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Elina is so short that I've wondered if that keeps her from being promoted. 

Royal has to be promoted to soloist, right? They can't possibly leave him in the corp. 

Segerstrom has sent out an email listing the current schedule as their International Dance Series. Sigh. 

I can't fathom what they are thinking with this schedule. I thought the addition of the ABT Gillespie School would mean an increase in classical ballet coming to Segerstrom. Other than Nutcracker, there is only one classical ballet company on the list and no other full length ballet. I'm very disappointed. 

I've complained to Segerstrom before about their website. Often nothing comes up under Classical Ballet. Everything just gets listed under Dance. So, if one were to search only for ballet it would appear that nothing is on the schedule. 

I suppose the reason I don't expect ABT to hire mainly dancers who have spent their lives at JKO is because I don't assume that all of the best dancers live near NYC. The best dancers have something inside them that I think goes beyond their training. Should an amazing dancer in Kansas not have a shot at dancing with ABT because her parents couldn't relocate to New York when she was 8? I think a better measure of JKO's program would be how many graduates are getting contracts anywhere. 

On a different note, it looks like JKO is changing up their curriculum a bit for next year. Level 3, the highest Children's Level, has added more classes to the weekly schedule and the Pre-Professional Level is now just divided into Upper Level 1 and Upper Level 2.

Ratmansky cast Lauren Bonfiglio, Catherine Hurlin and Tyler Maloney as the child leads in his first Nutcracker and they are all company members now, so I would agree that he has a talent for identifying potential.

I'm guessing that ABT at Segerstrom will be an every other year thing, with the exception of Nutcracker. We got the premiere of Sleeping Beauty, then a gap year, then Whipped Cream. I hope that isn't the case. 

I guess you can say that at least it's turnabout. The boy marries his rescuer. Usually it's the girl marrying the prince who rescued her. 

I'm not attending until Sunday night, but I love reading your reviews.

I'm going closing night. I always wonder why they price tickets so high and then end up dumping a lot of them on Goldstar. Wouldn't it make more sense to just price them lower to begin with? Or offer previous patrons a discount?

I do know multiple people who have never attended a ballet before that are coming to see Whipped Cream just because they love Mark Ryden. I'm so glad that he his promoting the production on his social media accounts. Perhaps some of those attending will discover that they really enjoy ballet. 

My daughter is not quite twelve and people always ask her if she's a dancer. I'm not sure if it's just her posture or the way she somehow seems like she is being lifted up from the inside. I don't know if this will last through puberty and into adulthood, but she sure is hoping that it does. 

If you see a ballet at Segerstrom in Costa Mesa, you can only bring bottled water into the theater. So at the end of intermission you have people huddled around the trash cans trying to finish their wine before the final bell chimes. However, if you see a Broadway show there you can get a plastic top and little straw and bring your wine inside the theater. I find it interesting as there is no difference in sound or the ability of the patrons to control their tendency to spill. 

I can't abide snacking and crinkling. However, sometimes I wish people would risk quickly unwrapping lozenges rather than coughing constantly throughout a performance. 

I had to laugh at the, "*Indicates debut in role." This is the world premiere of the ballet.  They are all debuting in their roles.

Last night the torch lift with Stella Abrera and Alexandre Hammoudi was much better--the best I've seen anyone perform it in ABT's Nutcracker. (Admittedly I've only seen this Nutcracker for two years, but I have seen it eight times in those two years). I didn't see a Stella Abrera show last year, but I'm glad I saw both of her shows this year. Something about her dancing makes my eyes well up. 

Stella really kind of ran and leapt yesterday afternoon. It came out as a swift kind of lift to shoulder height and a second lift to get her higher, but it was still much better than the awkward stop. She was so beautiful I'm going back tonight. 

I saw Murphy/Whiteside on Saturday night and it was great. I was also at the Boylston/Cirio show this afternoon and was less impressed. I will see an Abrera/Hammoudi show as well. I'd love to hear your reactions to the other shows. I'm not well-versed enough to give a good review, but I love to read what others thought. 

There are a lot of Mark Ryden fans in California. Whether that will translate to new ballet-goers in Costa Mesa remains to be seen, but one can hope. 

I love Mark Ryden so I'm very excited to see how this goes. 

Simkin danced with Lane at both of her shows last year. I'm guessing some of casting has to do with availability, but I think Misty getting three shows has a lot to do with ticket sales. Or, to be less cynical, giving more of her local fans an opportunity to see her perform. I checked last night and ticket availability for her shows is already less than other shows. My daughter was one of the children dancing in the production last year. We don't find out which shows our kids will be performing in until late in the game. This year people know that if they want to see Misty they will have to buy tickets first and then hope it's the same night their child performs. I'm hoping to see Stella this year. 

Since he was partnered with Part last year I'm guessing one of them is unavailable this year. They've also gone from 14 shows to 12 and have Copeland dancing in 3 rather than 2, so I'm wondering if tickets will be harder to get the longer one waits to buy them. 

Last year I saw Murphy/Whiteside and Lane/Simkin. Part was supposed to have opening night, but I think she was ill because Murphy danced instead. I think that was the only change, but I may not be remembering everything. 

 
9/12/2016 - COSTA MESA, CA – Casting for American Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker, co-presented by Segerstrom Center for the Arts and ABT, was announced today by Kevin McKenzie, ABT Artistic Director and Terry Dwyer, Segerstrom Center President. Choreographed by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky, The Nutcracker will be given 12 performances at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, December 9-18, 2016. The Nutcracker, set to music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, features choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, scenery and costumes by award-winning designer Richard Hudson and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. The Pacific Symphony performs the beloved holiday score. In the Los Angeles Timesreview from last year’s inaugural Center performance, it declared, “Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky has made his own Christmas miracle: a joyful ‘Nutcracker’ ballet that is ravishing and clever enough to inspire multiple viewings.”

Misty Copeland and Herman Cornejo will lead the opening night cast of The Nutcracker dancing the roles of Clara, the Princess and Nutcracker, the Prince, respectively. Subsequent casts include Hee Seo and Cory Stearns, Gillian Murphy and James Whiteside, Isabella Boylston and Jeffrey Cirio, Stella Abrera and Alexandre Hammoudi, and Sarah Lane and Joseph Gorak in the leading roles.

The engagement of The Nutcracker continues an on-going relationship between Segerstrom Center and American Ballet Theatre. The Company has appeared at the Center since the beginning in 1987. At the Center, ABT gave the world premiere of Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Swan Lake in 1988, the West Coast premiere of Kevin McKenzie’s new production of The Sleeping Beauty in 2007 and the world premiere of a new production of Firebird by Alexei Ratmansky in 2012. In 2008, the Center and ABT co-commissioned Twyla Tharp¹s Rabbit and Rogue, receiving its world premiere in New York and West Coast premiere at the Center. In 1999, ABT’s production of Le Corsaire was taped in Segerstrom Hall for broadcast on PBS’ Dance In America, winning an Emmy Award. In 2003, The Dream was also taped at the Center for broadcast on Dance In America. In March 2015, Segerstrom Center presented the world premiere of ABT’s new production of The Sleeping Beauty as choreographed by Maurius Petipa with staging and additional choreography by Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky. In March of 2017, ABT will return to the Center performing in a world premiere work by Ratmansky.

Principal Casting for The Nutcracker at Segerstrom Center the Arts

Artists and program are subject to change.

Single tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker start at $29 are now available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236. Special Sweet Seats are available for every performance and include:

•           Premier seating location in Orchestra rows A - F

•           Exclusive pre-show selfie opportunity with ABT dancer

•           Premium box of sweet treats

•           Nutcracker ornament

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