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Ballet Yuma Presents The Nutcracker Performances will feature Kyndra Ricker, recently with Atlanta Ballet and Disney Tokyo, and Joseph Jefferies, a long time featured dancer with Ballet Memphis, in the roles of the the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. Taylor Owens, a 2011 graduate of Ballet Yuma who is now attending the University of Arizona on a dance scholarship, will perform the roles of Dewdrop, and the Snow Queen, with Joseph Jefferies as the Snow King. Erika Farrar-Romanyuk, owner and Artistic Director of Arizona Classical Ballet, and Frank Amparo, owner and Director of Bien Suave Dance Company, will perform as the Arabian couple. Children’s roles will be danced by students from Yuma Ballet Academy. Ballet Yuma’s presentation of The Nutcracker is rooted in classic tradition, but also surprises from year to year with new and delightful ‘wrinkles’. This year, the production will feature five graduating seniors for whom this will likely be their last ‘Nutcracker’. Seniors Ariane Guthrie, Nicolette Gutierrez, Andrea Hennig, Tiffany Jones, and Margeaux Miller will all be performing in their final Ballet Yuma production of the holiday favorite, and two of them - Ariane and Andrea - have been dancing together since they were four years old. Ballet Yuma is now in its 18th season under the direction of Jon Cristofori and Kathleen Sinclair, and is recognized nationally as one of the best preprofessional ballet companies in the country. It is Arizona’s sole representative in Regional Dance America (RDA) as an Honor Company. Graduates have gone on to dance professionally with highly regarded companies including San Francisco Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Houston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company, Boston Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Miami City Ballet, Texas Ballet Theater, Les Ballet Trocadero de Monte Carlo, Trey McIntyre Project, Company C, Louisville Ballet , Atlanta Ballet, Missouri Contemporary, Ballet Idaho, and Ballet Nouveau Colorado. The Nutcracker story begins with a grand Christmas Eve party at the Stahlbaum home. Young Clara and her brother, Fritz are excited as guests arrive including the mysterious, magical figure, Herr Drosselmeyer, whom has brought gifts including a soldier nutcracker for Clara. She dearly loves the present, but her brother becomes jealous and breaks it. Herr Drosselmeyer mends the nutcracker, and Clara’s attachment to the small soldier is only increased. When the evening comes to an end, Clara falls asleep with her nutcracker by the family Christmas tree, and it is in her dreams, seemingly orchestrated by Drosselmeyer, that the magical excitement begins. There follows a great battle between a Mouse King’s minions and the now life size nutcracker’s soldiers. The gallant nutcracker is transformed into a handsome prince who accompanies Clara on a journey through the enchanting Land of Snow to the Land of Sweets. Along the way, the two are met and entertained by many enchanting characters. Guest Artists Kyndra Ricker trained under the direction of Jon Cristofori and Kathleen Sinclair for 16 years, and is pleased to be performing again in Yuma. Kyndra has attended and received scholarships for Houston Ballet’s Summer Intensive, Utah Regional Ballet, Craft of Choreography, Atlanta Ballet, and the International Ballet Competition (IBC) in Jackson, Mississippi. At IBC, she performed and represented Ballet Yuma upon graduation from high school. Kyndra has danced professionally with Atlanta Ballet, and with Disney, in Tokyo, Japan. She is currently a certified personal trainer with Snap Fitness in Yuma. Joseph Jefferies was a guest artist this year with Portland Ballet. He has danced with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Ballet Arizona and then as a member of Ballet Memphis for 9 years where he danced the lead roles in many ballets including Swan Lake, Giselle, Coppelia and Cinderella. He also had the opportunity to work with many noted contemporary choreographers including Mark Godden, Lila York, Julia Adam, and Trey McIntyre. He danced for 5 years with Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo and toured the world performing in over 25 different countries including Russia, France, Spain, Turkey, Italy, Australia, Brazil, Poland, Thailand, Japan and the UK. Mr Jefferies is also an award winning choreographer creating over 30 works for companies across the US. He has won the RDA Emerging Choreographer scholarship twice and had his work selected and performed for New York City's Ballet Builders Showcase. He is currently teaching dance and yoga at various schools in New England including directing Portland Ballet's summer dance program and for Walnut Hill School of the Arts. Taylor Owens is currently attending the University of Arizona on a dance scholarship. She graduated in 2011 from Ballet Yuma, after being a company member for 6 years. She danced numerous roles with the company and performed in a number of RDA Festivals. Taylor attended the International Ballet Competition in 2011, and was also a scholarship attendee at Ballet Austin's summer program. Erika Farrar–Romanyuk received her training in Yuma, Arizona under the direction of Jon Cristofori, Kathleen Sinclair, and her aunt, Linda Farrar, at The Dancer's Workshop and Yuma Ballet Theatre. At the age of 18, she became the youngest member of Ballet Magnificat, joining the company in its tours across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. She also performed as a member of both Nashville Ballet and Atlanta Ballet. During her professional career, Erika performed such works as Serenade, The Four Temperaments, Coppelia, Giselle, Paquita, Square Dance, and was featured in soloist and principal roles in The Nutcracker, Valse Fantasie, Swan Lake, Hallberg Suite and various works by Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Paul Vasterling. Following her years with Nashville Ballet and Atlanta Ballet, Erika toured throughout the United States with Hosanna Sacred Arts, where director Kenn Tolle created many new works specifically for Erika, and featured her in principal roles in existing choreography. Following her time with Hosanna Sacred Arts, Erika performed as a soloist for Ephiphany Dancers, a modern dance company in Nashville, Tennessee. Frank Amparo is the Owner, Director, Instructor, and Choreographer at Bien Suave Dance Company. He started dancing ballet as a child for over 6 years with Yuma Ballet Academy with Directors Jon Cristofori and Kathleen Sinclair, and began dancing salsa with Sonlatino Mexicali about a year ago. Frank has learned from some of the worlds greatest salsa & bachata dancers like Jorge Contreras, Serena Cuevas, Ataca and Alemana, Cristian Oviedo(Current World Champion) and Alma Latina Dance Co (World Champions) and has taken apart all the styles and created his own. He has performed the role of The Nutcracker in two productions with Ballet Yuma. |
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