(Photo courtesy of George Simian, and used with permission of San Pedro City Ballet.)
Enchantment is what The Nutcracker is all about.
And with the ingenuity of San Pedro City Ballet, we’ll get to experience a performance, virtually, for Christmas season 2020.
On Saturday, December 12th, 5:00 pm Pacific time, they’ll stream a special presentation from their website.
On this episode of Noelophile®, San Pedro City Ballet Co-Founder and Artistic Director Cindy Bradley shares the story of her unique company and their upcoming presentation.
In lieu of a live performance, the show will be a video of the 2019 Nutcracker performance at San Pedro’s Warner Grand Theatre. Co-Founder and Artistic Director Cindy Bradley says the show will be enhanced with special artist interviews, featuring some of the dancers who performed in San Pedro City Ballet’s first-ever Nutcracker performances.
(Photo courtesy of George Simian, and used with permission of San Pedro City Ballet.)
Founded in 1994, San Pedro City Ballet is all about serving the community and sharing the joy of dance in their mission of creating a pre-professional company, comprised of members of the diverse population of the Los Angeles Harbor area. They do an educational outreach to schools and youth organizations, with performance workshops throughout the Los Angeles area.
In addition, their annual Nutcracker performances draw on volunteer members of San Pedro High School, giving students the opportunity to experience the behind-the-scenes stagecraft work involved in the production.
Does their name sound familiar? American Ballet Theatre superstar Misty Copeland was first introduced to dance in a San Pedro City Ballet workshop!
While Cindy admits her dancers are disappointed not to be able to perform live (who wouldn’t be?), she and her company are making the best of our current situation.
(Photo courtesy of George Simian, and used with permission of San Pedro City Ballet.)
And this isn’t their first innovation since COVID-19 hit. Since spring, San Pedro City Ballet has been coming up with ways to continue their company’s mission.
Among them: construction of a brand-new outdoor studio, and “hybrid” classes–some Zoom, and some outdoors!
Plan on marking your calendar for this special Christmas gift from San Pedro Ballet, one month from today.
And if you’re in a position to support them with a small donation–or even just send them an encouraging email after the show!–they’d love to hear from you, Donations can be made at http://www.sanpedrocityballet.org/support-dance.