
Russian: Remedy Allen, Winter Allen, Amara Kelly, Ivy Navarro
Arabian: Ella Fujikawa, Michelle Liu, Hiroka Nagai with Ian Aguilar-Foy, Sebastian Martinez, Josh Ornelas
Dew Drop: Natalia Willingmrye
Soldier Doll: KC Eubanks
Act II: Battle Scene & Snow Scene
Marie’s Dolls: Remedy Allan, Dominique Kerr, Natalia Willingmrye
Santa’s Helpers: Cora Couts, Dakota Debin, Payden Debin, Ava Herrera, Lana Lippard, Kota Moreno, Luna Moreno, Alani Pena, Beatrice Preti, Kaliee Siete
Mice: Jade Althen, Avalyn Galli, Symphony Monks, Genesis Rovela, Aoife Vasquez, Sophie Zang, Belle Zarb
Rats: Lillian Albright, Wesley Albright, Winter Allen, Milan Bain, Milly Bradshaw, KC Eubanks, Jedijah Galli, Avianna Hughes, Amara Kelly, Isabela Manning, Ivy Navarro, Chloe Pellot, Samantha Rivera, Paige Sharp, Lin Sosa, Madison Sumpter, Glenna Torrence, Mary Margaret Torrence, Natalia Willingmrye
Nutcracker/Prince: Sergio Gomez
Soldiers: Zaiba Azizy, Caleigh Babers, Audrina Bueno, Maya Darilag, Natali Fregoso, Savana Jones, Amelia Malave, Odette Navarro, Raegan Reeves, Belle Zarb
Cadets: Gavin Galli, Jedijah Galli, Keegan Kusak, Octavius Randal, Nathaniel Rovella, Gary Willingmyre
Rat King: William Horning
Snow Flakes: Lillian Albright, Remedy Allen, Winter Allen, Milan Bain, KC Eubanks, Avianna Hughes, Amara Kelly, Dominique Kerr, Isabela Manning, Ivy Navarro, Chloe Pellot, Samantha Rivera, Paige Sharp, Lin Sosa, Madison Sumpter, Glenna Torrence, Mary Margaret Torrence, Natalia Willingmrye
Snow Queen: Isabella Heredia
Snow Crystals: Zaiba Azizy, Caleigh Babers, Audrina Bueno, Maya Darilag, Natali Fregoso, Savana Jones, Amelia Malave, Odette Navarro, Raegan Reeves
Angels: Jade Althen, Cora Couts, Dakota Debin, Payden Debin, Avalyn Galli, Ava Herrera, Lana Lippard, Symphony Monks, Dakota Moreno, Koto Moreno, Luna Moreno, Alani Pena, Beatrice Preti, Kailee Siete, Aoife Vasquez, Sophie Zang, Belle Zarb
Special Thanks & Acknowledgements
San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy and Artistic Director Kellie Foy for continued support throughout this process, guest artists, and staffing help during the show.
Rehearsal Assistants: Andi Albright, Laila Debin, Marilyn Navarro
Costume Design: Beverly Stephenson
Set Design, Scenic, and Graphic Art: Janna Geary
Personal Assistant to Mr. Mark: Barbara Provencio
A special thanks to: Bridget & Dean Norris, Kelly Hughes, Niamh Michalik, and The Torrence Family
NWB would like to also send a huge thank you to the NWB Board of Directors for their continued support during these crazy times!
We’d also like to offer a special thanks to our volunteers, without you this show would not be possible!
New West Ballet would like to take a moment to thank the following for their contributions to the show. To all of you who make this production possible, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Without these people and organizations, this production would not be possible!
Our Sponsors
Whisked Design & Delights
Did you get to try the concessions at our summer production of Coppélia? Sasha at Whisked Design & Delights graciously provided these delightful treats. For more information about her goodies, please visit her website or on Instagram at @whiskeddesignsanddelights
Dancin’ Soul Boutique
Dancin’ Soul Boutique is the place to buy dancewear and is conveniently located in Carlsbad Village. Stop in and experience this one-of-a-kind dance apparel store. For more information about Dancing’ Soul, please visit their website.
Tony Delgado Realtor
Rise Realty
Looking for a realtor you can trust? How about a New West Ballet dancer?
(760) 847-2505
homehuntersH!@gmail.com
Instagam: @the.peoplesagent
Our show was sponored, in part, by grants received from the California Arts Council (CAC). At the CAC, their mission is to strengthen arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. For more information about California Arts Council, please visit their website.
Companion Pet Care (CPC) graciously allowed NWB to pass out flyers to their patrons. Our very own Samantha Rivera is a happy, animal loving employee of CPC. F or more information about CPC please visit their website.
Upcoming Events
The Princess Bride: The Ballet
In partnership with Glenna Torrence, New West Ballet is working on a full-length production of The Princess Bride: The Ballet. This exciting tale, adapted from William Goldman’s 1973 novel, brings a fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love and their battles in the mythical kingdom of Florin to be reunited with each other. Stay tuned for more information about this production.
Want to perform in this production? Please email newwestballet@gmail.com to be placed on the email list for this production, including audition/casting information.
NWB Summer Intensive 2025
In partnership with San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy (SFYBA), New West Ballet plans to hold an intensive this summer in North County San Diego. While we are still figuring out the details, we hope you will join us for this exciting training and performing opportunity. For more information and to be placed on our email list for this intensive, please email us at newwestballet@gmail.com (use Subject: Summer Intensive 2025).
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A little insight into the past few months of rehearsals….
