UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
BRIAN COLE
Chancellor
THE NUTCRACKER
A BALLET IN TWO ACTS
Music by PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Choreographed and Directed by ILYA KOZADAYEV
Executive Director
ENDALYN T. OUTLAW
Assistant Director
LAURA MARTIN
Répétiteurs
APRIL BALL, PHILLIP BROOMHEAD, DAYNA FOX, BRITT JULEEN GONZALEZ, LAURA MARTIN, JARED REDICK,
ANGELINA SANSONE, MIKHAIL TCHOUPAKOV, JENNET ZERBE
Guest Lighting Designer PENNY JACOBUS
Production Stage Manager
JESSICA MAIDA
Dean, School of Dance
ENDALYN T. OUTLAW
Dean, School of Design & Production
MICHAEL J. KELLEY
Dean, School of Music
SAXTON ROSE
Featuring THE UNCSA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Conducted by BRIAN COLE
DECEMBER 6-8, 2024
PRESENTED BY STEVEN TANGER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
On behalf of the residents of Greensboro and the Greensboro City Council, it is my pleasure to extend a warm and cordial welcome to those attending the University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ presentation of “The Nutcracker,” December 6–8 at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts.
Greensboro is thrilled to be hosting this amazing production for the second consecutive year. Bringing this wonderful holiday tradition to our City and the state-of-the-art Tanger Center provides the opportunity for more Triad residents to experience this beloved holiday tradition. This joint venture between Greensboro and Winston-Salem was a tremendous success last year, and we look forward to capacity crowds again this year.
We have worked closely with the incredible staff and students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts to bring the biggest and most spectacular version of “The Nutcracker” to the Tanger Center stage.
Best wishes for a wonderful Holiday season, and we hope you enjoy the show!
Sincerely,
Nancy Vaughan Mayor of Greensboro
On behalf of the 254,000 citizens of Winston-Salem, welcome to the 2024 production of “The Nutcracker,” presented by University of North Carolina School of the Arts. This year marks the 59th production of “The Nutcracker,” which was presented in its first year at Reynolds Auditorium in Winston-Salem. In recent decades, the annual holiday production of “The Nutcracker” has taken place at downtown WinstonSalem’s Stevens Center, which is now closed for a long-awaited and much-deserved renovation. We look forward to the return of “The Nutcracker” and many other UNCSA productions after extensive renovation to the Stevens Center is completed.
I thank Mayor Vaughan, the staff of the Steven Tanger Center and the citizens of Greensboro for welcoming “The Nutcracker” during the 2023 holidays with open arms. Last year’s production of “The Nutcracker” resulted in an outstanding experience for those from across the Piedmont Triad who attended, and, perhaps more importantly, the UNCSA students who gained valuable experience from mounting and performing the production at the beautiful Tanger Center. I hope everyone attending “The Nutcracker” from Winston-Salem, Greensboro and the entire Piedmont Triad has a happy, healthy 2024 holiday season!
Sincerely,
Allen Joines Mayor of Winston-Salem
GREETINGS
DEAR GUESTS,
I am pleased to welcome you to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ 59th annual production of the “The Nutcracker,” being presented for the second time at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts.
We’re here in Greensboro because our home theater, the Roger L. Stevens Center in downtown Winston-Salem, closed temporarily in November 2023 for a longawaited comprehensive renovation. But sometimes challenges bring fortuitous opportunities. Last year, thanks to our new collaboration with the Tanger Center, our “Nutcracker” set records for attendance and gross ticket sales. Not only were we able to preserve the “Nutcracker” tradition for our beloved audiences — we also forged invaluable connections with new audiences across the Triad. The collaboration also allowed the university to continue one of its most important production experiences for students. The UNCSA schools of Dance, Design and Production, and Music collaborate to produce the show, with advanced students performing on- and off-stage, mentored and supervised by a distinguished faculty of practicing professional artists.
That is the concept behind UNCSA, the nation’s first and the state’s only residential
public school dedicated exclusively to training professional artists. Founded in Winston-Salem in 1963, opened in 1965, and included in the UNC System in 1972, UNCSA prepares emerging artists for careers in dance, design and production, drama, filmmaking, and music at the undergraduate through post-graduate levels, as well as through a specialized high school with free tuition for instate residents.
I hope you enjoy this presentation of “The Nutcracker,” which features exciting choreography by talented UNCSA faculty member Ilya Kozadayev. The UNCSA Symphony Orchestra will perform the familiar and well-loved score by Tchaikovsky, which I have the privilege to conduct again this year.
I invite you to return or travel anew to Winston-Salem to experience the multitude of performances and productions happening every week at UNCSA, and continue to attend performances at the magnificent Tanger Center here in Greensboro. The arts are for everyone, and our region is so rich with amazing opportunities to be inspired!
Sincerely,
BRIAN COLE Chancellor, UNCSA
DEAR FRIENDS,
It’s that time of year when families, friends and loved ones come together to celebrate the wonder and majesty of the holiday season. I am thrilled to welcome you to the 2024 production of UNCSA’s “Nutcracker,” once again expanding its reach into the broader Triad community.
This year, as we again enjoy the complete score, a delightful Party Scene, and the myriad characters we have grown to love, “The Nutcracker” promises to fill your hearts with the joyful sights and sounds of this classic work.
Our production epitomizes craftsmanship, community and care with the entire School of Dance ballet program participating, along with students from the contemporary program and Preparatory Dance Program, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year; the School of Music; and the School of Design and Production. There is no limit to the talent and dedication poured into this work by our dedicated faculty, led by Choreographer Ilya Kozadayev, staff and gifted students.
The success of this production is a result of the efforts of many including Guest Lighting Designer Penny Jacobus, the Greensboro Youth Chorus Concert Choir and our very own maestro, Chancellor Brian Cole, back this year to conduct the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra through this masterful work.
Thank you for being a part of our “Nutcracker” tradition. Your presence, your smiles, your laughter and your appreciation for the performers, who consistently deliver a professional-caliber show, mean the world to us.
Thank you for choosing to make “The Nutcracker” a part of your holiday traditions. We look forward to sharing this magical experience with you and hope that it brings warmth and joy to your holiday season and offers new moments to treasure and carry with you long after you leave the theater.
Sincerely,
ENDALYN T. OUTLAW Dean, School of Dance, UNCSA
THE TALE OF THE NUTCRACKER
On Christmas Eve, in a small workshop, Drosselmeyer, a clockmaker by trade, is finishing crafting a magical Nutcracker doll with the help of their apprentice nephew. Meanwhile, the Silverhaus family is hosting its annual Christmas party, attended by friends and neighbors from its small Prussian community. The Silverhaus children, Clara and Fritz, are enjoying the holiday festivities of tree decorating and dancing when the family’s longtime friend, and Clara’s godparent, Drosselmeyer, arrives with an extraordinary surprise. Drosselmeyer has a parental fondness for Clara and wants nothing more than for her to have a wonderful and magical life. In the hopes that a connection might spark, Drosselmeyer brings their nephew to the party to meet Clara. At the height of the festivities, Drosselmeyer asks their nephew to present the newly crafted Nutcracker doll to Clara. Her brother, Fritz, becomes jealous and breaks the doll. Clara is distraught, but Drosselmeyer comforts her by repairing the broken doll, while casting a magic spell on the Nutcracker. Drosselmeyer tells Clara that the doll needs rest to recover.
As the party winds down and Clara and Drosselmeyer’s nephew say good night to each another, they sense a connection. Clara is sent to bed, but, unable to contain her excitement about her new gift, sneaks back into the living room and falls asleep on the couch, embracing the Nutcracker doll.
During the night, Clara awakes to attend to her Nutcracker. Suddenly, giant mice enter the living room and attack Clara and her Nutcracker doll! She is saved by the unexpected appearance of Drosselmeyer, who sets a magic spell into motion. The Nutcracker comes to life in the form of Drosselmeyer’s nephew, and he and Clara embark on a wondrous journey this Christmas Eve. Together, they brave the terrifying Mouse King and his gang of mice, witness magnificent beauty in the forest of the Snowflakes, and enjoy the warmth of spirit in the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier’s Kingdom in the Land of Sweets. The pair enjoy sweets with Chocolate, Coffee, Tea, Marzipan and a Trepak dance. They dance the Waltz of the Flowers with Dewdrop.
The story ends as the two adventurers depart the Land of Sweets after a grand finale, and Clara wakes up back in her living room, having fallen off the couch. As she finds her Nutcracker doll, Clara wonders if her journey was, in fact, a wonderful dream.
CHOREOGRAPHER AND DIRECTOR
ILYA KOZADAYEV
Ilya Kozadayev, originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, received his dance training from Vaganova Ballet Academy; School of American Ballet; Academy of Colorado Ballet; and John Cranko Ballet Academy in Stuttgart, Germany. Kozadayev danced professionally, performing an array of international repertoire, as a soloist with Colorado Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet and as a dancer with Boston Ballet. Kozadayev was a winner of the New York International Ballet Competition. He began choreographing for Boston Ballet’s Raw Dance and went on to create ballets for Houston Ballet’s choreographic showcase and original work for Houston Ballet II, Kansas City Ballet, Festival Ballet Providence (now Ballet RI), Milwaukee Ballet II, Oklahoma Festival Ballet, Ballet Arkansas, Tulsa Ballet II, Contemporary Dance Oklahoma, University of Utah School of Dance, and UNCSA, among others. In 2015, Kozadayev won the “Visions Choreography Competition.” In 2017, he created an original version of “Romeo and Juliet” for Festival Ballet Providence that Broadway World hailed as “nothing short of a masterpiece, an absolute triumph for the dancers and artistic team involved in its creation.” Kozadayev’s original choreography has been performed in the United States, Germany, Austria and France. He was a finalist in the National Choreographers Initiative. In 2019, his original choreography for UNCSA was performed at Lincoln Center for the Youth America Grand Prix gala. In 2020, Kozadayev co-directed, wrote and choreographed a film version of “The Nutcracker” for UNCSA during the COVID-19 pandemic, collaborating with three other arts schools on campus in addition to the School of Dance. He went on to expand the 30-minute choreography for the film into a full-length, two-act production for UNCSA in 2021. Prior to joining UNCSA in 2017, Kozadayev served as assistant professor of ballet at the University of Oklahoma School of Dance. He holds an M.F.A. from Jacksonville University.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ENDALYN T. OUTLAW
Dancer, choreographer and educator Endalyn T. Outlaw (née Taylor) is the dean of the School of Dance at UNCSA. She has held the positions of director of Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) School in New York — a company she joined in 1984, becoming a principal dancer in 1993 — and director of the Cambridge Summer Art Institute in Massachusetts. Her extensive administrative, artistic and academic career is steeped in ballet pedagogy, and she has created an eclectic body of choreographic works. With more than 25 years of teaching experience, she has built an arsenal of pedagogic tools and core values that cultivate artistry, mentoring and versatility, and celebrate inclusionary ideals, policies and systems. Outlaw excels at restaging ballets, having performed many of the classics and having worked with luminaries in the field including DTH founder Arthur Mitchell, British-American ballet dancer and choreographer Frederick Franklin, director and choreographer of LINES Ballet Alonzo King, American dancer and choreographer Agnes de Mille, and director and choreographer of Garth Fagan Dance and “The Lion King,” Garth Fagan. She has performed on Broadway and stages all over the world, including as an original cast member of Tony Award-winning Broadway productions of “The Lion King,” “Aida” and “Carousel.” Prior to joining UNCSA in 2021, she served six years at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign where she taught ballet and musical theater as an associate professor of dance. In 2020 she was appointed the Dean’s Fellow for Black Arts Research.
CREDITS
CREDITS
CONDUCTOR
BRIAN COLE
An accomplished conductor, UNCSA Chancellor Brian Cole has led orchestras and operas throughout the United States, Europe, South America and the Caribbean. Cole has conducted extensively in Spain, where he served four years as the founding dean of academic affairs at Berklee College of Music’s campus in Valencia. These ensembles include La Banda Primitiva de Lliria, Centre de Perfeccionament Plácido Domingo, Palau de les Arts, and Orquesta de Córdoba. He has also conducted extensively in Puerto Rico, where he served seven years as associate dean of academic affairs at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, conducting the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera Theater of Puerto Rico. In South America, additional conducting engagements have included regular engagements with the Orquesta de Concepción in Chile and the Orquestas Juveniles de Venezuela “Simon Bolivar.” Cole has conducted the Pärnu Linnaorkester in Pärnu, Estonia, where he also conducted the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra. The 2024 “Nutcracker” marks Cole’s fifth time on the podium with the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra since joining UNCSA as dean of the School of Music in August 2016. In November 2016, Cole conducted Stravinsky’s “Firebird Finale” to conclude the Second Annual Collage Concert at the Stevens Center. In December 2017, he conducted the “The Nutcracker” for the first time, and then again in 2018, both at the Stevens Center, and in 2023 at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro. Cole has served the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as conducting assistant and as assistant conductor for the May Festival. He has held the positions of assistant conductor and director of education and outreach programs for the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and as music director of the Concert Orchestra of the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music, where he was a doctoral student in orchestral conducting. He received his M.M. in instrumental conducting from the University of Illinois and his B.M. in bassoon performance from Louisiana State University. An innovative, experienced and bilingual arts leader, Brian Cole is the ninth chancellor of UNCSA. Tapped as interim chancellor in August 2019, he was appointed chancellor by the UNC Board of Governors on May 20, 2020.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND RÉPÉTITEUR LAURA MARTIN
Laura Martin is a full professor who has served on the faculty at UNCSA since 2010. She was trained primarily at the Washington School of Ballet under the direction of Mary Day, with supplemental training at the Joffrey School and the Chautauqua Institute. Martin went on to join the Washington Ballet, Miami City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre (ABT), where she danced the works of choreographers including George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Agnes de Mille, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor and Martha Graham, as well as most of the classical ballets. Following ABT, Martin was invited to join the Broadway cast of “The Phantom of the Opera.” She finds that teaching at UNCSA provides incredibly rewarding opportunities that continue to deepen her perspective on ballet. In addition to assisting guest artists with the staging and rehearsing of ballets on campus, Martin has staged work internationally.
RÉPÉTITEUR
APRIL BALL
April Ball draws on her extensive international career as a principal dancer to inspire and educate the next generation of dance artists at UNCSA, where she was appointed as a faculty member in 2024. Born in the U.S., Ball enjoyed a 30-year career as a principal dancer, including tenures at Boston Ballet and the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and 20 years with Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo in Monaco. Known for her versatility in both classical and modern repertoires, her performances as a company member and international guest artist have graced prestigious stages such as the Bolshoi Theatre, the National Theater in Beijing, and the Coliseum in London. She holds a French National Diploma in dance education and a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania, with a double major in leadership and communications and positive psychology.
RÉPÉTITEUR PHILLIP
BROOMHEAD
Phillip Broomhead is thrilled to join the School of Dance for 2024. He was born in London, England, and trained at The Royal Ballet School. In 1980, he joined The Royal Ballet and was promoted to soloist in 1983 and to principal dancer in 1986, performing numerous times in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and at many other royal galas. Broomhead had several roles created while performing with The Royal Ballet, including the Southern Cape Zebra in “Still Life at the Penguin Café” and roles in “Varii Caprice,” “Isadora,” “Pursuit,” “Number One,” “Enclosure” and “L’Invitation au Voyage.” He also created roles in the world premieres of Glen Tetley’s “Lux in Tenebris,” Ben Stevenson’s “Eclipse,” and UNCSA alumnus Trey McIntyre’s “Peter Pan.” Broomhead joined Houston Ballet as a principal dancer in 1991 and made his debut in Ben Stevenson’s “Cinderella.” He was featured in all of Stevenson’s ballets and in many other works. After 13 years of dancing with the Houston Ballet, he retired in 2004 and began freelancing, judging for the Youth America Grand Prix; staging “Sleeping Beauty Act III” and fulllength “Coppelia” for Chamberlain Ballet in Plano, Texas; and teaching and coaching at prestigious schools, companies and universities.
DAYNA FOX
Dayna Fox received her early ballet training in Columbus, Ohio, at Ballet Met. She also studied with tap and jazz legends Luigi, Patricia Birch and Charles Kelly as well as at UNCSA under such illustrious teachers as the late Melissa Hayden and Duncan Noble. In 1977, Fox joined the North Carolina Dance Theater (NCDT) where she was a featured dancer through 1985. Under the direction of Robert Lindgren and Salvatore Aiello, NCDT performed an eclectic repertoire and toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. In 1989, Fox was named director of UNCSA’s Preparatory Dance Program. During her 25-year tenure, she helped train hundreds of children for the School of Dance’s high school division, many of whom have gone on to have professional careers with dance companies across the U.S. and abroad. Fox became a guest instructor for the School of Dance in 1999, and in 2007 was hired to the full-time ballet faculty, where she currently serves as an associate professor. Fox holds a B.F.A. from UNCSA and is an official répétiteur for the Salvatore Aiello Trust. She has performed the roles of Mrs. Silverhaus and the Grandmother in the UNCSA production of “The Nutcracker” and has been a part of the rehearsal staff since 1990.
RÉPÉTITEUR
BRITT JULEEN GONZALEZ
Originally from Miami, Florida, Britt Juleen Gonzalez spent most of her 20-year performance career in Europe at the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam and as a first soloist in Germany’s SemperOper Ballet at its exquisite Opera House. She has also performed with Ballet Arizona, Ballet Gamonet and the contemporary dance companies iMEE, Jacoby & Pronk and SFDanceworks. She has performed in works created by leading classical and modern/ contemporary choreographers such as Marius Petipa, William Forsythe, George Balanchine, David Dawson, Krzysztof Pastor, Rudi van Dantzig, Jirˇí Kylián, Frederick Ashton, Antony Tudor, John Neumeier, Uwe Scholz, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Paul Taylor and many more. Juleen has taught extensively across the San Francisco Bay Area including the company and schools associated with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Oakland Ballet Company and ODC Dance Company. She served as the artistic director for Berkeley Ballet Theater. Juleen studied at the School of American Ballet, New World School of the Arts, Pacific Northwest Ballet School and Houston Ballet Academy. She also studied Somatic Movement Education through the School for Body-Mind Centering. She is American Ballet Theatre Teacher Certified. Before joining the UNCSA School of Dance, Juleen was an assistant professor at San Jose State University, University of Iowa, East Carolina University, Saint Mary’s College and Hollins University.
CREDITS
Assistant Dean of the School of Dance Jared Redick began his ballet training in Reston, Virginia, under the guidance of his mother, Julia Cziller Redick. A graduate of the High School ballet program at UNCSA, he studied under founding Dean of Dance Robert Lindgren. Redick furthered his training at prestigious institutions such as Mikhail Baryshnikov’s School of Classical Ballet and the School of American Ballet. Redick’s professional career took off with the San Francisco Ballet, and he later performed as a soloist with the Miami City Ballet, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet and the Boston Ballet. In Boston, he danced a broad repertoire spanning a wide range of styles, including principal roles in works by Marius Petipa, John Cranko, George Balanchine, Jorma Elo, Jirˇí Kylián, William Forsythe, Antony Tudor, Sir Frederick Ashton and Twyla Tharp. After retiring from the stage in 2009, Redick began teaching both nationally and internationally, with engagements at institutions such as the Royal Danish Ballet School, Tivoli Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet School, Orlando Ballet School, Nashville Ballet School, Charlotte Ballet and Yale University. He has also served as a guest ballet master and company teacher with American Ballet Theatre, Finnish National Ballet, Houston Ballet, Nashville Ballet and Cincinnati Ballet. Redick is a recipient of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Award for Exceptional Artistic Achievement. In 2012, he was appointed as an associate fellow of Pierson College at Yale University. Since 2013, he has been a judge and master teacher for the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP). For many years, Redick directed the annual UNCSA production of “The Nutcracker,” which Dance Teacher magazine recognized as one of the nation’s best holiday productions. Since 2021, Redick has served as an adjudicator for YoungArts, furthering his commitment to nurturing and recognizing young talent. In addition to serving as the interim dean of the School of Dance for the 2020–21 school year, Redick received both the prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award and the inaugural Academic Leadership Fellowship in 2022. He earned a Master of Fine Arts in dance from Hollins University in 2023 and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
ANGELINA SANSONE
Angelina Sansone began her formal ballet training with Charlotte City Ballet in North Carolina. At the age of 14, she left home to attend The Harid Conservatory in Florida on a full tuition scholarship. After graduating from Harid, she spent two seasons with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, where she appeared in Robert Altman’s 2003 film, “The Company.” Following Joffrey, Sansone worked toward her B.S. in ballet at Indiana University before accepting a contract with the Kansas City Ballet in 2005. In her 14 seasons with the company, she enjoyed a rich career working with numerous choreographers and performing a wide-ranging repertory of soloist and principal roles. While pursuing her performing career, Sansone maintained an active teaching schedule and participated in a variety of creative projects. For more than 15 years, she was on staff as ballet teacher with several dance schools and taught as guest faculty across the country. In August 2018, she returned to her home state and proudly joined the ballet faculty at UNCSA. Before beginning her employment, she received her certification from the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum in levels preprimary through five. In addition to her teaching schedule, Sansone has staged multiple pieces and assisted in the creation of new works by Ilya Kozadayev, Stephanie Martinez and Gina Patterson. During her summers since returning to North Carolina, Sansone continues to teach in the regional community, has received her Progressing Ballet Technique certification and, in 2019, traveled to Guangdong, China, as a visiting professor of ballet for the Guangdong University.
CREDITS
CREDITS
RÉPÉTITEUR
MIKHAIL TCHOUPAKOV
Born and raised in Moscow, Mikhail “Misha” Tchoupakov performed with the esteemed Bolshoi Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Sarasota Ballet of Florida, Los Angeles Classical Ballet, San Francisco Opera Ballet, and Vienna State Opera Ballet in Austria. His teaching career, spanning over three decades, includes faculty positions at The Royal Ballet School, Elmhurst School for Dance (in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet), and English National Ballet School in the U.K., as well as assistant professor at the University of Utah Department of Ballet. Tchoupakov has a longstanding affiliation with the Youth America Grand Prix, serving as rehearsal director, judge and master teacher for this prominent ballet and contemporary dance competition in New York. Internationally renowned as a guest teacher, he has instructed at numerous top schools worldwide. Tchoupakov holds an M.F.A. in dance pedagogy and choreography from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography. He joined the faculty of the UNCSA School of Dance in 2013 and was recently promoted to full professor.
RÉPÉTITEUR JENNET ZERBE
Jennet Zerbe believes insightful, rigorous training in classical ballet yields versatile dancers for the stage. Zerbe joined UNCSA’s faculty in 2014 and has been the primary teacher for the advanced female ballet students in concert with the School of Dance faculty since that time. Her students have become professional dancers in American Ballet Theatre (ABT), Dance Theatre of Harlem, Northern Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Finnish National Ballet, and Campañia Nacional de Danza, among others. Zerbe trained at The Royal Ballet School in London, where her graduation performance of Odette in “Swan Lake” garnered her an invitation to join ABT, where she danced for eight years under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov. After her professional career, Zerbe earned her B.A. from Wellesley College, became an ABT Certified Teacher at the launch of ABT’s National Training Curriculum, and earned her Maestro Enrico Cecchetti Diploma in London. Her teaching career blossomed under Nancy and Murray Kilgour at the School of Alberta Ballet in Canada. These pedagogical giants shared with Zerbe their expertise in ballet’s best techniques, and innumerable insights to educate the artists of tomorrow. Zerbe received a Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts Faculty Leadership Grant and is a recipient of UNCSA’s Excellence in Teaching Award.
GUEST LIGHTING DESIGNER PENNY JACOBUS
Penny Jacobus is the former lighting director for the New York City Ballet (NYCB) and was with the company from 2000 to 2018. Additional credits include four world premiere designs for NYCB and designs for Christopher Wheeldon and the Morphoses Dance Company and for Tom Gold Dance. She has also assisted on several Broadway shows. Jacobus has lit dance internationally and was the American lighting supervisor for several Kirov Ballet tours in the U.S. She started her New York City lighting career as the Hemsley Lighting Intern at the New York City Opera. Jacobus holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The Nutcracker” is her favorite holiday show and she is grateful for this opportunity to work with the students, faculty and staff at UNCSA.
HOWARD C. JONES
Howard Jones was the director of scene painting and a UNCSA faculty member from 1996 until he retired in 2017. Before that, he was one of the founders of Cobalt Studio, an apprentice painting studio in New York. He was recognized with the Elliott Norton Award in 2000 in Boston and in 2005 at the World Stage Design Expo. He has designed for the North Shore Music Theatre, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Missouri Repertory Theatre, State Ballet of Missouri, Weston Playhouse, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, American Heartland Theatre, Bay Street Theatre, Starlight Theatre, Goodspeed Opera, Royal Ballet New Zealand, Opera Romania in Bucharest, Triad Stage and the Coterie Theatre. He designed several UNCSA shows, including “West Side Story,” “Oklahoma!” and “She Loves Me.”
NEW COSTUME DESIGNS
MARISSA MCCULLOUGH
Marissa McCullough is director of the Dance Costume Shop and resident costume designer for the School of Dance. In addition to new designs for this production and the 2020 “Nutcracker” film, she has designed for guest choreographers and faculty over the past nine years. Highlights include her designs for Ilya Kozadayev’s “Dream(s)pace,” “Harlequinade,” Stephanie Martinez’s “Wandering On” and Dayna Fox’s “Magnificat.” Before her work for UNCSA, McCullough was a member of the Wardrobe Department for American Ballet Theatre and The Metropolitan Opera, “Forbidden Broadway” and the “American Girl” musical. She holds a B.A. from Marymount Manhattan College.
KATHRYN
E. GRILLO
Retired UNCSA Director of Dance Costume Kathryn Grillo began working at the school in 1984 as a costume designer/draper and adjunct faculty member in the School of Design and Production. After designing several works for the School of Dance, she was hired in 1996 to help craft the costumes for this “Nutcracker” ballet, and her love of dance costuming was sparked. Upon becoming part of the Dance Costume Shop staff, she created and designed numerous ballet pieces, including “Raymonda,” “Don Quixote,” “Rubies” and designs for a number of replacement costumes as the years of “Nutcracker” performances took their toll. She also designed and built many contemporary pieces by established guest choreographers and UNCSA faculty. She created designs for the American Dance Festival, Carolina Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, American Ballet Theatre Studio, Ballet Tennessee, and Ballet Spartanburg. She also re-created a number of historical works for both Duke University and UNCSA under the tutelage of the dancers who performed in the original productions of these early 20th-century pieces. From 1991 to 2012, aside from her dance work, Grillo was the resident costume designer/coordinator for Piedmont Opera, originating designs for “The Light in the Piazza,” “Les Contes d’Hoffmann,” “La Bohème” “Turandot” (semi-costumed), and other works. For four of those years she was also resident designer/coordinator for Opera Carolina. Besides local opera work, she designed costumes for Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Virginia Opera, Opera Tampa and North Carolina Opera. Grillo holds a B.A. from Cornell University in theatre arts and an M.F.A. in costume design and technology from Carnegie Mellon University.
CREDITS
CREATING A WORLD OF MAGIC AND DELIGHT
A HISTORY OF THE UNCSA “NUTCRACKER”
“The Nutcracker” has been performed annually by UNCSA since 1966. That year, Robert Lindgren, founding dean of the UNCSA School of Dance, and his wife, Sonja Tyven, a School of Dance faculty member, staged “The Nutcracker” at UNCSA for the first time as part of the town of Salem’s 200th anniversary celebration.
Lindgren and Tyven had only three months and $2,500 to make “The Nutcracker” stage ready. Sets were rented from the Washington National Ballet and supplemented by donations of furniture and props. Recordings of Tchaikovsky’s score were collected. The choreography was modeled after what Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa created for the original production in 1892. The costumes were uniquely UNCSA, envisioned by the school’s then-resident designer, Christina Giannini. “The Nutcracker” was performed by UNCSA students and faculty for the first time on Dec. 10, 1966, in Reynolds Auditorium, and the audience instantly fell in love.
Since that first performance, the UNCSA “Nutcracker” production has been reimagined, re-created and refreshed numerous times. In Year Two, Giannini designed scenery to match the costumes, the latter of which were used for more than 30 years. The original sets were replaced in 1978 with new designs by Mark Pirolo, then-director of the School of Design and Production (D&P) scene design program. Other than a move to the newly refurbished Stevens Center in 1983, the production remained largely unchanged until the late ’90s. In 1998, “The Nutcracker’’ received a significant overhaul. UNCSA D&P alumnus Campbell Baird updated most of the production’s costumes, which harkened back to their 1960s origin. Baird also revamped the sets, and alumnus John McKernon created new lighting, giving a fresh look and feel to the Twin City’s beloved ballet.
The production was reimagined once again in 2009, when Ethan Stiefel, then dean of the UNCSA School of Dance, developed new choreography for the ballet with three
faculty members. Although many of the production materials from the ’90s are still used today, the new staging required several costume and prop changes. Kathryn Grillo and Carolyn Fay, both former directors of the Dance Costume Shop, designed new looks for Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy, her Cavalier Prince and Mother Ginger. They also added a corps of Baby Mice. Howard Jones, then-Design and Production’s director of scenic art and scene painting, contributed new scenic elements, including the glorious growing Christmas tree. New lighting was added by D&P alumnus Brad Fields, resident lighting designer for American Ballet Theatre. Also in 2009, the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra, composed of students from the School of Music, served as the production’s pit orchestra for the first time. The Winston-Salem Symphony had been providing live music for the school’s “Nutcracker” since 1969.
Almost all the Sugar Plums and Cavaliers who danced in the UNCSA “Nutcracker” later joined professional companies — many of them as soloists and principal dancers.
UNCSA alumna Gillian Murphy (High School Dance ’96), principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, is one of several alumni who have returned to reprise these featured roles. Other renowned guest artists, such as Julie Kent and David Hallberg, have also graced the Stevens Center stage in “The Nutcracker.”
The year 2020 presented challenges like never before as UNCSA acclimated to limitations from the COVID-19 pandemic. The classic work was abridged and adapted/choreographed/directed specifically for film through a unique collaboration among the schools of Dance, Filmmaking, Music, and Design and Production. That “Nutcracker” featured all-new choreography, writing and concept by faculty member Ilya Kozadayev. Magical touches created through visual effects and animation brought the story to life for audiences worldwide. View the 30-minute film at uncsa.edu/nutcracker.
This year’s “Nutcracker” — choreographed and directed by Kozadayev in 2021, working from ideas of his film version, and expanded in 2022 to include the complete score, the boisterous Party Scene and the beloved Mother Ginger — is a reimagining of the original stage production. Clara and her Nutcracker Prince are front and center along with the Sugar Plum Fairy, Snowflakes and Flowers, as well as the showstopping Trepak. Constantly reinventing itself is how UNCSA is finding innovative ways to provide gifted emerging artists with the experience, knowledge and skills to excel in their disciplines, preparing them to shape the future of the arts and entertainment industry.
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS
PRODUCTION STAFF
ASSISTANT DEAN, PRODUCTION
Eric Nottke
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Julie Rundell
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT TO THE ASSISTANT DEAN
Eden Kinsey
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Amanda Casachahua
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Jessica Maida
STAGE MANAGER
Josephine D’Arcy
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER (PROPERTIES)
Timothy Duggins
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER (COSTUMES)
Kristen Wright
STAGE MANAGEMENT FACULTY ADVISER
Nikki Hyde
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Penny Jacobus
ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGNER
Thania Melendez
PRODUCTION ELECTRICIANS
Trevor Kirschenheiter
Robert Virzera
ASSISTANT PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN
Aidan Pointak
LIGHTING PROGRAMMER
George Janikula
LIGHTING SHOP FOREPERSONS
Jade Caric
Chris Mendell
Emma Perch
LIGHTING SHOP STAFF
Zach Holditch
Alex Marshall
Makaylah Scobee
Logan Whitten
SPOT CALLER
Abby Bouck
LIGHTING DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY
FACULTY ADVISERS
Yelena Babinskaya
Brandon Bagwell
Aaron Spivey
PROPERTIES DIRECTOR
August Le-Hoang
PROPERTIES ARTISANS
Nicole Da Silva
Lydia Eldredge
Molly Gray
Max Humphrey
Julia Nelson
Haley Weathington
Alice Yu
Patrick Zeigler
STAGE PROPERTIES FACULTY ADVISER
Kris Julio
STAGE AUTOMATION FACULTY ADVISER
Scott Beckwith
SCENIC ART TOUCH-UP ARTIST
Beth Dietze
SCENIC ARTISAN FACULTY ADVISER
Susan Crabtree
DANCE COSTUME SHOP DIRECTOR
Marissa McCullough
WARDROBE CREW
Elianna Askren
Nikki Harada
Lauren Patrick
Alastair Shoulders
Avery Smith
COSTUME SHOP DRAPERS/FIRST HANDS
Robin Ankerich
Kelsey Burns
STITCHER
Sarah Horvath
COSTUME SHOP WORK-STUDY
Luci Dodge
Scarlet Newton
Madi Schneider
Madison Winterhalter
COSTUME SHOP VOLUNTEERS
Rose Lynne Bowman
Carolyn Fay
WIG MASTER
Amber Wright
WIG AND MAKEUP SHOP MANAGER
Victoria Ashmore
WIG AND MAKEUP ASSISTANT SHOP
MANAGER
Vernon Fabricio
WIG AND MAKEUP CREW
Sienna Bacon
Scout Jones
Mars Morton
WIG AND MAKEUP FACULTY ADVISER
Holland Berson
AUDIO/VIDEO COORDINATOR
Jared Bowman
UNCSA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
UNCSA DEAN OF MUSIC
Saxton Rose
UNCSA CHANCELLOR AND CONDUCTOR
Brian Cole
VIOLIN
Olga Zaiats, Concertmaster
Brian Ford, Associate Concertmaster
Gabriel Mendoza, Assistant Concertmaster
José Sequiera, Principal Second
Yaali Mamerud, Assistant Principal Second
Sophie Anderson
Darla Hausman
Diego Infanzon
Sara Krank
Sebastian Leczky
Deanna Miller
Rosie Nelson
Zachary Olsen
Sara Palacios
Julian Walther
Jingyi Wei
Nick Williams
Daisy Zhou
VIOLA
Arina Komarova, Principal
Yiming Zhao, Assistant Principal
Isabella Okhotina
Italia Perez
David Rankin
Bailey Rickman
CELLO
Maria Casas, Principal
Andrew Cho, Assistant Principal
Rebecca Fuller
Donovan Vega
DOUBLE BASS
Aaron Lawton, Co-Principal
Michael Stratford, Co-Principal
PICCOLO
Bryan Culler, Principal
FLUTE
Ilya Perepelitsa, Principal
Daniel Peña Cruz
OBOE
Ava Bigalke, Principal
Lauren Derflinger
ENGLISH HORN
Adrian Gonzolez, Principal
CLARINET
Ryan Holland, Principal
Nicholas Copeland
BASS CLARINET
Blaine Edwards, Principal
BASSOON
Fernando Peraza Ruiz, Co-Principal
CJ Claggett, Co-Principal
Stephen Olusemire
HORN
Wyatt Gibson, Principal
Chase Oncken, Assistant Principal
Kyle Coleman
Justice Ratliff
Lauren Sellars
TRUMPET
Alexandre Penaloza, Co-Principal
Christopher Woods, Co-Principal
Oscar Ramirez
TROMBONE
Reagan Henderson, Principal
Carlos Chavez
BASS TROMBONE
Patrick Sweet, Principal
TUBA
Avery Greene, Principal
HARP
Annabelle Wang, Principal
CELESTA
Ruyi Wang, Principal
PERCUSSION (seating rotates)
Nate Bachta
Benjamin Burson
Griffin Honrado
ENSEMBLES FACULTY/STAFF
Mark Norman, Director of Instrumental Ensembles
Ken Wilmot, Director of Artistic Operations
ENSEMBLES PRODUCTION/OPERATIONS GRADUATE ASSISTANTS
Gabriel Mendoza
Daniel Peña-Cruz
Olga Zaiats
Yiming Zhao
ENSEMBLES LIBRARY GRADUATE ASSISTANTS
Blaine Edwards
David Mailman
GREENSBORO YOUTH CHORUS CONCERT CHOIR
LJ Martin, Conductor
Jiawei Tschu, Rehearsal Accompanist
Arjun Arunprasad
Anaiyah Butler
Simone Crawford
Caroline Dutton
Aurora Gonzalez
Marlee Hale
Miriam Hall
Helena Henshaw
Charlotte Howes
Chloe Killian
Ginny Lowder
Allie Maxim
Clara Meixner
Zahra Pitts
Aarna Sharma
Isla Sink
Elena Smith
“LJ” Sturdivant
Madison Warren
PHOTOGRAPHY FEATURED IN THIS PROGRAM BY
Andrew Bowen
Andrew Dye
Luke Jamroz
Taylor Jones
Raunak Kapoor
Peter Mueller
Andy Tennille
FUN FACTS
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS PRODUCTION OF “THE NUTCRACKER”
The Christmas tree is illuminated through a custom, student designed and built LED system. Over 300 individual, wirelessly controlled RGB pixels are used to create the flames and the twinkling lights. Forty-five painted ornaments ranging in size from 3 inches to 16 inches add to the beauty.
It took 18,000 hours to complete the construction and painting of the original scenery and props, all of which was done by students, faculty, staff and alumni from the School of Design and Production.
Whatever stage you’re at or on our nationally renowned care will keep you on the move, with 25 orthopaedic locations throughout northwest North Carolina. Same- and next-day appointments, Saturday hours and walk-ins are welcome at select locations.
Proud to serve as official provider for performers at the UNC School of the Arts.
at every age and stage
We help you do more of the things you love while making care easier and more accessible than ever.
womblebonddickinson.com
UNLEASH THE WONDER
Year after year, Womble Bond Dickinson is delighted to witness the amazing student dancers of UNCSA’s production of The Nutcracker. We hope the spellbinding performance sweeps you en pointe to a realm of joy, just as it does for us. Enjoy the show!
THE NUTCRACKER Bespeaks Excellence!
Clearly Bespoke Strategies applauds UNCSA’s performances, tailor-made annually for joyful holidays!
Erna Womble, J.D., M.Ed. & Bill Womble, Jr., J.D. STRATEGIC ADVISORS
Over 100 costumes are used in the production of “The Nutcracker.”
FUN FACT
About 75% of the choreography in the 2020 film version of “The Nutcracker” was created over Zoom during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Choreographer and Dance faculty member Ilya Kozadayev has since adjusted and expanded the vocabulary, adapting it for the stage and a much larger cast. However, about 25% of the choreography from the film is still in the stage version. The entire opening solo for Drosselmeyer, for instance, remains from the film and was choreographed in Kozadayev’s living room and rehearsed over Zoom, with dancer and alumnus Anthony Santos in his living room in Harlem, New York. If you look closely, you can see that Drosselmeyer does not move around the space more than 3 to 4 feet in any direction.
FUN FACT
Waltzing in a winter wonderland
This holiday season, discover something different in Greensboro, NC. Experience the Greensboro Science Center’s Winter Wonderlights, marvel at the giant balloons in the Downtown Holiday Parade, and take in the mesmerizing sights of the Sunset Hills Holiday Balls. With exceptional dining, drinks, and memories to make, your plate, days and spirit will be full.
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The fur for the mice is actually layers of net, dyed and sewn on stretch velvet and then trimmed (like a topiary or shrubbery sculpture) to create haunches and tummies. From a distance, it looks like fur. The eyes are made of sunglass lenses and the teeth are fake fingernails!
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DESIGN & PRODUCTION
DRAMA
FILMMAKING
MUSIC
Fifty-nine UNCSA student musicians play in the orchestra pit for each performance. They are joined by a rotating group of Greensboro Youth Chorus members.
For over 50 years, Academy alumni have performed in the annual Nutcracker
We are proud to continue this tradition
Good V ibes
Since 1966, UNCSA’s beloved production of “The Nutcracker” has been entertaining audiences in WinstonSalem, and now it’s captivating the hearts of the Piedmont Triad at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro. A $94 million, stateof-the-art facility that has transformed downtown Greensboro, the Tanger Center is home to touring Broadway productions, concerts, Guilford College’s Bryan Series, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra performances, comedy shows and all types of family entertainment. Presented with partners Nederlander and Professional Facilities Management (PFM), the First Bank Broadway Series is one of the nation’s top-selling one-week Broadway series with a venue-record 17,569 Season Seat Members in 2024-25. The 3,000-seat venue is operated by Oak View Group and managed by the staff of the Greensboro Complex. Visit TangerCenter.com for more information.
