Every year, children around the world are enraptured by elegant ballerinas in pink tulle tutus, chivalrous nutcrackers in red velvet coats, and lands of sweets in technicolor hues. The Nutcracker ballet is an international Christmas tradition. The score was written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1892, Tchaikovsky’s two-act ballet was adapted from Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 short story of the same name, which itself is a retelling of another short story, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, penned by E. T. A. Hoffmann in 1816. Fittingly, as it is itself an adaptation, The Nutcracker ballet has been adapted numerous times, from page, to stage, to screen.
This year, Westside Ballet of Santa Monica will be presenting their 51st production of The Nutcracker, at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center. The production will be accompanied by the Santa Monica College Symphony Orchestra, and features special guest stars Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia. Both Peck and Mejia are principal dancers with the New York City Ballet, and Peck is an alumna of the Westside School of Ballet. The Westside Ballet’s rendition of The Nutcracker is Southern California’s longest running production of the show.
The Westside Ballet encompasses two separate organizations, the Westside School of Ballet, and the Westside Ballet of Santa Monica, a non-profit organization bringing arts to the community. The Westside School of Ballet was founded in 1967 by Yvonne Mounsey, a South African-American dancer, who instructed according to the expressive, neoclassical techniques of George Balanchine, co-founder of the New York City Ballet and heralded as the father of American ballet. Balanchine’s own 1954 version of The Nutcracker is still performed by the New York City Ballet every Christmas season. Mounsey herself had been a dancer in Balanchine’s company.
This year’s Westside Ballet production of The Nutcracker will feature two local Topanga residents, Sorcha Rose Cinadr (13) and Beatrice Michelin (9). Sorcha will be starring as Clara, sharing the stage with Peck’s Sugar Plum Fairy and Mejia’s Cavalier.
“It’s an incredible honor”, Sorcha explained. “They’re both incredible dancers and I’m really really astonished to be able to dance on stage with them this year.”
Sorcha will be doubling up, serving as a member of the Peppermint Candy Corps as well as in the role of Clara, while Beatrice will dazzle as one of the angels.
A native of Topanga, Sorcha is no stranger to incredible honors; the dancer is well-accomplished. Her achievements include performing in the Los Angeles Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in 2021 and 2022, as well as their 2022 production of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, speaking at the Los Angeles Ballet’s 2023 annual gala, and collaborating with Katherine Holabird, author of the popular children’s book series Angelina Ballerina, for a book reading and solo interpretive dance event. She continues to make a name for herself. This year she eagerly establishes herself as the Westside Ballet’s first Clara to dance en pointe.
“I am so happy that I can enjoy dancing with a challenge,” Sorcha told TNT.
To dance en pointe is a major accomplishment for a ballerina, requiring the strength to hold herself up on the tips of her toes, demanding an immense amount of power and coordination of the core and lower body, placing the majority of the dancer’s body weight on her hallux or halluces. In the true vein of an individualistic Balanchine dancer, Socha’s advice to anyone interested in starting ballet?
“[Ballet] seems like it’s particular and strict, and it is, but it’s really about your personal dancing, it’s about how you feel when you dance.”
New York City Ballet dancers continue to inspire young dancers like Beatrice Michelin, who cites the professional ballerinas in New York productions she viewed with her mother to be her inspiration for pursuing ballet. She is excited about her upcoming performance in Westside Ballet’s Nutcracker. Beatrice displays compassion for others, stating that, “everybody in my class is kind of my friend in a lot of ways.” Both dancers noted that among the most important things they keep in their ballet bags are an extra leotard and pair of tights, “in case an accident happens or a friend needs a loaner.”
Westside Ballet seeks to bring ballet to the Los Angeles community, both through their non-profit performing extension, which offers ticketed shows and community productions, and through their school. The school trains all ages in the art of ballet, fostering a sense of community for young women such as Sorcha and Beatrice, and providing them with a space to build meaningful friendships with peers with similar interests. The Westside School of Ballet also offers classes for adults of all skill levels in ballet, jazz, and ballroom dance. Nutcracker tickets are available online. The production will be presented at The Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center on Saturdays and Sundays from November 30 to December 8, 2024.
