Executive Director
Julie Diana Hench 

Artistic Director
Samantha Dunster

Artistic Associate
Gillian Murphy 

Artist in Residence
Ethan Stiefel 

Assistant Rehearsal Director
Nanako Yamamoto 

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

ARB2
Jillian Kramarck 

Princeton Ballet School Rehearsal Directors
Rebeca Maso, Amy Megules,
 Ana Novoa, Jaime Santoro, 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

Children’s Stage Manager & PBW Coordinator
Amanda Donato

Lighting Supervisor
Helena Magee

Wardrobe Supervisor
Devon Nicole Austin

Assistant Stage Manager
Abigail Dorwart

Assistant Children’s Stage Manager
Katrina Jans

Dressers
Elise Fitzsimmons, Holly Rizzo

Wardrobe Assistant
Jane Shindnes

ACT I

The Party

The story begins with the annual Christmas Eve tree lighting party at the Stahlbaums’ home. As guests arrive, we are introduced to the Elegant Family, the Widow and her daughter, the Dapper guests, and the Big Family with their 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 Stahlbaum 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
Executive Director - Noreen Goldberg 
Assistant Music Director – Maddie Meier

LEADERSHIP

Executive Director: Julie Diana Hench

Artistic Director: Samantha Dunster

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Director of Finance: Dawn Dell’Omo

Director of Marketing: Grant Jacoby

Marketing Manager: Megan Teat

Director of Development: Lisa Patterson

Development Manager: Rachel Abrams

Bookkeeper and Database Coordinator: Terese Svensson

Development Associate: Joanne Diez

Business Manager: Tony Lee

Production Manager: Rylee Berger

Company & Administrative Manager: Tessa Murphy

Marketing Intern: Sophie Lebron

ARTISTIC STAFF

Artistic Associate: Gillian Murphy

Artist in Residence: Ethan Stiefel

Assistant Rehearsal Director: Nanako Yamamoto

ACCESS & ENRICHMENT

Access & Enrichment Manager: Lindsay Cahill

DANCE POWER Teaching Artists: Kayla Collymore, Sarah Fratesi, Katrina Jans, Olivia Musanti, Stephanie Palm, Melissa Santana  

Dance for Parkinson’s Lead Teachers: Rachel Stanislawczyk, Linda Mannheim, Michael Sazonov 

PRINCETON BALLET SCHOOL

Office Manager & PBW Coordinator: Amanda Donato

School Administrator & Summer Programs Coordinator: Carol Bellis

New Brunswick Coordinator: Katrina Jans

Music Director: Jonathan Benjamin 

FACULTY

Carol Bellis, Lindsay Cahill, Emily Cordies-Maso, Lane Dallape, Leigh Donlan, Anna Fredeen, Katrina Jans, Roland Jones, Rachel Levy, Andrea Marini, Rebeca Maso, Amy Megules, Aldeir Monteiro, Kathleen Moore, Ana Novoa, Luis Napoles, Shari Nyce, Yuliya Rakova, Erikka Reenstierna-Cates, Jaime Santoro, Rachel Stanislawczyk, Ryoko Tanaka, Susan Tenney, Eddy Tovar, Cheryl Whitney, Nanako Yamamoto

RECEPTIONISTS

Evelyn Hernandez, Ali Jans, Elena Konovalov, Francesca Modi, Eduardo Ramos

ACCOMPANISTS

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

The Princeton Ballet Society was founded in April 1954 and includes: 
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
Melissa Marschner, Secretary

Brannan Berman
Akira Bell, Strategy Committee Chair
Kristine A. Brown, Marketing Committee Chair
Susan Croll
Magrielle Eisen
Peter Gerry
Meghan Grainer
Sue Howard
Penelope Lattimer, Ph.D., ex officio, Advisory Committee Chair
Nancy MacMillan
Joan Barry McCormick, Development Committee Chair
Charles Metcalf
Margaret Ruttenberg, M.D.
Jane Silverman, Governance Committee Chair
Joel Studebaker, Ph.D.

ADVISORY COUNCIL

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
Ruth Miller
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
Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
Anonymous

Trustees’ Council
Bloomberg Philanthropies
B. Sue Howard
Nancy and Duncan MacMillan
Orphanides & Associates
The Ted & Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund
The Shubert Foundation
Anonymous Fund of Princeton Area Community Foundation

Executive Director’s Council
Ronald Blake and Akira Bell
Mrs. David Burgin
Corient
Drs. Kenneth and DonnaJean Fredeen
The Curtis W. McGraw Foundation
Princeton Area Community Foundation
Princeton Spine & Joint Center
Margaret Ruttenberg, M.D. and John Ruttenberg
Anne VanLent Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation
Anonymous, in loving memory of Evelyn Weaver

Artistic Leadership’s Council
Aresty Foundation
Drs. Grant Cooper and Ana Bracilovic Cooper
Kristine Brown
Tucker and Catherine Brown
Campbell Family Foundation
Susan Croll and Paul Monasevitch
Dorothea's House
Peter Gerry
Catherine Granzow
Gray Family Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation
Janice and Brian Haggerty
Hamilton Jewelers
Harald Schrader Photography*
The Merrill G. & Emita E. Hastings Foundation
The Hyde and Watson Foundation
Johnson & Johnson
Daphne Jones, M.D.
K Capital Wealth Advisors
Kahn Family Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Mercer
Dr. Steven and Mrs. Florence Kahn
The Karma Foundation
Emmett and Deborah Lescroart
Magyar Bank Charitable Foundation
Melissa and David Marschner
Dr. Richard McCormick and Mrs. Joan Barry McCormick
Charles Metcalf
New Jersey Economic Development Authority
Ngoc Nguyen and Jan Schadrack
Michael Paluszek and Marilyn Ham
Lisa Lacroce Patterson
Rider University
Jerome Robbins Foundation
Jocelyn Schwartzman
Jane Silverman
Society of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of NJ
Joel F. & Alice Bliss Studebaker Fund of the Santa Barbara Foundation
Dr. Joel Studebaker and Ms. Rachel Gray
Hiromi Suzuki
Blake and Terri Williamson

Patrons
Carol Ackerman
Nancy Becker Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation
Patrick and Andrea Bradley
The Honorable Jim Cahill and Mrs. Laura Cahill
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
John and Melanie Clarke
Natalio Conanan, III and Christine Conanan
Jolene and Dan Crowley
Stephan DeMicco and Jeanne Fox
Alice A. Devoe and John Szabo
Drs. Dinesh and Priya Dhanaraj
Peter Egbert
Enterprise Products
Elizabeth Garlatti
David Geisler
Girgus/Chimacoff Family Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation
Meghan Grainer
Debora Haines
Judith Harkay
George Harvey
Julie and Zachary Hench
The Heston Charitable Gift Foundation
James N. Heston
Jackson Family Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation
Penelope E. Lattimer, Ph.D.
Betty Marcelino
Marie Mascherin and Ernest Cerino
Charlotte Mathey
Edward and Michelle McDonald
Cheryl Mintz and Harris Richter
Donna and Frank Morelli Family Charitable
Donation Fund
Deborah Morgan
Gene Riego De Dios and Jennifer Morelli
Lauren Rush
Ryan Family Foundation
Schiro Family Foundation
Ellen Sorrin and David York
Erica Thaler
Marc Uys
Gabriella and Stephen Vajtay
Gulshan Vorobeychik
Robert and Stephanie Wedeking
The Woffindin Family
Brann Wry
Anonymous, in honor of Nanako Yamamoto
Anonymous

Supporters
Janelle Aslam
The Bank of Princeton
Linda Blackburn
BODYROK - Newtown
Ted and Jane Boyer
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Briteage Consulting, Inc.
Central Jersey Alumnae Foundation
Robert N. Eckardt and Jane L. Shapiro Eckardt
Carol Estey
Anthony and Mary Ann Garro
Claudine Gopalan
Darren Hammell
Iona Harding
Deborah Herrington
Barry Hughson
Kathy P. Johnson
Sharon Karmazin
Michele Kent
Stephen and Marcella Koffler
Dr. Lisa LaCarrubba
Maria and Saverio Lacroce
Lear and Pannepacker LLP
Dr. James Lease
Stephen and Rochelle Limmer
Yvonne Marcuse
Mr. Chris McCrone and Dr. Rebecca Benefiel-McCrone
Barbara McEachin-Burton
Ruth Miller
New Brunswick Cultural Center
New Brunswick Development Corporation | DEVCO
NJM Insurance Group
Joseph and Kathryn Nyce
Kimberly Patten
Kerry Perretta
Jonathan Poynter and Charo Scott
Lisa Ramos and Scott Rudder
Kate Shamszad
Wayne Vaccaro and Kim Chandler Vaccaro
Wear Moi*
Linda Wilks

Ambassadors
Marie Adair
Emre Akgul
Selin Yaprak Akgul
Alexandre Algeri
Karen Andrade-Mims
Arena Dance Shop*
Keith and Judy Bailey
Vincent Baldino
Dahni Barkley
Earlene Baumunk
Nancy Becker
Andrea Belardo
Jeanne and Boanerges Bezerra
Peter Blanos
Amanda Bondoc
Trudy Borenstein-Sugiura
Uneeda O. Brewer
Mary Nelson Brown
Dr. Carol Brown
Tony Bui
Naomi Byank
Mellina Cancela
Joseph Carlani
Lawrence Chien
Cynthia Chin
Irene Chiu
Dr. Susie Chung and Mr. Peter Oropeza
Louisa and Austin Clayton
Maurice Clifton
Mara Costa
Martha Dewey
Anne DeWitt
Alejandro and Joanne Diez
Goksu Dogan
Elisabeth Donahue
Bryn Dowling
Patricia Doykos
Robert Durkee
Keith and Beth Egyud
Olga Ekshtut
The Reverend Lawrence M. Estey and Mrs. Elizabeth Estey
Jane Factor
Sheryl Feinstein
Christian Fromm
Curtis and Sophie Glovier
Roshika Goonawardena
Michael and Karyn Greco
Ms. Muriel Grimmett-Ray
Burce Ergel Gurbuzbalaban
Irene Hahn and Denny Kim
Linda Halker Mohanty
Jocelyn Hankins
Highland Park Cleaners
Nicole Hoderny
Alla Hodges
Institute for Advanced Study
Mark Ioffe
James and Karen Jeffers
Ryan Jolly
Dr. Larry Jordan
Joan Kahn
Barbara Kardon
Cheri Rose Katz
Elizabeth Knighton
Jeanne Kollmer
Kelly Kramarck
Robert Kristman
Melinda La Nasa
Alexander Lazzaruolo
Hyojin and Chuljin Lee
Evelyn M. Lee
Sara Leonard
Natalie Levkovich
Lance and Latonya Liverman
Tamica Lloyd
Joni Lott
Jennifer Loukedis
Katie Manger
Rebeca Maso and Raul Cordies
Jessica McConagly
Meisel Family Tzedakah Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Mercer
Mercer Lactation and Wellness
Rita Mercurio
Martin Miller
John Minden
Diana Moore
Kathleen Moore Tovar
Bruce Morbit
Jessica Morton
Richard Nurse and Ninfa Mueller
The Honorable Lilia Munoz and Roberto Muniz
Carol Munyon
Rob Nardi
Dilafruz Nazarova
Eileen Nelson
Next Level Construction
Jennifer Yingchu Ni
Els Paine
Robert Palestino
Bryan Park
John Patterson
Priscilla Payson
Dr. Marcus P. Porcelli
Princeton Montessori School
Deepak Ramakrishnan
Friddeisy Ramirez
Deborah Redinger
Jill Reid
Joshua Richard
Marilou Riego De Dios
Shannon Ritter
Robert's Florals*
Al and Ewa Ruel
Elizabeth Samios
Lorraine Sarhage
Schaefer Family Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Mercer
Debbie Schaeffer
Sara Sessions and James Naughton
Linda Sheldon
Melissa Field Sherman
Dale Sherman
Dr. Heather Snyder
Blanche Somer
Kathleen Stacy
Marcella Stapor
Rob Stoto
Suydam Corkery Family Charitable Fund
Ms. Cecily Swanson and Mr. Kip Berman
David Tamaki
Meredith Thorn
Today's Dance Center, Inc.
Nancy Vallen
Mary Vetter
Katerina Visnjic
Marc and Deirdre Von Roemer
Walker’s Shortbread Inc.*
Elizabeth Walsh
Fenghua Wen and Chao Yuan
Beverly Wexler
Glenn Wolfson and Dawn Dell'Omo
Suzanne Wray
Audrey Yeager
Eunhyeong Yi
Chang H. Yu
Yuki Yun
Anonymous

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;

Cheryl Mintz, photo by Frank Wojiechowski; Devon Nicole Austin, photo by Jen Davis; 

Miles Orvetti, photo by xmbphotography and Mena Brunette