by Noella Noelophile®
(Photo ©2023 by George Simian, and used with permission of San Pedro City Ballet.)
Lovingly crafting a special Christmas gift is an experience with which you’re almost certainly familiar.
And that’s exactly what San Pedro City Ballet is currently doing.
Their performances of The Nutcracker begin in just under three weeks!
What’s important to know, this year, is their change of venue. San Pedro City Ballet Co-Founder and Artistic Director Cindy Bradley emails that, due to renovations in their usual theater, the show will be happening in two locations this year.
Accordingly, here are the dates and locations!
(Graphic courtesy of San Pedro City Ballet, and used with permission.)
San Pedro City Ballet’s Nutcracker is a beloved tradition for many families in the South Bay area.
It’s also a part of a larger mission: introducing children, especially in underserved areas, to ballet and teaching them to dream and aspire to something exciting.
Through their DanceEd program, San Pedro City Ballet currently offers dance instruction to sixteen public schools in the Greater Los Angeles area, according to their website. Their goal is to expand their outreach, encouraging healthier lifestyles and greater self-confidence in youth.
Coming back to The Nutcracker, this year’s auditions were held in August, with rehearsals beginning shortly thereafter.
In this 2020 interview, Cindy explained some of the ways SPCB works to make The Nutcracker special.
(Photo courtesy of San Pedro City Ballet, and used with permission.)
“We rehearse, pretty much, five days a week,” she explained.
Those rehearsals involve company dancers, who do the bulk of the dancing, as well as the newer. just-recruited cast members.
With all the different groups, The Nutcracker is an ambitious production, which Cindy says involves around 200 cast members.
“There are many, many hours that go into putting on the production, which starts in September,” she said.
In addition to rehearsal of all the roles, with different groups, there’s prop construction, costume fittings, alterations…
“It just becomes a workshop for about three months or so,” Cindy added.
Like to be a part of San Pedro City Ballet’s magical Christmas tradition? Tickets are on sale now!