"I got to sleep with curlers in my hair, wear lipstick, miss school, and be surrounded by real ballerinas."

Tara as Baby Mouse in 1989
with the Christmas Dolls and Ron Cunningham
as Dr. Drosselmeyer

My first Nutctacker was in 1988, which I believe was also Ron Cunningham's first year with Sacramento Ballet. That first year I played a Christmas Doll in the battle scene, and to my 5 year old self, this was the most exciting thing I had ever experienced. I got to sleep with curlers in my hair, wear lipstick, miss school, and be surrounded by real ballerinas. It was my first exposure to ballet, and was the beginning of a lifelong love and appreciation of the art. One of my favorite memories of being a child in Nutcracker was running around from dressing room to dressing room asking the dancers for their old pointe shoes. I had dozens of them in my bedroom, all autographed. I loved them more than any of my toys and would spend hours arranging them on my shelves and trying them on, attempting to dance on pointe. I continued to dance children's roles from 1988- 1996 and it was something that I looked forward to year after year. My favorite role came in 1989 when I played the Baby Mouse. I had dreamed all year of playing this part and was so excited when I actually got it! I loved my costume, and my whiskers and mouse nose were applied with black electrical tape. Part of the role was to shoot a toy gun that sprouted a red flag at a precise second in the music. This seemed like a very important job to me, so I practiced over and over again in my parents living room to a cassette tape. 

Tara Bradley

"There is a true feeling of wonderment and joy that is palpable with all those beaming young faces in the audience."

Carinne Binda Cunningham

Tonight is opening night of the Nutcracker and all day I have been thinking how special the many weeks that we have spent preparing this magical production.  For the casts of children it begins in September with auditions and the first rehearsals. For the company dancers it begins late October or early November.  By mid-November the children begin rehearsing with the company dancers and that is always a thrilling experience. By December we are in the theater, first on a bare stage and within 3 1/2 days performing with scenery, lights, costumes, thanks to our outstanding and dedicated theater crew and the many dozens of volunteers that seem to love the Nutcracker as much as Ron and I do. Yesterday morning we did our first performance at 10am for over 2000 young school children and that is always a very special show.  The theater is electric with excitement.  There is a true feeling of wonderment and joy that is palpable with all those beaming young faces in the audience.  Yes, it is hard for dancers to arrive at the theater, many by 7am to prepare for class, then a last minute practice on stage, putting on stage make up, preparing hair, getting into costume, and a myriad of other tasks before taking that first step on stage, but once the dancers hear the cheers from the children in the audience, they forget how early they had to wake up and remember why they love to dance. 

Nutcracker is a finely tuned and efficient "machine" at the Sacramento Ballet, always running smoothly with problems easily solved even when they catch us by surprise.  For the dancers, it is the one ballet they return to year after year, sometimes dancing the same roles or acquiring new roles.  This year it has been a joy to see so many of our seasoned dancers blossom with new artistry and our new dancers learning the process and thriving in such a short amount of time. We have so many outstanding casts in multiple roles that keep this production feeling fresh at every performance.

My Nutcracker memories began over 45 years ago when the National Ballet of Washington D.C was mounting a new production.  I was a Party Child and the following year Clara.  I can remember much of it as if it were yesterday because of that child-like sense of wonder I had for everyone and everything.  The company was directed by the extraordinary Ballet Russe dancer, Frederic Franklin and he brought in the legendary Alexandra Danilova to work with the children.  He, with his charming English accent and she, with her Russian accent had both been famous stars in the ballet world and were now passing on their tradition to a group of ten year old children. There was such an aura in the studio, we were all spellbound.  Everything was important. Soon we began rehearsals with the professional dancers who had such a large influence on me at the time.  I can still remember most of their names. The dancers appeared so casual in their tattered practice clothes, yet the moment they performed a dance sequence they took on the most extraordinary elegance.  I remember so vividly how their skin glistened (I realized only later that their "sweat" was due to such hard physicality).  We went on tour (a one hour trip) to perform in Baltimore. At the theater rehearsals, I remember running all over the balcony to watch the dancers from every angle.

In that production, Clara sits at the feet of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier through most of Act 2.  There I was sitting at the feet of my idols, the sublime Sonia Arova, Andrea Vodehnal, and Roni Mahler. They were all true ballerinas, they didn't just dance the Sugar Plum Fairy, they were the Sugar Plum Fairy.  As every ten year old girl falls in love with her prince, I fell in love with Ivan Nagy, an amazing Hungarian dancer.  The experience was magic and I began to understand the power of dance that continues to fuel my life every day. 

Years later I began my professional career at the Boston Ballet and, as chance would have it, my Ballet Master was James Capp, one of the friendliest of the National Ballet of Washington dancers when I was a child.  I always loved watching him dance the Chinese Divertissment.  Much to my delight, I would meet Ivan Nagy again in Paris.  This time I was the Artistic Director of the Sacramento Ballet coaching our beautiful couple, Nina Baratova and Charles Torres, who were competing at the Paris International Dance Competition in 1992.  I truly love the Nutcracker and all the lives it connects through generations.
We open tonight, don't miss this holiday delight.

Carinne Binda

"They accepted her as just one of the dancers."

I am writing this for my daughter Barbara Crow. I talked to Barb about her  "Nutcracker rememberings" :-) her words....

"Just being there and part of the ballet was so much fun. I was in the Nutcracker starting in 1995 for 8 seasons. In the beginning I loved being in costume and on the stage. After awhile I  also loved being back stage. I loved all the dancers and it was so exciting to be part of the show. I am so glad I was able to be in the Nutcracker with my sister Susan, and once my Dad and my brother Matt were in the ballet too, we joked with Mom that she had to be in the audience cause someone had to watch the show. I also liked doing the promotional events and the parades. I know I have Down Syndrome, and Ron let me be in the Nutcracker because I really wanted to be there and to show my community that everyone can dance.  Thank you Ron and Carinne for the wonderful memories."  

Love, 

Barbara Crow

As I type this out for Barb I am struck by what an important experience this was for Barbara and our Family. I was a back stage mom from the get-go because they were unsure how Barb would be back stage. It became apparent very quickly that I was not needed as a chaperon.  All the dancers, kids and professional, were so sweet and supportive with Barb. They accepted her as just one of the dancers. This was a chance for her to grow in ways that are immeasurable. This past summer she was a speaker at the National Down Syndrome conference. She spoke with confidence about her experiences in her community. Sacramento Ballet was one of her main topics. The other young adults were so interested in her stage experience and she was so proud to share her times on the stage. 

So thank you again, Ron. You truly made a wonderful difference in Barbara's life. 
Katherine Crow 

"I can’t imagine not dancing it."

The Nutcracker is something American ballet companies do every year; it is something ballet dancers have seen and taken part in from an early age.  Naturally, after years of performances it becomes repetitive.  However, as dancers mature and polish their skills there’s always an excitement and anticipation about what roles you may be dancing each new year. 

Lauryn Winterhalder as Clara in Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre's
The Nutcracker in 2001 (Photo by: Bari Miller)

I performed The Nutcracker at my home studio in Santa Cruz, Ca from the age of eight to seventeen.  I danced many roles over the years: Party Child, Saltwater Taffy, Clara, Chinese Child, Ribbon, Garland, Snow Corps, Flower Corps, Snow Queen, Arabian, Peppermint Candy Cane  Marzipan, and Dew Drop Fairy. After ten years, Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre’s version became natural to me.  When I left home to dance with Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Professional Division, Kent Stowell’s The Nutcracker seemed very foreign.  In Stowell’s version, there is added music (Mozart), a company member dances the role of Clara, the sets are designed by Maurice Sendak, the costumes are fabulous and the whole ballet has an Asian theme - no Russian dance, no Marzipan, no Spanish, and no Arabian! Now, don’t get me wrong, it is a great version, but it was nothing like the one I grew up with and performed for ten years. 

After a year in Seattle, I moved to Ohio to dance with the Cincinnati Ballet.  At CB, I performed Val Caniparoli’s The Nutcracker, the third version of The Nutcracker in my repertoire (under my belt?).  In Caniparoli’s version, all the dancers in Act II are dolls and Marie (Clara) is danced by a company member who also dances Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy.  Again, a fantastic version and outrageous costumes but nothing like home. 

Three years ago, I moved to back to California to dance with Sacramento Ballet and I now dance in Ron Cunningham’s The Nutcracker.  My childhood ballet teachers used to dance for Ron, Carinne at Sacramento Ballet, and Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre’s version of The Nutcracker is influenced by Ron’s version.  I am finally able to dance a professional Nutcracker that feels like home/natural?!  Although the two versions are not exactly the same, they are very similar. Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre still uses old costumes that they purchased from Sacramento Ballet! 

Even though ballet dancers perform The Nutcracker every year, I can’t imagine not dancing it.  The Nutcracker is a vital part of ballet history and has been a big part of my life for fifteen years.  I am so glad to be performing Ron Cunningham’s The Nutcracker in celebration of his 25^th Anniversary Season and cannot wait to see what the 2012-13 year has in store for me!

Lauryn Winterhalder

"now it's my turn to inspire all the little ones"

I walked out of the studio door last Saturday from a full company and student run through of the Waltz of the Flowers to the best surprise a dancer could ask for.  A little girl named Parker handed me a drawing of the two of us along with a note about how she "very much enjoyed my dansing."  Moved beyond words I gave her a hug and told her that I would immediately hang it up in my dressing room spot where it has made me smile everyday since.  I was moved because I was once that little girl.  As a child, the company members of the Sacramento Ballet were my heroes and I wanted to be just like them "when I grew up."  Everything about them was magical to me and no other ballet more fully showcased that then the Nutcracker.  The dancers took me to another land where magic came to life and dreams became reality.  It never really matter what role I had, I just wanted to be part of it and surround myself with these awe-inspiring people.  Now, in my 8th season as a professional with the company and approaching my 18th year performing in this production of the Nutcracker I am humbled by the thought that now it's my turn to inspire all the little ones out there.  I can't wait to show them that dreams do come true.  Parker's drawing reminded me that I fell in love with dance because it was a source of inspiration and an outlet for passion.  Performing in the Nutcracker annually is like returning to my roots and I do it for all the kids out there that dream big.

Alexandra Cunningham

Nutcracker Cast: Amy Seiwert (Marzipan)
Kirsten Bloom (Sugar Plum Fairy)
Bridget Baker (Spanish)
Jared Nelson (Nutcracker)
Alexandra Cunningham (Clara)
Dallas Lundquist (Snow King) 

I had no idea how Ron and Carinne would impact my life the day I started work with Sacramento Ballet.

Ron Cunningham as Dr. Drosselmeyer
(photo by Kyle Lemoi)

As I reflect on my time with Sacramento Ballet many wonderful memories come to mind.. If I had to pick one of the most inspiring moments it would be the Transition Scene in The Nutcracker. To see Ron's portrayal of Drosselmeyer is fun and a very moving experience. Ron always gave all he had to this role. Which in turn inspired me to do the same in my roles. Ron's passion and love of the theater inspired me beyond words.

Another memory was the impending question from on stage at the theater, who's teaching warm-up? And suddenly from a distance..........heels? clogs? Dr. scholls? Get ready to be Bindisized! Here we go!  (note from SacBallet: this is in reference to Carinne Binda teaching Company Class on-stage at the Theater prior to a performance. She is an amazing teacher and gets them very well warmed up for their performances...and usually does so in non-ballet shoes. Her feet are amazingly arched and lovely to watch, even in clogs.)

I had no idea how Ron and Carinne would impact my life the day I started work with Sacramento Ballet. There is not one day that goes by or one class I teach that I don't think about these two wonderful human beings.

A few words that sum up Nutcracker for me are; Fred Shadle's smile, Teresa's candies, sharing a dressing room with Lynlee, fighting with Kirsten on stage during a Marzipan run-through. Spanish with Luis.......ouch!. Watching Lynlee slide down Rome in Arabian, Kirsten crawling off stage in Flowers, Michael Johnson's sixty five cross-overs in act one. The list goes on and on. 

Natalee Pecorelli, Col. Fred Shadle and Marla Quinn

Andrea Gaudet

SacBallet the happiest days of my dancing career..."

The first memory that comes to me of dancing in Ron's Nutcracker is from the '93'94 season. There was a beautiful dancer, Lisa Spinella....a New Yorker with a very tender heart , but a high wit and a quick tongue, not to mention million dollar legs and feet :)

After the matinees, we did Q & A with the children in the audience. Lisa had danced Grand Pas that afternoon, and a young girl asked her..."Do you  ever make mistakes on stage, and what do you do if you mess up?"

Lisa, with her Brooklyn tone, promptly replied..."We don't mess up ~ we COVER up!!

I've told the story to my students for years!

Audrey Elwood ...Sac Ballet the happiest days of my dancing career...major Binda disciple.