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.