SC Ballet Company Presents: The Nutcracker (2023)

SC Ballet Company Presents

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. In its 17th year, 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 this company. Formal auditions are held every Fall and Spring.

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 their own versions.

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 magical land filled with snowflakes and sugar plums.

Guest Instructors James Ady Molly Bogunovic

Photographers Ronna Schary Avery Van Harte

Videographer Avery Van Harte

Costume Designer Ellie Hermann

New Ballet Bovard Auditorium Mister Marley Dance Floors

Welcome to SC Ballet Company’s production of The Nutcracker. Taking on this renowned ballet this semester was not an easy endeavor to say the least. We would joke that we were out of our depths, doubting whether this project would actually come to fruition, but here we are three months later, and we could not be more proud of what we have put together. I have had the pleasure of working with all of these amazing dancers as their Artistic Director over the past year and cannot commend them enough for the insurmountable amount of time and hard work they have put into this showcase on top of their academics and other commitments. I am so beyond appreciative of the community we have built over the past few months as we scrambled to set and fund an entire ballet, which we are excited to share with you all today. We thank you all for coming out today and hope you enjoy the show!

-Aivy Levan, Artistic Director

Snow Pas de Deux

Performed by Emma DeAngelo and Mark Willenbring

Opening Remarks Waltz of the Snowflakes Performed by SC Ballet Company

Sugar Plum Variation Performed by Cathy Chen

Hot Chocolate

Performed by Leads: Arianna Bollens and Mark Willenbring Corps: Jamie Aguilar, Abby Groom, Mae Hawkins, and Aivy Levan

Coffee

Performed by Annie Street and Andre Walker

Tea

Performed by Carson Chivers, Kaitlyn Kumar, and Lucia Perez Valles

Marzipan Performed by Lead: Ashley Zhou Corps: Eunjae Baek, Christina Hanf, and Emily Wang

Candy Canes Performed by Lead: Andre Walker Corps: Emily Lai, Victoria Martzloff, Kimi Marumoto, and Gabrielle Skyles

Polichinelles Performed by Lead: Emma Anderson Corps: Carson Chivers, Ava Landen, and Rachel Lin

Waltz of the Flowers Performed by Dew Drop Fairy: Liliana Megharief Flowers: SC Ballet Company

Sugar Plum Pas De Deux Performed by Kylie Conlon and Cardin Chung

Sugar Plum Coda Performed by Sabrina Atkins and Cardin Chung

Finale Performed by SC Ballet Company

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Aivy Levan Artistic Director

Emma DeAngelo Assistant Director

Liliana Megharief Finance Chair

Emily Wang Finance Chair

Cathy Chen Public Relations Chair

Kylie Conlon Public Relations Chair

Eunjae Baek Event Operations Chair

Victoria Martzloff Event Operations Chair

COMPANY

Jamie Aguilar

Emma Anderson

Sabrina Atkin

Arianna Bollens

Cardin Chung

Carson Chivers

Abby Groom

Christina Hanf

COMPANY

Mae Hawkins

Kaitlyn Kumar

Emily Lai

Ava Landen

Rachel Lin

Kimi Marumoto

Lucia Perez Valles

Gabrielle Skyles

Tiffany Son

Annie Street

Grace Sumitro

Avery Van Harte

Andre Walker

Mark Willenbring

Ashley Zhou

Special thanks to our donors who have helped fund SC Ballet Company this fall. Without their support, The Nutcracker would not be possible.

Double Platinum Donors Anita Norris-DeAngelo Kasper and Lourdes Wang

Platinum Donors Joy Atkinson David Groom Jaren and Ron Landen

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 2024 showcase!

Donations can be made via Venmo or Zelle.

Click here to donate or scan the QR codes below.