A Golden Anniversary: Westside Ballet fetes 50 years of ‘The Nutcracker’

By Laura Latzko

For the last 50 years, Westside Ballet of Santa Monica has presented its version of “The Nutcracker.” In its production, the company features youth such as fourth grader Serena de Lourenco-Halati and sixth grader Yara Johnson — both of whom have Playa Vista ties.

The pre-professional ballet company will put on the beloved holiday classic during two weekends, November 25 and November 26 and December 2 and December 3. The performances are sold out, but Westside Ballet will offer a Vimeo link for the community to watch the November 25 performance at home for free.

Westside Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” debuted in 1973 and has become a tradition for local audiences.

The company was started by Yvonne Mounsey, who had a distinguished career with the New York City Ballet, and Rosemary Valaire, who served as a ballet artist with the Royal Ballet.

Their former student Martine Harley is now leading the company as artistic director.

At the company’s sister entity, the Westside School of Ballet, students have a chance to train at a pre-professional level in the classical ballet style.

The company’s production of “The Nutcracker” is set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, which will be performed live by the Santa Monica College Symphony Orchestra.

As part of the anniversary celebration, the company is bringing back professional alumni Tiler Peck, Lucia Connolly and Lyrica Woodruff to take on the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

They will be accompanied by male guest artists Roman Mejia and Maté Szentes, who will portray the role of the Cavalier.

On November 25, Connolly and Woodruff will play the Dew Drop Fairy for alternate shows. During other performances, this role will be portrayed by students and pre-professionals.

The production features 107 dancers and 225 costumes in four major scenes. The company is made up of dancers ranging from 8 to 20 years old.

The ballet is based off on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” and the Marius Petipa classic. The Westside production honors the work of George Balanchine as carried on by Mounsey, who pioneered the role of the Center Spanish as principal dancer for New York City Ballet.

“The Nutcracker” tells the story of Clara, a young girl who she finds herself in a battle with the Mouse King and his army, and she is aided by the Nutcracker Prince and his toy soldier infantry.

They travel to a distance land, where they meet the Snow Queen, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier and take part in a festive celebration with dances inspired by different cultures and sweets.

The local production takes audiences to a magical world with details such as a growing tree, a firing canon and falling snow.

In the show, Serena, a student at Argo Navis School, is portraying a Blue Soldier. She is featured in the battle scene and helps to fight with Clara against the mouse army.

Serena, 9, has been dancing since she was 2 years old and has been with the Westside Ballet for the last two years.

Her mother, Sally de Lourenco, says that Serena has been bullied but found acceptance within the company and dance school. She says being held to higher standards has allowed Serena to flourish.

“Serena is always talking about how she wants to be challenged. Being put down when you’re bullied lowers your self-esteem. When someone sees a gift in you and helps you to grow into it and evolve, it’s like someone can see you more,” de Lourenco says.

A passion for ballet dance has kept Serena involved all of these years.

“What I love about dancing is that I get to express my feelings, and it’s almost like acting for me. I can show my passion and what I can do,” Serena says.

De Lourenco says Westside Ballet appealed to her because the company features dancers of different body types and backgrounds.

Among Serena’s influences are pop star Taylor Swift and dancer Misty Copeland.

“She wasn’t the usual type of ballerina. She opened the doors for girls from all backgrounds and body types. She made hard work the most important part of ballet,” Serena says.

Yara, 11, will portray a Party Girl in the show. Last year with the Westside Ballet, she played a Red Soldier in “The Nutcracker.”

Yara, who attends the Westside Neighborhood School, started ballet at age 4.

Yara says the show challenges her mentally, physically and emotionally, and it has allowed her to create a bond with her fellow dancers.

She has noticed growth in herself since working with Westside.

“I definitely think my skill level has grown. I’ve been working on my technique for these two years. It’s better than when I was little and started,” Yara says.

Nikea Johnson, Yara’s mother, says the Westside Ballet has offered Yara a chance to learn from skilled teachers in a professional environment. The company also appealed to her family because of its diversity.

“You don’t see a lot of diversity in ballet. When you do, you really take note of it. Me having a young Black dancer, it’s just another benefit of being in a program at WSB. It’s really nice to be seen and feel seen,” Johnson says.

De Lourenco and Johnson have dance backgrounds and have nurtured a love of the arts in their daughters.

“I did a lot of dance when I was younger,” Johnson says. “I hoped that I would have a child that would take an interest in dance, and she’s not only taken an interest, but she’s even more committed than I was.”

Serena’s dad is also a musician. Along with dance, she also plays the guitar and piano. She attends the Silverlake Conservatory of Music and takes part in drawing and painting.

De Lourenco always had an interest in dance but didn’t pursue it until she was older. She thought that dance would help to give her daughter another outlet of expression along with music.

“We didn’t have a lot of money, so I couldn’t pursue it until I got to college,” de Lourenco says.

“I did it to build a sense of self. Being a girl in the United States can be challenging. I saw the way the girls carried themselves. My mom took me to the ballet when I was little every year, and I just wondered how does one get that way of holding oneself in the world? When I got to college and I had a job and made some money, I studied ballet classes in Boston. I thought that would be a good outlet for Serena, given her musical abilities.”

Yara has an interest in other sports along with ballet. This year, she was part of her school’s volleyball team.

The two students have busy schedules, which includes school, dance classes and rehearsals leading up to the show.

With the company, they are expected to conduct themselves professionally.

“They have nine performances for these kids. Some of them are two a day, so it’s a very long day. It’s a lot of work. They make it look effortless, which is the ballerina experience, but it’s a lot of work,” de Lourenco says.

Before being in the production, Serena only saw a film version of “The Nutcracker” and a documentary called “Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.” The costumes, music and dancers fascinated her.

Being in the show, she learned how much work goes into it.

“It’s definitely a commitment. Ballet is already such a big commitment, and it’s such hard work. It looks so beautiful when you see it and watch it. When you actually do it, it’s such hard work,” Serena says.

Within the show, there are dancers are as young as 9 and, Yara says, they inspire each other.

“I feel like they look up to us. We’ve been there for a longer time. And I definitely look up to the older dancers,” Yara says. “One of my dream roles for an older dancer would probably be to be the Snow Queen. She’s very cool, and she gets to go en pointe when she’s dancing.”

Westside Ballet’s “The Nutcracker: 50 years of Magic”
WHEN: 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, November 25; Sunday, November 26; Saturday, December 2; and Sunday, December 3
WHERE: The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th Street, Santa Monica
COST: As all eight public performances are sold out, but Westside Ballet will offer a free Vimeo link for the community to watch the performance at home; email publicity@westsideballetcompany.org
INFO: 1-800-595-4849, www.westsideballet.com/NutTix