ACT I

THE PARTY 

STAHLBAUMS
Clara Stahlbaum: 
12/7, 15, 21 | Exodis Ward
12/14, 22 | Isabella Becchi
Fritz Stahlbaum: Zakary Betts
Mr. & Mrs. Stahlbaum: Bill Hines & Sherry Whaley
Grandpa Stahlbaum: Dutch Dorschel

THE MAID
12/7, 15, 21 | Gillian Grossman
12/14, 22 | Gabriella Fedewa

UNCLE DROSSELMEYER
12/7, 15, 21 | Daniel Miller
12/14, 22 | Michael Knight

PARTY PARENTS
 12/7, 14, 15 | Lucy Bassett, Emily Little, Josh Quinton, Pam Silvers, Jake Zarnegar, Jessica Zarnegar
12/21 & 22 | Emily Little, Jen Otner, Josh Quinton, Pam Silvers, Jake Zarnegar, Jessica Zarnegar

CLARA’S FRIENDS
 12/7, 14, 15 | Charlie Breton-Whipple, Kayla Hofer, Nadia Howard, Jocelyn Hurd, Layla Quinton, Preston Silvers, Beatrice Zarnegar
12/21 & 22 | Charlie Breton-Whipple, Caroline Graham, Zoë Hawkins, Harlow Lawrence, Gretchen Traud, Eleanor Trimble, Brooklyn Whitley

PARTY GIRLS & PARTY BOYS
 12/7, 14, 15 | Party Girls: Serita Barzun, Iryl Butler, Narumi Furukawa, Ailyn Green, Rowan Green, Juliana Kelly, Harper Scaglione, Olivia Scaglione, Blair Silvers
Party Boys: James Barzun, Silas Bassett-Taurel, Cyrus Cacatian
12/21 & 22 | Party Girls: Theodora Athayde, Emmy Betts, Iryl Butler, Beatrice Campanelli, Hazel Fulton, Elizabeth Gay, Juliana Kelly, Walker Kretlow, Grace Toe
Party Boys: Jack Castleman, Leonidas Douris, Jasper Pompano

THE MAGIC & THE BATTLE

THE NUTCRACKER PRINCE
12/7, 15, 21 | Edgardo Lacaba
12/14, 22 | Daniel Miller

MICE
12/7 | Katherine Allen, Evie Baylor, Anna Cockrell, Sarah Dimmick, Asa Eslocker, Emmett Eslocker, Moira Henley, Nora Mahoney, Isla Mathieu, Emma Schuster, Emilia Selking, Clara Shelton, Caroline Talbot
12/14 & 15 | Maria Barzun, Ysolte Green, Billie Harrison, Christi Natania Montero, Ponyo Mulcahy, Lucy Sherogan
12/21 & 22 | Claire Canter, Morgan Capogreco, Athena Diiorio, Ophelia Douris, Haydyn Hicks, Emerie Hottinger, Harper Hottinger, Polly Krause, Andrei Salerno, Emmeline Smith, Ruby Zeanah, Ruby Zorn

THE MOUSE KING
12/7, 15, 21 | Kathryn Tokar Conley
12/14, 22 | Jeanne Berthy

SOLDIERS
 12/7, 14, 15 | Eryn Flamm, Meredith Fleming, Tabitha Lotter, Charlie Petres, Dorothy Shirley, Kate Thompson, Aislin Wolfman
 12/21 & 22 | Laela Bell, Meredith Fleming, Cydney Jackson, Tabitha Lotter, Dorothy Shirley, Kate Thompson

THE LAND OF THE SNOWFLAKES 
- inspired by Massanutten Resort!

THE SNOW QUEEN
12/7, 15, 21 | Hope Roberts
12/14, 22 | Lucy Lucas

THE SNOW KING
12/7, 15, 21 | Isaac Lee
12/14, 22 | Edgardo Lacaba

SNOWFLAKES
12/7, 15, 21 | Say Ayers, Jeanne Berthy, Gabriella Fedewa, Jessica Grant, Gillian Grossman, Ryland Mettee, Rachel Nash, Nekya Perry
12/14, 22 | Say Ayers, Gabriella Fedewa, Jessica Grant, Gillian Grossman, Ryland Mettee, Rachel Nash, Kathryn Tokar Conley, Exodis Ward

PETITE SNOWFLAKES
 12/7, 14, 15 | Camille Cacatian, Hazel Fulton, Elizabeth Gay, Arleigh Johnson, Walker Kretlow, Solveig Stewart, Grace Toe
 12/21 & 22 | Serita Barzun, Narumi Furukawa, Ailyn Green, Rowan Green, Arleigh Johnson (12/22), Lucy Jones (12/21), Juliana Kelly, Luisa Shoch

ACT II

THE LAND OF THE SWEETS

ANGELS
 12/7 | Iris Baylor, Georgia Blascovich, Lina Cordrey, Josephine Montross, Lucrecia Mullins-Aviles, Miranda Wagner, Ellie White
12/14 & 15 | Penelope Gallion, Auden Knaus, Jojo McGee, Vivian Oldham, Felicity Pavalonis, Abigail Pawlak, Shennan Roters, Lucia Silva, Adalynn Walls
 12/21 & 22 | Jacqueline Athayde, Éowyn Busby, Dahlia Douris, Naomi Grace Howard, Elizabeth Schwartz, Abigail Zotto, Isabella Zotto

BAKERS
 12/7 | Isabel Ames, Grier Bernard, Caroline Hark, Parker Rae Hundley, Emma Mahoney, Ruby Oliver
12/14 & 15 | James Barzun, Emmy Betts, Harper Scaglione, Blair Silvers
 12/21 & 22 | Isabel Ames, James Barzun, Grier Bernard, Yuzu Diehl, Noelle Howard, Veda Hutchinson

ROSEBUDS
12/7, 14, 15 | Georgia Barrow, Caroline Bruton, Carson Fields, Lily Lischke, Natalie Macbeth, Evelyn Popescu
 12/21 & 22 | Julia Aguirre, Georgia Barrow, Alicia Jiang, Natalie Macbeth, Erin Megonigal, Evelyn Popescu

FLASHBACK MOUSE KING
12/7, 15, 21 | Kathryn Tokar Conley
12/14, 22 | Lucy Lucas

THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY
12/7, 15, 21 | Yui Kaito
12/14, 22 | Abigail Brent

THE CAVALIER
12/7, 15, 21 | Michael Knight
12/14, 22 | Isaac Lee

HOT CHOCOLATE
12/7, 15, 21 | Eden Heille
12/14, 22 | Jessica Grant

DEMI-SOLOIST HOT CHOCOLATE ATTENDANTS
 12/7, 14, 15 | Julia Aguirre, Georgia Barrow, Alicia Jiang, Natalie Macbeth
 12/21 & 22 | Carson Fields, Lily Lischke, Tilda Rajagopalan, Abby Stiffler

COFFEE
12/7, 15, 21 | Say Ayers & Daniel Miller
12/14, 22 | Kathryn Tokar Conley & Michael Knight

COFFEE ATTENDANTS
12/7, 14, 15 | Ela Bassett-Taurel, Zoë Hawkins, Eleanor Trimble, Brooklyn Whitley
 12/21 & 22 | Jocelyn Hurd, Layla Quinton, Preston Silvers, Beatrice Zarnegar

PARASOL COOKIE
12/7, 15, 21 | Rachel Nash
12/14, 22 | Jeanne Berthy

PARASOL COOKIE ATTENDANTS
 12/7 | Parasol Cookie Attendants: Maria Barzun, Addison Brugh, Imogen Campbell, Abigail Gowin, Genevieve Hegge, Maeve Hutchinson, Adrienne Largiader, Miriam Lotter, Clara McCready, Emery Nicolette, Polina Salerno, Delaram Samadi, Tigerlilly Schornberg, Virginia Stipe, Zoe Terlesky, Maddie Walker
Demi-Soloist Parasol Cookie Attendants: Kasumi Furukawa, Erin Megonigal
12/14 & 15 | Parasol Cookie Attendants: Sadie Brown, Violet Byrne-Cox, Angelina Coviello, Ella Gallion, Rachel Harris, Sofia Huntley, Elizabeth Lowder, Madison Tice, Clarabelle Vilushis
Demi-Soloist Parasol Cookie Attendants: Kasumi Furukawa, Erin Megonigal
12/21 & 22 | Parasol Cookie Attendants: Maria Barzun, Addison Brugh, Imogen Campbell, Abigail Gowin, Genevieve Hegge, Maeve Hutchinson, Adrienne Largiader, Miriam Lotter, Clara McCready, Emery Nicolette, Polina Salerno, Delaram Samadi, Tigerlilly Schornberg, Virginia Stipe, Zoe Terlesky, Maddie Walker
Demi-Soloist Parasol Cookie Attendants: Caroline Bruton, Kasumi Furukawa

MADAME SHEPHERD
12/7, 15, 21 | Jeanne Berthy
12/14, 22 | Rachel Nash

SHEEP
12/7 | Kathryn Baugher, Violet Eslocker, Stella Fishman, Adeline Horn, Callie Martin, Elizabeth Simmons, Claire Talbot, Bianca Watson, Katherine Watson
12/14 & 15 | Zipporah Ahoude, Greta Davis, Addie DeRise, Lillian Gallion, Lanie Jay, Ever Jones, Selah Jones, Josephine Marvel, Virginia Oldham, Eleanor Pawlak, Isabella Schwartz, Penelope Silva, Finley Taylor, Lydia Whorley
 12/21 & 22 | Louisa Ehle, Harper Hicks, Anna Lewandowski, Kiera Little, Kinley Little, Maxwell Miller, Josephine Miller-Bregman, Arienne Peck, Bee Snyder

CANDY CANES
12/7, 15, 21 | Jessica Grant, Eden Heille, Lucy Lucas
12/14, 22 | Gabriella Fedewa, Ryland Mettee, Adelyn Nicholson

LADY SPRINKLES
Emily Little

CUPCAKES 
12/7, 14, 15 | Billie Harrison, Christi Natania Montero, Ponyo Mulcahy, Lucrecia Mullins-Aviles, Lucy Sherogan, Miranda Wagner
12/21 & 22 | Isabel Ames, Grier Bernard, Ysolte Green, Emma Maurer, Elizabeth Schwartz, Isabella Zotto

THE DEW DROP FAIRY
12/7, 15, 21 | Abigail Brent
12/14, 22 | Eden Heille

FLOWERS
12/7, 15, 21 | Gabriella Fedewa, Taylor Friesen, Gillian Grossman, 
Ryland Mettee, Nekya Perry, Sophie Satoh
12/14, 22 | Emiley Harig, Ayana Leblans, Adelyn Nicholson, 
Alyssa Robey, Sophie Satoh, Exodis Ward

Benjamin Rous, Music Director & Conductor, Charlottesville Symphony

Benjamin Rous has served as the Music Director of Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia and Associate Professor of Music at UVA since 2017. During an eight-year tenure as Resident Conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, he conducted a range of Classics, Pops and ballet performances. An accomplished instrumentalist, Rous has concertized on violin, viola and keyboard instruments. He has served as guest Principal 2nd violin with Mahler Chamber Orchestra, where he performed under the batons of Claudio Abbado and Daniel Harding, including a teaching residency with El Sistema in Caracas. At Harvard, he performed on baroque violin with the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra as section leader and soloist, and was a member of the Arcturus Chamber Ensemble for a decade. Rous earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in orchestral conducting at the University of Michigan while studying harpsichord and pursuing dance. He has collaborated with Charlottesville Ballet since 2020 and is excited to serve as CB’s conductor of The Nutcracker again this year.

THE NUTCRACKER ORCHESTRA | December 14, 15, 21, & 22

Peggy Haas Howell, Music Director, Cantate Children’s and Youth Choir (The Nutcracker in Lynchburg)

Peggy graduated from Susquehanna University with a Bachelor of Arts in Church Music degree, and from Union Theological Seminary, New York City, with a Master of Sacred Music degree. She also attended the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Hamburg, Germany. Peggy has been the director of Cantate since 2009 and they have performed with Opera on the James, the Lynchburg Symphony, the Lynchburg College Choral Union, the Jefferson Choral Society, the University of Virginia Chamber Singers, the Charlottesville Ballet, and St. John’s Choir. Peggy founded and directed the Jefferson Youth Chorale from 2003-2012. She was the Director of Chorale, the Concert Choir of Randolph Macon Woman’s College from 1996-2000. Peggy is also an Organist and Choirmaster at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lynchburg. She is well-known as an organ recitalist in the United States and Europe, and has played concerts in England, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary, and Poland. She is also Vice President and Councillor for Competitions and New Music of the American Guild of Organists.

THE NUTCRACKER CHOIR | December 14 & 15

Peggy Haas Howell, Director
Elizabeth Wilkinson, Assistant Director & Accompanist    

The Choir:

Victoria Redfearn Cave, Artistic Director, Mosaic Children’s Choir (The Nutcracker in Charlottesville)

Victoria graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education with a piano concentration, and received her Masters in Education Leadership from Mary Baldwin University. She is an Orff-Schulwerk certified teacher and received an Advanced Certificate in Music and Dance pedagogy from the Orff Institute, a division of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. For over 30 years, Victoria has been teaching music, movement and choral studies to children. She has taught primarily in independent schools in Washington, DC and Charlottesville, VA but has also been a choral director at the Levine School of Music and the Kennedy Center’s Washington National Opera. She is a national and international presenter, teacher trainer, and published author. Currently, she is the Founder and Artistic Director of Mosaic Children’s Choir, Director of Performing Arts for the Field School, a middle school for boys, and Director of the Virginia Consort’s High School Youth Chorale.

THE NUTCRACKER CHOIR | December 21 & 22

Victoria Redfearn Cave, Artistic Director

The Choir:

Our Mission

To elevate the art of dance through wellness, performance, education, and community outreach.

About the Ballet

Charlottesville Ballet is a professional ballet company, academy, and nonprofit organization founded by Sara Clayborne and Emily Hartka in 2007. The organization has three parts:

PROFESSIONAL COMPANY

Charlottesville Ballet has no rigid physical aesthetic for its dancers and all body types are celebrated. The company includes dancers from across the United States and abroad and is the Resident Dance Company in Lynchburg’s Academy Center of the Arts.

ACADEMY

Charlottesville Ballet Academy (CBA) is a nonprofit center for dance education serving ages 1.5 through adult in all dance genres.

CB MOVES COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Our FREE programming designed to serve underrepresented populations including seniors, disabled individuals, and those facing economic challenges. Classes are currently offered for ages 1-100 through the following programs:

• Chance To Dance (C2D) serves students in grades K-5 in local public elementary schools. Each year, students are selected to receive lifetime scholarships to continue their dance training at CBA.
• Movement For Parkinson’s weekly class for participants with movement disorders and their care partners; currently serving ages 50-100.
• Silver Swans offers ballet classes for seniors age 50+ in partnership with The Center at Belvedere. 
• Adaptive Dance classes for students with Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, or any other developmental or intellectual disabilities to explore the joy of dance. 
• Once Upon A Ballet and other free programming for schools, libraries, and communities across Virginia. 

An integral part of the Ballet’s mission is to increase access and inclusion in dance. Classical ballet has historically catered to a specific body type and level of physical ability — we aim to change that stereotype and believe that dance is for everyBODY.  

COME DANCE WITH US!

We launched a new scholarship initiative in July 2024, and we are still accepting applications! See more at www.CharlottesvilleBallet.org/KLDF