Poway Center for the Performing Arts November 25 – 27, 2016 Come join us for ballet instruction – all levels, all ages Check out our website: www.newwestballet.com Fostering a love of dance since 1979. Come join us for ballet instruction. First class is free! Mark Your Calendar for These Upcoming Events Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP): Feb. 10th-12th, 2017 Coppélia: Spring 2017 Annual School Recital: Summer 2017 For more information regarding these exciting events, please visit our website at www.newwestballet.com or call us at (760) 525-6738 [email protected] ~ www.newwestballet.com ~ (760) 525-6738 1215 Linda Vista Dr. STE B, San Marcos, CA 92078 New West Ballet Theatre Presents Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Based on original choreography by Eugenia M. Keefer Artistic Directors: Coral M. Burni Christina Wurz Choreography & Staging: Stage Managers: Coral M. Bruni Leslie Kerr Christina Wurz Holly Meserve Heather LaForge Brook Gunn Sohaila Studio Director: Volunteer Coordinator: Jennifer Crumrine Kathy McAdoo New West Ballet Theatre is a 501c(3) non-profit educational corporation. All donations are tax deductible. Financial assistance is available. The Story of The Nutcracker The Nutcracker is undoubtedly the most popular ballet in the United States. Each year it is performed by hundreds of ballet schools and companies. The ballet was first performed in 1892 by the Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. The ballet is based on a story by E.T.A Hoffman called “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” and P. Tchaikovsky composed the music which is now so famous. This first Nutcracker Ballet was choreographed by Lev Ivanov following a libretto by Marius Petipa. Since then, the original choreography has been changed as many times as th ere are dance companies, but Tchaikovsky’s enchanting melodies have proven their charm and brilliance to each new generation. In 1980, New West Ballet in conjunction with Palomar College produced the first full-length version presented in North County San Diego. Act 1, Scene 1: The Party In 1880, there was a Christmas party at the home of a young girl named Clara. Among the guests is Mr. Drosselmeyer, Clara’s uncle, who is a toymaker and rumored to have strange, magical powers. Mr. Drosselmeyer and his young assistant bring Clara a special gift of a toy nutcracker. Clara’s brother Fritz jealously breaks the nutcracker and Mr. Drosselmeyer repairs the toy. At the end of the party, Clara waves good-bye to her friends and goes to bed. Act1, Scene 2: The Battle After everyone goes to bed, Mr. Drosselmeyer returns and puts a magical spell over the house. Just before midnight, Clara creeps out of bed in search of her nutcracker. As the clock strikes twelve, all the house mice grow very large and Mr. Drosselmeyer appears just in time to protect Clara from their curiosity. The mice gather around the nutcracker, and when they scamper away the nutcracker has become a handsome Prince! The Christmas tree grows to the ceiling and the little toy soldiers come to life to battle the mice. When the King of Rats attacks the Prince, Clara distracts the Rat King and the Prince wounds the giant rodent, ending the battle. Act 1, Scene 3: Land of the Snow As the battle scene melts from view, Clara and the Prince find themselves in a beautiful land of snow. The couple dance in the winter scene until a beautiful sleigh appears to carry them away for a journey to the Candy Kingdom. Act 2: The Candy Kingdom Clara and the Prince arrive at the Candy Palace and are greeted by all the sweets of the Kingdom. As the Prince and Clara are being introduced to the Candy Kingdom, the King of the Rats reappears and the Prince once again battles the rat. Upon the Prince’s victory, the Dewdrop Fairy calls for a dance festival to celebrate and gifts Clara with her own tutu and tiara. When the last dance is over, Clara and the Prince say good-bye and leave together for another magical adventure. The Artistic Directors Coral M. Bruni began her ballet training with New West Ballet School in 1987 and has trained extensively with New West Ballet ever since. Her dancing repertoire includes principal roles in Coppelia, Cinderella, Don Quixote, Les Sylphide, Raymonda, Paquita, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. In addition to dancing with New West Ballet, Coral has performed as a guest artist for various shows with Palomar College, Mira Costa College, Escuela Cubana de Ballet, and the San Francisco Youth Ballet. As a ballet instructor, Coral has taught classical ballet in North County since 1995. More recently, Coral has purchased New West Ballet School with her partner Christina Wurz and has been directing and co-directing ballets such as A Midsummer’s Nights Dream, Cinderella, Coppelia, Firebird, La Bayadere, Les Partineurs, Paquita, Peter Pan, The Sleeping Beauty, The Wizard of Oz, and The Nutcracker. In her spare time, Coral is a mother of three, teaches psychology at Palomar College, and is working on her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at Claremont Graduate University. Christina Wurz is from New York City and classically trained in ballet and modern. She is originally from the Bronx, NY and started her training at the Bronx Dance Theater and continued her classical ballet training at the Joffery Ballet School in Manhattan. From there she attended the famous New York City High School of Performing Arts and graduated with a Regents diploma. She completed her formal dance education with a B.F.A. in dance at the University of Hartford, Hartt School in Connecticut. Her repertoire includes roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Snow White, and The Nutcracker. Some of her accomplishments include Mojalet Core Group, Full Force Dance Theater, BalletNeo, San Diego Dance Theater, Terry Wilson and Dancers, Burklyn Ballet Theater, Dance Connecticut’s Touring Ensemble and West Coast Ballet Theater. As well as performing on both coasts, she has performed in Mexico, Scotland, France, and two tours in Rome, Italy for the Rome Festival Orchestra. There she produced two solo variations and appeared as a featured dancer in many of the Operas including Carmen, La Traviata and The Magic Flute. Principal Dancers Brook Gunn began dance lessons at Georgia’s School of Dance at the age of two. She later attended Civic Center Dance in San Marcos. In 2002, Brook began her classical ballet training at New West Ballet School. Brook has performed numerous roles in ballets such as Les Patineurs, La Bayadere, and Coppelia with Mr. Delgado. Two of her favorite roles were Tinkerbell in New West’s Peter Pan and Glinda the Good Witch in New West’s The Wizard of Oz. Recently, Brook has performed lead roles in The Firebird, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland. Brook enjoys teaching ballet classes at New West Ballet School and performing as a guest artist with San Francisco Youth Ballet. In this production of The Nutcracker, Brook will grace the stage as Clara. Sergio Gomez started his dance training at the age of 17 at Mission Hills High School. Performing in showcases with the school gave him a basis from which he could expand his dance education to Palomar College in San Marcos. At the age of 18, Sergio decided to focus on ballet education by training with New West Ballet School. He has performed solo roles with New West Ballet in ballets such as Raymonda, The Nutcracker, and various contemporary and modern pieces. This past summer, Sergio performed his debut principal role as the Prince in The Sleeping Beauty. Now, at the age of 19, Sergio is continuing his ballet training and hopes to inspire young dancers to not give up and hopes to inspire young dancers to not give up. In this production, Sergio will perform the role of the Nutcracker Prince. Parent Committees Artistic Directors: Volunteer Coordinator: Coral Burni Kathy McAdoo Christina Wurz Backstage: Costume: Dressing Rooms: Kathy McAdoo Mindy Landes Kjirsti Burningham Lucien Dupont Laura Ruiz Andrelle Blankenship Abby Grasser Aleksandra Barnas Kristin Bumroongchart Danielle Gmyr Jamie Conrad Sara Castillon Drew LaForge Angela Redwine Deva Edelman Matt Meserve Darlene Elsner Jessica Reilly Boutique/School Info: Kelly Fidelman Amanda Savarese Jane Malkewitcz Kim Glassman Steve Sibiski Lydia Constanza Cristina Gomez Harry Torrence Kelly Grasser Naomi Gonzales Summer Herness Sonja Herschowitz Load In/Out: Rosario Jennings Harry Torrence Flowers/Dancergrams: Yuko Kephart Nate Kingsbury Suzanne Gymr Erika Mancinelli Stacy Nilsen Bertha Magana Alma Martinez Ted Redwine Donna Stevens Jaclyn Nasciemento Steve Sibiski Marcia Surprise Lynette Nelson Kara Young Theresa Vardillos Monika Olguin Andrea Russell Security: Opportunity Drawing: Madeline Sakuri Kathy McAdoo Lu Flodine Laura Novak Kim Glassman Photography Traci Tar Jenelle Michalik Robin Satori Sarah Owens Barbara Thompson Special Thank You to Dr. and Mrs. Putter New West Ballet Theatre would like to thank it’s many volunteers for their hard work in ensuring that we have a quality production. We apologize for any errors or omissions made in this publication. Soloist Dancers Audrey Landes began dancing at the age of four with Carlsbad Dance Centre. At the age of 10, she fell in love with ballet and began training with New West Ballet School. Recently, Audrey has performed soloist roles in Raymonda, as a Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, as a Fairy in Cinderella, and Clara in The Nutcracker. Audrey recently turned 17 years old, and is looking forward to graduating from Santa Fe Christian High School this spring. When not at ballet, you can find Audrey studying at a coffee shop or at the beach relaxing. Sydney Kerr began dancing at the age of four at the San Marcos Civic Center.