The SC Ballet Company (BCo) is a student-led organization at the University of Southern California that is devoted to practicing, performing, and choreographing classical and contemporary ballet. Since its inception in 2006, BCo provides performance opportunities and a support network for people who share a love of ballet. Attending ballet classes, learning classical variations, choreographing original pieces, and hosting a bi-annual showcase are some of the highlights of being part of thiscompany.FormalauditionsareheldeveryFallandSpring.
The Nutcracker is an 1892 two-act classical ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The plot is an adaptation of E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 short story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” The ballet's first choreographer was Marius Petipa, with whom Tchaikovsky had worked three years earlier on The Sleeping Beauty, assisted by Lev Ivanov. Tchaikovsky's score has become one of his most famous compositions. Since the late 1960s, it has been danced by countless ballet companies, especially in North America. The New York City Ballet gave its first annual performance of George Balanchine's reworked staging of The Nutcracker in 1954. Since then, many other choreographers have created theirownversions.
SC Ballet Company’s The Nutcracker includes excerpts from the ballet. With inspiration from New York City Ballet we have created our own rendition of the holiday classic. Follow along as we transport you to a magicallandfilledwithsnowflakesandsugarplums.
Our story begins on a snowy night, as Clara and her family gather for a holiday party.AmongthejoyandexcitementwasClara’sgodfather,HerrDrosselmeyer,a skilled toymaker and magician. He brought marvelous gifts for the children including life-like dolls and soldiers. For Clara, he saved the best gift of all, a wooden nutcracker. Clara was immediately captivated by the Nutcracker. However,hermischievousbrother,Fritz,jealousoftheattention,brokeitduring theparty.Luckily,theNutcrackerwasabletoberepairedwitharibbonandabit of magic. The evening would not be complete without the traditional Grandfather's dance, cherished by everyone at the party. As the night wound downandtheguestsdeparted,Claraandherfamilywenttobed.
As the clock struck midnight, strange things began to happen. Everything in the house started to grow, and her Nutcracker had come to life! Suddenly, the room wasfilledwithanarmyofmice,ledbytheMouseKing.TheNutcrackerralliedan armyoftoysoldiers,andabattleensued.Intheend,theNutcrackerandhisloyal soldiers emerged victorious, defeating the Mouse King and his army. With the Mouse King defeated, a spell was broken and the Nutcracker transformed into a handsomeCavalier.
Clara and the Cavalier traveled together through an enchanting snowy forest, guided by dancing snowflakes, until they reached the Land of the Sweets. In the Land of the Sweets, Clara and the Cavalier were honored with a grand celebration. As everyone danced joyously, Clara and the Cavalier were gifted with treats from around the world. The flowers waltzed gracefully, followed by a warmwelcomefromtheangels.ThenightculminatedwiththeSugarPlumFairy andCavalier’sdance.
As Clara’s time in the Land of the Sweets came to an end, the Sugarplum Fairy’s court bid her farewell. Clara found herself back in her living room, holding her toy Nutcracker. She was filled with joy as the memory of her magical adventure wouldstaywithherforever
GuestInstructorsandAdvisors
JamesAdy
MollyBogunovic
ShannonGrayson
Photographers
QuincyBowieJr.
BlakePak
AveryVanHarte
Videographer
GabrielBotelloFaz
Costumes
DearFriends,Family,andEsteemedGuests,
WelcometoSCBalletCompany’ssecondannualproductionofTheNutcracker!
There’s something truly magical about the holiday season a time of joy, warmth, and cherished traditions Among these, The Nutcracker holds a special place, inviting audiences of all ages to escape into a world of wonder and delight. We are overjoyedanddeeplygratefultosharethistimelessclassicwithyoutonight.
Noneofthismagicwouldbepossiblewithouttheincrediblecommunitythatbrings it to life. Our company members have poured countless hours into rehearsals and classes, balancing this commitment alongside their academic and personal lives. Our Executive Board has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to organize and support every aspect of the production. We are also deeply grateful to the Bovard crew, the home dance studios that generously lent us costumes, the professors who sharedtheirexpertise,andthephotographersandvideographerswhocapturedour journey. It truly takes a village, and the SC Ballet Company is fortunate to have one sostronganddedicated.
To our dancers, your commitment and creativity have been the heart of this production.Fromperfectingchoreographytosupportingoneanotherthroughlong rehearsals,yourdedicationhasbroughtthisshowtolifeinawaythatwordscannot fullycapture.Iamendlesslyproudofyourresilience,artistry,andabilitytoinspire eachotherbothonandoffthestage.
Since our re-debut in 2023, we have come so far. It has been a remarkable journey, fromfosteringasupportiveandvibrantcommunitytoreachingnewheightsinboth our overall caliber as a company and the quality of our productions. Watching this growth has been one of the greatest privileges of my time as Artistic Director, and tonight’sperformanceisacelebrationofhowfarwe’vecometogether.
Toouraudience,thankyouforbeinghereandforyourcontinuedsupport.Whether you are a family member, a friend, or simply a lover of ballet, your presence means the world to us and reminds us why we do what we do. Your donations and generosityareaninsurmountablehelpinallowingustobringproductionslikethis to life, and we are endlessly grateful for your belief in our mission We hope tonight’s performance fills your hearts with the same magic and joy we ’ ve felt creatingit.
Withdeepestgratitude,
AivyLevan ArtisticDirector SCBalletCompany
OpeningRemarks
ClaraandtheNutcracker
Performedby
ThomazinJuryandLucasKwan
Dolls
Performedby
EunjaeBaekandMaeHawkins
Grandfather’sDance
Music:“Indestructible”byRayBarretto
Performedby
BreakOn2:LatinFusion
TheMarch
Music:“March”byJoeMcCarthy’s NewYorkAfroAllianceBigBand
Performedby
TrojanTapTroupe
TheBattleScene
Performedby
TrojanStuntTeam
SnowPasdeDeux
Performedby
AvaLandenandMarkWillenbring
WaltzoftheSnowflakes
Performedby
SCBalletCompany
~15MinuteIntermission~
SpanishHotChocolate
Performedby
KylieConlon,JulienIshigaharaCharupakorn, andAivyLevan
ArabianCoffee
Performedby
MaiaBaluyut,SydneyMadolora, andLilianaMegharief
FrenchPeppermintSwirls
Performedby
Lead:MiaGlasser
Corps:KelseyLouie,LuciaPerezValles, andLeynaWeber
ChineseTea
Performedby
RachelTaandCathelinaZhan
RussianTarts
Performedby
JoelGoodman,JulienIshigaharaCharupakorn, LucasKwan,andMarkWillenbring
GermanGingerSnaps
Performedby
SabrinaAtkin,JasmineDelGallo,andMiaGlasser
WaltzoftheFlowers
Performedby
DewDropFairy:KennedySheriff
Flowers:SCBalletCompany
Angels
Performedby
SCBalletCompanyApprentices
SugarPlumVariation
Performedby
EmmaDeAngelo
CavalierVariation
Performedby
LucasKwan
SugarPlumCoda
Performedby
LucasKwanandMargueriteLarson
Finale
Performedby
SCBalletCompany
EXECUTIVE BOARD
AivyLevan ArtisticDirector
EunjaeBaek ExternalRelationsChair
LuciaPerezValles AssistantDirector
LilianaMegharief FinanceChair
AvaLanden FinanceChair
KylieConlon PublicRelationsChair
MarkWillenbring EventOperationsChair
COMPANY
EmmaDeAngelo ApprenticeshipChair
COMPANY
APPRENTICES
RidaAijaz
ShivaniAshyanth
CharlotteBull
MauraCaldwell
CourtneyCheung
MadiDelaGente
LuanadosSantos
KamalaniHanuna-Siqueira
SemiKim
BrunoKoskoff
SabrinaLi
IsabellaLobaina
AshaMody
EmilyNelson
KarissaNg
MollyNugent
PaigePrice
AveryRehl
JoanRuiz
AyrianaRuiz-Recendez
PranaviSenthil
LilyShare
AnnieStreet
AvaTello
VeronicaVartanian
HiyaVora
VeronikaWallach
JenelleWong
ZihanXia
YueqiXiong
JinyiYe
AvaZinna
BREAK ON 2: LATIN FUSION
AnastasiyaBilonozhko
KevinDiller
SufianKhmous
EmilyLai
FaithSanMartin
CarolineMikes
OmarNava
JoseTorres
TROJAN TAP TROUPE
JaredCharneyCohen
ToriFeinstein
AmeliaHoffman
AddisonKuncar
DerekLee
LaurenPickard
HattieUgoretz
TROJAN STUNT TEAM
ScottAltsuler
AdelinConanan
KrissieEssilfie
CaseyFleming
BeckHan
TheodoreHerrin
SentinLo
GinaPhu
MeganPoblete
AlexRamirez
HugoTurner
Specialthankstoourdonorswhohavehelped fundSCBalletCompanythisfall.Withouttheir support,TheNutcrackerwouldnotbepossible.
SC Ballet Company is made possible with your help! Along with funding from USC, BCo relies solely on donations in order to put on productions. On average, it costs around $10,000 to put on a bi-annual performance such as The Nutcracker. We are beyond grateful for any and all donations that we receive. Please consider donating to SC Ballet Company to support our Spring 2025showcase!
DonationscanbemadeviaourIgniteSCpage.
Clickheretodonate orscantheQRcodebelow.
