Ballet

Thanksgiving is almost here, which means it's time to start planning for the holiday season. Tickets to that time-honored holiday tradition, San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker, are now on sale and going fast. Experience 200 costumed characters, dazzling scenery, and Tchaikovsky's beautiful score performed live by the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.

There are many different performances of Nutcracker that take place in the Bay Area during the holiday season, but San Francisco Ballet's is really the one that sets the standard. Did you know that San Francisco Ballet was the first ballet company to bring the Nutcracker to America?

I took my kids to the Nutcracker last season, and it was truly a magical experience for all of us. It's really a holiday tradition not to be missed. Order your tickets now and make sure you get your preferred time, date, and seats.

Fairfax's Studio C Ballet now has a new location in Sausalito! The new studio is located at 10 Liberty Ship Way, Suite 340 (the home of the Stage Dor Dance Studio and the Don't Quit Your Day Job Dancers). Studio C's programs are based on the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum, which combines high-quality artistic training with the basics of dancer health and child development.

Offering professional ballet training for all ages and abilities, Studio C Ballet was founded by Marin mom and professional ballet dancer Claudia Alfieri-Wallace, a veteran of esteemed dance companies including San Francisco Ballet, Smuin Ballet, and Baryshnikov's American Ballet. Classes are available for all ages, from pre-ballet (ages 3–5) to adult instruction. Private ballet coaching is available as well.

Studio C Ballet also offers Ballerina Birthday Parties; contact Claudia directly for prices and availability at (415) 297-6897 or claudia@studiocballet.com.

Congratulations to Colleen P. for winning the Nutcracker tickets for Tuesday's performance.

How would you like to go see the San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker this Tuesday night? We're excited to give away two (2) tickets for this special family performance, which begins at 7 pm (but you'll want to get there early to meet some costumed Nutcracker characters and get a free child's gift).

To enter to win, send an email to contests@marinmommies.com with "Nutcracker" in the subject line by noon (Pacific time) on Sunday, December 11. We'll select a random winner that afternoon. Our thanks go out to San Francisco Ballet for generously sponsoring this exciting giveaway. Read our giveaway rules and terms here.

Please note that this giveway is for the December 13, 7 pm performance only. The winner's tickets will be held at the War Memorial Opera House will call for pickup the evening of the performance.

This holiday season, don’t miss Marin Dance Theatre’s magical production of Sophie and The Enchanted Toyshop at the Marin Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael. Performances take place on Saturday, December 17, only with two shows at 1 and 5 pm.

Presented by Marin Dance Theatre, an internationally recognized dance training center, Sophie and the Enchanted Toyshop is a delightful and festive full-length two-act children's ballet, featuring over 130 dancers plus guest professional artists. We had an opportunity to attend last year with our kids and everyone had a great time.

This production is a fantastic introduction to ballet for the entire family. In fact it was my then four-year-old daughter's first experience with live ballet. With colorful sets and costumes and whimsical characters, Sophie and the Enchanted Toyshop makes a great addition or alternative to the Nutcracker in the holiday entertainment repertoire.

The Stapleton Ballet's annual production of the Nutcracker has been a Marin County tradition for over two decades. With over 150 talented dancers from San Anselmo's Stapleton School of the Performing Arts as well as professional guest stars, a visit to this production marks the start of the holiday season for many Marin families.

Just because it's a tradition doesn't mean it changes, however. The Stapleton Nutcracker received new lavish Victorian sets in 2008 and new costumes and choreography in 2010. This year, ballet-goers will see new choreography and costumes for the Nutcracker's Spanish Dancer, which were created by Stapleton Ballet assitant artistic director Yoira Esquivel Brito.

The daughter of dancers Jorge Esquivel and Amparo Brito, both former dancers with the famed National Ballet of Cuba, Yoira was on stage before she was even born. She  began officially studying ballet at the age of 8, and at 12 she was invited to become part of a company by Laura Alonso. She went on to have a major career in Peru, Brazil, and the Oakland and San Francisco Ballets.

Studio C Ballet is now open in Fairfax. Offering professional ballet training for all ages and abilities, Studio C Ballet was founded by Marin mom and professional ballet dancer Claudia Alfieri-Wallace, a veteran of esteemed dance companies including San Francisco Ballet, Smuin Ballet, and Baryshnikov's American Ballet. Classes are available for all ages, from pre-ballet (ages 3–5) to adult instruction. Private ballet coaching is available as well.

Studio C Ballet also offers Ballerina Birthday Parties in the delightful setting of its pink-curtained ballet studio. Contact Claudia directly for prices and availability at (415) 297-6897 or claudia@studiocballet.com.

You'll find Studio C Ballet in Fairfax at 12 School Street Plaza Suite 12D (near Central Field). For more information, including class schedule and tuition information, call (415) 297-6897 or visit www.studiocballet.com.

If your pre-k or kindergarten-age child is obsessed with all things ballet, then you might want to check out Mill Valley's Joy of Dance Ballet School and their popular Ballet and Arts Half-Day Immersion Program. This program offers a fun-filled half-day for little ones centered around the "ballet du jour" drawn from popular ballets such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Firebird. Ballets are explored though expressive arts, story books, segments from videos of the ballet and, of course, a magical ballet class.

Joy of Dance directress and teacher Jacqueline Low is well known throughout Marin for her imagination, boundless creativity, and exuberant energy. This program was so popular during last spring that Joy of Dance Ballet School is now offering it twice a week—on Mondays and Thursday from 1–4:45 pm, providing nearly four hours of fun for little dancers (and giving moms and dads a well-deserved respite).

This Saturday, March 19, 2011, the San Francisco Ballet premieres its production of Coppélia, a full-length comedic story ballet. With choreography be the legendary George Balanchine and a melodious score by 19th-century French composer Leo Délibes, Coppélia tells the enchanting and humorous story of the young couple Swanilda and Franz, whose courtship goes awry when Franz falls for a life-like dancing doll created by mysterious inventor Dr. Coppelius.

To teach Franz a lession, Swanilda disguises herself as the doll and pretends she's the doll come to life. In the end, there's a happy ending as Swanilda and Franz reunite, and we see their joyful wedding celebration. With new costumes and fairy tale sets by renowned Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno, Coppélia is an enchanting family friendly production that's guaranteed to win your heart.