THE NUTCRACKER

American Repertory Ballet

Executive Director
Julie Diana Hench 

Director of Artistic Operations
Samantha Dunster

School Director
Aydmara Cabrera 

The Nora C. Orphanides Artist in Residence
Ethan Stiefel 

Artistic Associate
Gillian Murphy 

Assistant Rehearsal Director
Nanako Yamamoto 

Company Artists
Tiziano Cerrato, Emily Cordies-Maso,
Madison Elizabeth Egyud, Gavin Hounslow, Annie Johnson,
Roland Jones, Seth Koffler, Lily Krisko, Andrea Marini,
Aldeir Monteiro, Leandro Olcese, Clara Pevel,
Anthony Pototski, Michelle Quiner, Rachel Quiner,
Savannah Quiner, Erikka Reenstierna-Cates, Tomoya Suzuki,
Ryoko Tanaka, Nanako Yamamoto 

Apprentices
Jasmine Jasper, Avery Snyder 

ARB2
Jillian Kramarck 

Princeton Ballet School Rehearsal Directors
Rebeca Maso, Anna McDowell, Amy Megules,
Ana Novoa, Eddy Tovar, Cheryl Whitney

This production also features students from Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet.

Music
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Choreography
Audrée and Bud Estey,
and after Mary Barton, Douglas Martin, and Marius Petipa,
with additional choreography by Samantha Dunster,
Ian Hussey, and Ethan Stiefel

Lighting Design
Christopher Chambers

Scenic Design
Douglas Martin, Lauren Parrish (Act 1 Party Scene),
Carl Sprague (Tree, Snow Scene, Act 2), Ron Czyzewski (Props)

Costume Design
Lowell A. Mathwich and Gina Ricca,
with additional costume design by Janessa Cornell Urwin

Production Manager
Rylee Berger

Production Stage Manager
Cheryl Mintz

Assistant Stage Manager
Abigail Dorwart

Lighting Supervisor
Helena Magee

Wardrobe Supervisor
Devon Nicole Austin

Dressers
Christina Gillepsie, Tori Licata

Wardrobe Assistant
Jane Shindnes

Children’s Stage Manager & PBW Coordinator
Amanda Donato

Assistant Children’s Stage Manager
Sarah Hogan

ACT I

The Party

The story begins with the annual Christmas Eve tree lighting party at the Silverhaus’ home. Clara and Fritz anxiously wait outside the parlor when, to Clara’s horror and Fritz’s delight, the maid enters the hall, chasing a mouse from the pantry. Father calls the children in, and the tree is lit. As guests arrive, we are introduced to the Elegant Family, the Widow and her daughter, the Dapper guests and the Big Family with their nine children. After a festive dance the mysterious Drosselmeyer and their nephew arrive. Drosselmeyer reveals wonderful mechanical dolls and then presents Clara with a beautifully carved Nutcracker. As all of the children watch Drosselmeyer’s demonstration, Fritz becomes jealous and grabs the gift from Clara. In his flight, he drops and breaks it. Drosselmeyer bandages the Nutcracker and gives it to Clara. The party winds down, the guests depart, and the Silverhaus family goes to bed.

The Battle

Unable to sleep, Clara sneaks downstairs to visit her Nutcracker. As she dances in the parlor, the shadows and the movement of mice disturb her delight. Drosselmeyer appears and casts her into a dream world, transforming the parlor into a battleground between an army of soldiers and rats. Clara is amazed as the now life-size Nutcracker and his army of soldiers defend the Christmas tree from the Rat King’s minions. Clara defends the Nutcracker—vanquishing the Rat King and his awful troop.

Land of Snow

Drosselmeyer reappears and transforms the wounded Nutcracker into the Nutcracker Prince who will accompany Clara on an enchanted journey. The parlor is magically transformed again into a Land of Snow, where Clara and the Nutcracker Prince meet the beautiful Snow Queen and King and are dazzled by whirlwinds of Snowflakes.

ACT II

Land of Sweets

Clara and the Nutcracker Prince make their way to the Land of Sweets and are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy. The Prince tells the story of the great battle for the Christmas tree and how Clara saved the day by thwarting the Rat King. As a reward for Clara’s heroism, the Sugar Plum Fairy presents a suite of dances by her friends Hot Chocolate, Coffee, Birdsong, Candy Cane, Marzipan, and the Polichinelles. Following a waltz by Dewdrop and the Flowers and the grand finale by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, Clara is returned to the comfort of her family’s parlor and wakes from her wonderful journey. Was it all a dream?

Artistic Director – Dr. Lynnel Joy Jenkins, DMA
Associate Music Director – Maddie Meier

Executive Director: Julie Diana Hench

Director of Artistic Operations: Samantha Dunster

School Director: Aydmara Cabrera

The Nora C. Orphanides Artist in Residence: Ethan Stiefel

Artistic Associate: Gillian Murphy

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Director of Finance: Dawn Dell’Omo

Director of Marketing: Grant Jacoby

Marketing Manager: Megan Teat

Development Manager: Rachel Abrams

Development Associate: Joanne Diez

Business Manager: Tony Lee

ARB Administrative Manager: Tessa Murphy

Assistant Rehearsal Director: Nanako Yamamoto

ARB Social Media Content Manager: Michelle Quiner

Feature Writer: Erikka Reenstierna-Cates

ACCESS & ENRICHMENT

Access & Enrichment Manager: Lindsay Cahill

DANCE POWER Teaching Artists: Sarah Fratesi, Olivia Musanti, Stephanie Palm 

Dance for Parkinson’s Lead Teachers: Rachel Stanislawczyk, Linda Mannheim, Candace Williams 

PRINCETON BALLET SCHOOL

Office Manager & PBW Coordinator: Amanda Donato

Summer Programs Coordinator & Cranbury Principal: Carol Bellis

Assistant Summer Coordinator: Lane Dallape

New Brunswick Coordinator: Anna McDowell

Music Director: Jonathan Benjamin 

FACULTY

Carol Bellis, Lindsay Cahill, Emily Cordies-Maso, Anna Fredeen, Katrina Jans, Jericho Lopez, Anna McDowell, Rebeca Maso, Amy Megules, Kathleen Moore, Ana Novoa, Luis Napoles, Shari Nyce, Yuliya Rakova, Erikka Reenstierna-Cates, Rachel Stanislawczyk, Susan Tenney, Eddy Tovar, Cheryl Whitney, Nanako Yamamoto

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

Jade Jackson, Sadie Justus, Finlay Nyce, Eduardo Ramos

RECEPTIONISTS

Jade Jackson, Lauren Levine, Felicia Garro, Evelyn Hernandez, Elena Konovalov

ACCOMPANISTS

Jonathan Benjamin, Raul Cordies, Mila Fursik, G.G. Glazer-Armstrong, Ian Howells, Ben Kaplan, Richard Moskowitz, Megan Register, Marina Salganik, David Tenney, Pavel Zarukin

The Princeton Ballet Society was founded in April 1954 and is comprised of: 
American Repertory Ballet
Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet
Access & Enrichment Programs such as DANCE POWER and Dance for Parkinson’s

To learn more, please visit arballet.org

Daphne Jones, M.D., Chair
Kenneth Fredeen, Ph.D., Vice Chair
Ronald Blake, Treasurer
Ngoc Nguyen, Secretary
Akira Bell, Strategy Committee Chair
Kristine A. Brown, Marketing Committee Chair

Susan Croll
Magrielle Eisen
Peter Gerry
Sue Howard
Penelope Lattimer, Ph.D., ex officio, Advisory Committee Chair
Nancy MacMillan, Interim Development Committee Chair
Melissa Marschner
Charles Metcalf
Margaret Ruttenberg, M.D.
Jane Silverman, Governance Committee Chair
Joel Studebaker

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Penelope Lattimer, Ph.D., Chair
Nancy Becker
Ana Bracilovic, M.D.
The Honorable Jim Cahill
Dinesh Dhanaraj, M.D.
Betsy Garlatti
Joan Girgus
Barry Hughson
Florence Kahn
Michele Kent
Marie Mascherin
Michael Mindlin
Jorge Moya
Gabriella Vajtay

American Repertory Ballet gratefully acknowledges the many donors who make possible our mission: to nurture a lifelong love of dance and lift the collective spirit through excellent, relevant, and accessible artistic and educational programs, with a focus on classical ballet.

Visionary Council ($100,000 & above)
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
Middlesex County of New Jersey
Schwab Charitable
Nancy and Duncan MacMillan
Nora C. Orphanides
The Ted & Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund
Anonymous (1)

Trustees’ Council ($50,000-$99,999)
B. Sue Howard
Princeton Area Community Foundation
Bloomberg Philanthropies
The Shubert Foundation
Anonymous (1)

Executive Director’s Council ($10,000 - $49,999)
The Achelis & Bodman Foundation
Bell Blake Arts Foundation
Ronald Blake and Akira Bell
Tucker and Catherine Brown
Geller & Company
Peter Gerry
E.J. Grassmann Trust
JP Morgan Chase
The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation
Lee and Ezpeleta Family Trust
The Curtis W. McGraw Foundation
New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation
New Jersey Historic Trust
Estate of Lucy Anne Sharp Newman
Ngoc Nguyen and Jan Schadrack
Penn Medicine Princeton Health
Princeton Spine and Joint Center
Dr. Margaret and John Ruttenberg
Schiro Family Foundation
Secunda Family Foundation
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Zegar Family Fund

Artistic Leadership’s Council ($2,500 - $9,999)
American Online Giving Foundation
Jody and John Arnhold
Patrick and Andrea Bradley
The Honorable Jim and Laura Cahill
Campbell Family Foundation
Charities Aid Foundation of America
Susan Croll and Paul Monasevitch
Kenneth and DonnaJean A. Fredeen
Hamilton Jewelers
Arve and Oxana Hanstveit
The Merrill G. & Emita E. Hastings Foundation
Lijiao Huang
Institute for Advanced Study
Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Mercer
Daphne Jones
Robert Kristman
Kathleen LaSpisa
Penelope E. Lattimer, Ph.D.
Kevin and Tamara MacMillan
Melissa and David Marschner
Merrill Lynch
Tessa Murphy
Reed Smith LLP
Harald Schrader Photography*
Evelyn Sharp Foundation
Jane Silverman
Joel Studebaker and Rachel Gray
David Wahl
Robert Wedeking
Catherine A. Worrell
Anonymous (2)

Patron ($1,000 - $2,499)
Carol Ackerman
Nancy Becker
Mary Carolyn Biondi
Aydmara Cabrera
Callaway Henderson Sotheby's International Realty
Church & Dwight Co., Inc.
Glenn DiVincenzo
Lisa Ferguson
Fidelity Charitable
James N. Heston
Jennifer Hilton
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Jackson
Kahn Family Philanthropic Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Mercer
Dr. Steven and Mrs. Florence Kahn
Michele Kent
Barry and Amy Krisko
Richard McCormick and Joan Barry McCormick
Edward McDonald Parkinson's Foundation
Charles and Diane Pomo
Rider University
Santa Barbara Foundation
Jocelyn Schwartzman
Hiromi Suzuki
Stephen and Gabriella Vajtay
The Woffindin Family

Sustainer ($500 - $999)
Marina Abi-Atme
Yan Barshay
Andrea Belardo
Nora Bradley
Jerry Brown
Leslie Burgin
Stephanie Chun
Colgate-Palmolive
Christine Cone
Phil and Jessica Coppola
Jolene Crowley
Alice A. Devoe and John Szabo
Drs. Dinesh and Priya Dhanaraj
Phil and Jennifer Dismukes
Susan Doran
Michael Downing
Colleen F. Duffy
Magrielle Eisen
Anna Fredeen
Elizabeth Garlatti
Anthony Garro
Girgus/Chimacoff Family Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation
Julie and Zachary Hench
Sharon Karmazin
Joseph Kluemper
Stephen and Marcella Koffler
Robert Latek
Luis and Beth Padron
Lear and Pannepacker LLP
Stephen and Rochelle Limmer
Yvonne Marcuse
Simon and Amy Mason
Daren and Annisa Mele
Charles Metcalf
Ruth Miller
Cheryl Mintz and Harris Richter
New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Group
Catherine Page
Suji Pak
Michael Paluszek and Marilyn Ham
Robin Paulson
William and Christina Phillips
Rebecca Piccone
Lauren Rush
Stephanie Sharp
Betsy and Joel Sobo
Ellen Sorrin and David York
Kathleen Stacy
Nonny Stahlin
Christine Torsilieri
William and Lora Tremayne
Jordan Vannoy
Anonymous (1)

Ambassador ($100 - $499)
Jim Adair
Marie Adair
Albemarle Family Foot & Ankle
Stella J. Allen
AllianceBernstein
Judy Bailey
Vincent Baldino
Marla Bergstein
Brannan O. Berman
Linda Blackburn
Peter Blanos
Emily Brown
Kristine Brown
Built by Me STEM Learning
Judy Burgis
Eric Butler
Naomi Byank
Jennifer Carson
Sarah Charles
Leighton and Kay Chen
Maurice Clifton
Paul Cummings
Frank Derby
Anne DeWitt
Melanie Dixon
Goksu Dogan
Carol Estey
Lawrence and Elizabeth Estey
Nina Fitzgerald
Marjorie Frazier
Rob Gannon
Gaynor Minden
David Geisler
Martha Gomez
Meghan Grainer
Craig Gronczewski
Nicholas Hall-Risko
Tina Hartley
Teri M. Harvey
Yeganeh Hayeri
Susan Hempsell
Highland Park Cleaners
Aaron Hilton
Alla Hodges
Pamela Hughes
Larry Jordan
Barbara Kardon
Arno Kastner
The Denny Knight Family Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation
Lance and Latonya Liverman
Julieta Lugo-Gil
Venus Majeski
Bill and Geniva Martin
Marie Mascherin and Ernest Cerino
Rebeca Maso and Raul Cordies
Meisel Family Tzedakah Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Mercer
Millennium Strategies
John Minden
Carol Munyon
Dilafruz Nazarova
Yingchu Ni
Polina Nudel
Kathryn Nyce
Ruby Ochoa
Peter Oropeza and Susie Chung
Reba Orszag
Deevana Palazzolo
Robert Palestino
Bryan Park
Lisa Lacroce Patterson
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Isabella Phillips
April Readlinger
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Ricardo Rodrigues
Rutgers University Foundation
Mavis Salomon-Lowden
Lorraine Sarhage
Harald Schrader and Joyce Tsang
Stephanie Schrader
Arlene Shuler
Heather Snyder
Marcella Stapor
Rob Stoto
Susan Tenney
James Traister
Anne VanLent
Carla Vozone
Bill Wetherill and Joanne Kerekes-Weatherill
Linda Wilks
Donald and Susan Wilson
George and Jennifer Yohrling

Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund. For information on events, go to MiddlesexCountyCulture.com

ARB Artistic and Executive Leadership photos and Dancer headshots by Harald Schrader;  Aydmara Cabrera, photo by Noel Valero; Cheryl Mintz, photo courtesy of Cheryl Mintz; Devon Nicole Austin, photo by Jen Davis