By LEE RAJSICH Special to the Daily Press
The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a classic Christmas ballet by Tchaikovsky.
Santa Monica’s Westside Ballet school has brought “The Nutcracker” back to the stage for the 30th year in a row.
Featuring young and upcoming ballet students from 8- to 18 years olds and under the artistic direction of internationally renowned ballerina and co-founder of Westside Ballet Yvonne Mounsey, this year’s production makes for a holiday outing for both families and ballet enthusiasts, ballet officials say.
The ballet already has been performed at the Smothers Theatre in Malibu and now prepares for its last leg on Dec. 13 and 14 at the Wadsworth Theatre in West Los Angeles. Both theaters have been home to the production for the last four years.
With eight performances each year — four at each theater — the production typically draws an audience of approximately 6,200, enough, when coupled with donations, to cover the $100,000 production cost each year.
According to Westside Ballet spokesperson Lisa Bernfeld, the cost is relatively low in comparison to other Nutcracker productions, creating palpable ticket prices for all audiences — with a $60-per-ticket margin in some cases.
The westside’s “the Nutcracker,” however, doesn’t lose any gusto with lowered production costs, said Bernfeld. This year a number of special effects will be featured, including a growing mechanical Christmas tree, falling snowflakes and a walnut-shell boat which floats the ballet’s young protagonist, Clara, off-stage at the finale.
All of the 111 dancers this year are students at the ballet school who live on the westside, including 47 from Santa Monica and Venice. In September, strict tryouts were held for each of the different roles, including the role of Clara.
Because the popularity of the lead character draws so many auditions, dancers switch-off each show, giving different dancers the chance to be Clara, Bernfeld said.
In October, rehearsals began and were all led by Mounsey, who is 84 years old.
Mounsey, an instructor who is regarded as an extraordinary passion for ballet, not only provides lead instruction for “the Nutcracker” but also teaches at Westside Ballet every day. After a long and successful career as a ballerina which took her from her birthplace in South Africa and the Royal Academy of Dancing in London, to various theaters around the world, including the New York Ballet where she was a principal dancer for George Balanchine, Mounsey co-founded the Hohannesburg City Ballet in 1960, now Pact Ballet. In 1967, after a recent move to Los Angeles, Mounsey co-founded the Westside School of Ballet, 1709 Stewart St., with Rosemary Valaire, formerly of England’s Royal Ballet Company.
Set to music by Russia’s P.I. Tchaikovsky and originally choreographed by Lev Ivanov in Dec. of 1892, the Nutcracker tells the tale of the young Clara and her toy Nutcracker, who magically comes to life to lead an army of nutcrackers in a battle against an army of life-sized mice, led by Mouse King. After the Nutcracker’s victory, he is transformed into a handsome prince and takes Clara with him to a grand celebration in the Land of Sweets, hosted by the Sugarplum Fairy.
The Nutcracker’s first American appearance was in 1940 at a New York theater and has since been a permanent fixture in holiday tradition.
Along with the bright holiday spirit found in the story, Bernfeld attributes the success of Westside’s production of “the Nutcracker” to the school’s high level of dance and dance instruction. “People go year after year — it’s become such a tradition in the community.”
For tickets and show times at the Wadsworth Theatre, 11301 WIlshire Blvd. on the Veteran’s Administration Facility in Brentwood, call Ticketmaster at (213) 365-3500 or (714) 740-7878.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 8, 2003. Read the original PDF.