CONTACT Davidson & Choy Publicity Tim Choy (323) 954-7510, t.choy@dcpublicity.com David Barber (323) 954-7510, d.barber@dcpublicity.com Segerstrom Center for the Arts Tim Dunn (714) 556-2122 x4209, TDunn@SCFTA.org RELEASE DATE Images: SCFTA.org/media American Ballet Theatre Kelly Ryan (212) 477-3030 x 3235, KRyan@ABT.org SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS ANNOUNCES CHILDREN S CASTING FOR AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE'S THE NUTCRACKER Featuring 40 students from the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School December 14 23, 2018 Segerstrom Hall Tickets on sale now Photo: Francis Bertrand COSTA MESA, CA Segerstrom Center for the Arts is proud to announce casting of 48 young dancers in American Ballet Theatre s production of The Nutcracker performed December 14 through 23 in Segerstrom Hall. Forty students from the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center, plus eight additional talented young dancers from Orange County, will perform alongside the world renowned ABT company, in this classic holiday show. The opportunity to perform in this production and others in the Center s International Dance Series is one of the very special benefits of
American Ballet Theatre The Nutcracker NEWS 2/6 studying in the ABT Gillespie School. Classes follow the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum, giving young students the finest professional training possible and unparalleled access to renowned dance companies and performing arts experiences. There are two casts of Principal children s dancers, including Lani Mefford and Isabella Martino as Clara, Kellan Hayag and Chase Rogers as Nutcracker Prince, Salvatore Lodi and Vinnie Winderman as Fritz, and Andrew Dove and Logan Cooper as Little Mouse. ABT Principal casting, includes Hee Seo as Clara, the Princess and Cory Stearns as The Nutcracker Prince on opening night, December 14. Additional casts include Stella Abrera, Misty Copeland, Sarah Lane, Isabella Boylston, Christine Shevchenko, Aran Bell, Herman Cornejo, Thomas Forster, Blaine Hoven and James Whiteside. Complete Children s Casting for The Nutcracker at Segerstrom Center for the Arts Artists and program are subject to change. Vinnie Winderman Aliso Viejo, CA Salvatore Lodi Altadena, CA Juliet Grbacz Corona Del Mar, CA Sophia Cowell Costa Mesa, CA Dane Guggenmos Costa Mesa, CA Natasha Groves Huntington Beach, CA Lani Mefford Huntington Beach, CA Abbie Richman Huntington Beach, CA Charissa Catanus Irvine, CA Henna Cook Irvine, CA Jasmine Gama Irvine, CA Kellan Hayag Irvine, CA Isabella Silva Irvine, CA Isabella Veravanich Irvine, CA Jingmei (Alice) Wu Irvine, CA Giselle Youssoufian Irvine, CA Sophie Haghighi Ladera Ranch, CA Chase Rogers Ladera Ranch, CA Lily Zinn Ladera Ranch, CA Isabella Martino Laguna Beach, CA Melia Ramirez Laguna Niguel, CA Logan Cooper Long Beach, CA Aria Kamei-Oser Los Angeles, CA Megan Bartz Newport Beach, CA Matisse Braun Newport Beach, CA Ava Joseph Newport Beach, CA Owen McLarand Newport Beach, CA Alexandra Orradre Newport Beach, CA Ophelia Owens Newport Beach, CA Stella Stulik Newport Beach, CA Brooke Treska Newport Beach, CA Lucas Matzkin Orange, CA Makena Anglin Rancho Mirage, CA Tatiana Burns Rossmoor, CA Sophia Bullock San Clemente, CA Lydia Jones San Clemente, CA Jasmine van Zoest San Diego, CA Pearl van Zoest San Diego, CA Dominic Lindbeck Santa Ana, CA Jocelyn Nang Santa Ana, CA Koko Chang Santa Ana, CA Andrew Dove Tustin, CA Elizabeth Tamang Tustin, CA Sumitra Tamang Tustin, CA Emma Tassev Tustin, CA Laney Fletcher Villa Park, CA Rylie DeLaTorre Whitter, CA Kate Wedel Yorba Linda, CA
American Ballet Theatre The Nutcracker NEWS 3/6 Single tickets for American Ballet Theatre s The Nutcracker start at $29 and 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. The Nutcracker is a beloved holiday story based on The Nutcracker and the King of Mice written by E.T.A. Hoffmann and set to a magical score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky that will be performed live by Pacific Symphony. The Los Angeles Times declared Ratmansky s production an unreserved classic and ravishing and clever enough to inspire multiple viewings. Scenery and costumes are by award-winning designer Richard Hudson (Disney s The Lion King) and lighting is by Jennifer Tipton. 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 1987. Important engagements include 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 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 2008, the Center and ABT cocommissioned Twyla Tharp s Rabbit and Rogue, receiving its world premiere in New York and West Coast premiere at the Center. Two more recent world premieres have also taken place including the 2015 presentation of ABT s new production of The Sleeping Beauty as choreographed by Marius Petipa with staging and additional choreography by Ratmansky and 2017 s Whipped Cream, also by Ratmansky with design and costumes by pop-surrealist Mark Ryden. Additionally, ABT s opulent new production of Harlequinade, newly choreographed by Ratmansky, will receive its West Coast premiere at the Center January 17 20, 2019. The Center applauds special underwriting for The Nutcracker from George and Terry Schreyer. The Center's International Dance Series is made possible by the Audrey Steele Burnand Endowed Fund for International Dance and The Segerstrom Foundation Endowment for Great Performances. Segerstrom Center for the Arts thanks its corporate partners including Kia Motors America, Official Automotive Partner and United Airlines, Official Airline. The American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an expansion of the longtime relationship between the Center and American Ballet Theatre. The school, which opened in September 2015, combines the resources of American Ballet Theatre, America s National Ballet Company, and Segerstrom Center, one of the world s leading presenters of dance. It offers unrivaled opportunities for training and nurturing future generations of dancers and dance audiences as well as furthering the development and evolution of dance. The school carries the name of
American Ballet Theatre The Nutcracker NEWS 4/6 Orange County philanthropist William J. Gillespie, who has been a board member of ABT since 1999 and an enthusiastic and generous donor to the Center for much of the institution s history. The ABT Gillespie School provides students with the highest quality of classical ballet training through the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum. ABT s National Training Curriculum is a comprehensive set of age-appropriate, outcome-based guidelines, with an emphasis on proper placement as well as safe progressions of movement while remaining sensitive to the needs of younger dancers. The curriculum offers students a rich knowledge of classical ballet technique incorporating elements of the French, Italian and Russian schools of training. The ABT Gillespie School is modeled after the program used at the renowned ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York. Classes include classical ballet technique, pointe, boy s class, character and body conditioning. All classes are held in the Center's studios, which are also used for rehearsals by the world s leading international ballet companies in the Center s dance series. Beyond the professional ballet training, students are offered additional opportunities to enrich their ballet studies including priority opportunities to audition for ABT performances at the Center as well as participation in the ABT Summer Intensives, master classes, and special ticket offers for performances at the Center. American Ballet Theatre is one of the great dance companies in the world. Few ballet companies equal ABT for its combination of size, scope and outreach. Recognized as a living national treasure since its founding in 1940, ABT tours the United States, performing for more than 300,000 people annually, and is the only major cultural institution to do so. For 78 years, the Company has appeared in a total of 132 cities in 50 countries and has performed in all 50 states of the United States. Under the artistic direction of Kevin McKenzie since 1992, ABT has recently enjoyed triumphant successes with engagements in Paris, Brisbane, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. On April 27, 2006, by an act of Congress, American Ballet Theatre became America s National Ballet Company. Pacific Symphony, led by Music Director Carl St.Clair for the last 29 years, has been the resident orchestra of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall for over a decade. Currently in its 40th anniversary season, the Symphony is the largest orchestra formed in the U.S. in the last 50 years and is recognized as an outstanding ensemble making strides on both the national and international scene, as well as here in Orange County. Pacific Symphony is dedicated to expanding the orchestral repertoire illustrated through its many commissions and recordings, in-depth explorations of American artists and themes. The Symphony s innovative approaches to new works received the ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming in 2005 and 2010. In April 2018, Pacific Symphony made its debut at Carnegie Hall as one of two orchestras invited to perform during a yearlong celebration of composer Philip Glass 80th birthday. The New York Times saluted Pacific Symphony as excellent a major ensemble. The following month the orchestra toured China, and in June 2018 made its national PBS debut on Great Performances with Peter Boyer s Ellis Island: The Dream of America, conducted by St.Clair. Presenting more than 100 concerts and events a year and a rich array of education and
American Ballet Theatre The Nutcracker NEWS 5/6 community engagement programs, the Symphony reaches more than 300,000 residents from school children to senior citizens. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution as well as a beautiful multi-disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence, offering unsurpassed experiences and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring arts-based education and community engagement programs. Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County s largest non-profit arts organization. In addition to its six performance venues, Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School. The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. Segerstrom Center is a leader among the nation s performing arts centers for providing education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. The Center s programs reach hundreds of thousands of students each year in five Southern California counties. Community engagement programs developed through the Center for Dance and Innovation and Center Without Boundaries also connect the Center more comprehensively with Orange County s many diverse communities. The CDI supports flagship artistic programming and a wide range of projects that celebrate innovation, nurture creativity and engage audiences of the future. It is home to the ABT Gillespie School and the School of Dance and Music for Children with Disabilities. The Center Without Boundaries develops partnerships with noncultural organizations to help them in their own efforts to respond to the ever-changing needs of the community. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region s major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons performed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. In addition to Segerstrom Center for the Arts as a presenting and producing institution, it also identifies the beautiful 14-acre campus that embraces the Center s own facilities as well as two independently acclaimed organizations: Tony Award -winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.
American Ballet Theatre The Nutcracker NEWS 6/6 AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE: THE NUTCRACKER Segerstrom Center for the Arts Segerstrom Hall 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA Choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky Music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky Music performed live by Pacific Symphony December 14 23, 2018 Wednesday Friday at 7 pm Saturday at 2 and 7 pm Sunday at 12:30 pm and 5:30 pm Tickets - Start at $29 In person - The Box Office 600 Town Center Drive Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Open 10 a.m. 6 p.m. daily Online - www.scfta.org www.abt.org Phone - (714) 556-2787 Open 10 a.m. 6 p.m. daily Group Sales - (714) 755-0236 Information provided is accurate at the time of printing but is subject to change. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a public, non-profit organization. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a registered trademark. # # #