American Youth Ballet - 4 performances
http://www.americanyouthballet.org/
Studio rehearsal Sunday afternoon December 5th, 2:45 pm - Snowflakes at the end of Act I into the wings, stage right.
Snowflakes in Thursday's dress
Nutcracker 2021
In Yardley Hall, Johnson County
Community College
in the Midwest Trust Center (formerly the Carlsen Center)
Saturday 18 December 2018, 2
pm and 7 pm
and Sunday 19th, 2 pm and 6 pm
( Note that evening times differ between Sat 7pm and Sun 6pm )
JCCC(dress/performance) in Yardley Hall
Performance page: https://www.americanyouthballet.org/nutcracker
Ticketing - JCCC Box Office:
913-469-4445
https://jccc.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx?cid=177
Tickets prices: $30 to $30 depending on seats - $18 Youth 12 & Under
Prices are shown in
the ticket-purchase page as you make a selection.
Yardley Hall's capacity is 1250 seats
In-Theater pictures at JCCC's Yardley Hall
Pictures from Dress and Performance Days
Madalyn Hesterlee as "grown Clara" warming up during intermission, behind the curtain before Act II for the 2 pm,
in theater at JCCC's Yardley Hall - Spanish lead, Kayla Forbes on the left - Photo Mike Strong
Sheep - in the waiting room, ready for Act II
Overland Park Orchestra, with audience seated, just before the 7-9 pm performance
starts.
Class before the 7-9 pm performance,
Dress for Cast B - Friday December 17th
Alec Roth (Nutcracker) and Madalyn Hesterlee (Grown Clara)
Dress for Cast A - Thursday December 16th
Director/choreographer, directing choreography - Kristopher Estes-Brown
Notes
Notes
The "pit" during notes
Tech Wednesday December 15th
Pictures from Studio Rehearsals
-
Sunday notes after first-act run, 2:52 pm
Avani Lakkireddy (Arabian lead) in a tour jeté - above Sat, below Sun 4:14pm
Russian - Sat 4th
Spanish - Sat 4th
Snow - Sun 5th
Sunday Dec 5th, Act II, 4:03 pm
Sunday Dec 5th, Act II, 4:04 pm
Chinese lead, Sunday Dec 5th, Act II, 4:04 pm - at start as each act is announced.
Avani Lakkireddy (Arabian lead) Thursday 2cnd 6:19 pm
Flowers - Thursday 2, Dec
7:39 pm
Director Kristopher Estes-Brown makes a note for "notes" later as "flowers" hit an echappé - 7:39 pm Thursday Dec 2
Curt Knupp (Dr. Drosselmeyer) and Clara
with house-party attendees, Sat 1:28 pm Act I
Sunday 5th Dec
4:48 pm
American Youth Ballet | |
| Artistic Directors | Jennifer Tierney and Kristopher Estes-Brown |
Nutcracker 2021 | |
| Choreography | Kristopher Estes-Brown |
| Music composed | Pyotr llyich Tchaikovsky |
| Book | E.T.A. Hoffman |
| Set and Lighting Design | Kristopher Estes-Brown, Anthony Putzier |
| Costumes | Jennifer Tierney, Gayla Voss, Deborah Green |
| Prologue | |
| Candy Canes | Hattie Kruse, Evelina Tuzhilov, Elizabeth Overbaugh, Matilda Overbaugh, Andrea Morales, Eliana Wheat, Laurel Beine, Tierney Klenke, Ophelia Tignon, Maki Crosby, Marci Crosby, Mari Crosby |
| Gingerbreads | Meili Baack, Caroline Welch, Charlotte Minkler, Aria Stroud, Emma Hurst, Arlo Beine, Georgi Kozel, Miriam Ruder, Angeline Tignon, Cora Wagner |
| Act I | |
| Young Clara | Kiersten Koenings , Kylie Julianto |
| Dr. Drosselmeyer | Curt Knupp |
| Nephew | Preston Cook |
| Louisa | Ella Kaemmer |
| Fritz | Matlin Patel, Adeline Qin |
| Governess | Avani Lakkireddy |
| Grandmother | Tara Cook |
| Columbine | Lindsey Kim |
| Frau Stahlbaum | Nadine Peck |
| Herr Stahlbaum | Moe Graenser |
| Maids | Madalyn Hesterlee, Kyla Forbes, Sophia Qi |
| Party Guest Parents | Lillian Li, Hannah Chong, Arielle Li, Alec Roth, Luke Luzicka |
| Party Guest Children | Mason Cook, Max Isaac, Owen Chambers Shiloh Nelson, Katie Chen, Nora Kennedy, Layla Maciula, Juliet Lothyan, Madeline Harvey, Mia Maciula, Rowan McGill, Anna Sawafuji |
| Mouse Queen | Nadine Peck |
| Mice | Kate Kruse, Madeline Davenport, Abigail Gavula, Layla Baack, Skyla Neo, Claire Wheat, Sophia Sitzes, Clare Kaemmer, Eliana Kim, Clara Julianto, Juliette Tignon |
| Cavalry | Wren Versluis, Annabella Choi |
| Soldiers | Mikaela Ivanov, Aoi Morita, Bella Gladish, Kyla Hess, Altan Badmaeva, Madison Thaete, Bella Breithaupt Addison Tharp |
| Nutcracker | Alec Roth |
| Grown Clara | Madalyn Hesterlee |
| Snowflakes | Lillian Li, Hannah Chong, Kayla Forbes, Avani Lakkireddy, Nadine Peck, Annabella Choi, Ella Kaemmer, Lindsey Kim, Arielle Li, Sophia Qi, Adeline Qin, Matalin Patel, Tara Cook, Wren Versluis, Juliet Lothyan |
| Act II | |
| Sugar Plum Fairy | Hannah Chong |
| Chinese Lead | Tara Cook |
| Russian Lead | Nadine Peck |
| Spanish Lead | Kayla Forbes |
| Mirliton Leads | Annabella Choi, Lindsey Kim, Arielle Li |
| Arabian Lead | Avani Lakkireddy |
| Rose Queen | Lillian Li |
| Black Sheep | Anna Sawafuji, Katie Chen |
| Spanish Corps | Ella Kaemmer, Sophia Qi |
| Arabian Corps | Bella Gladish, Aoi Morita, Madison Thaete |
| Chinese Corps | Caroline Kruse, Charlotte Munce, Piper Brewer, Kate Ellsperman, Aria Williams |
| Sheep | Lucy Ellspermann, Anabella Julianto, Léonie Osman, Eloise Dixon, Annalise Stroud, Evelyn Jennings, Aayla Williams, Cora de León |
| Russian Corps | Mason Cook, Owen Chambers |
| Flowers Demi-Soloist | Juliet Lothyan, Mia Maciula, Matalin Patel, Adeline Qin, Wren Versluis, Lindsey Kim |
| Flowers Corps | Altan Badmaeva, Bella Breithaupt, Madeline Harvey, Kyla Hess, Mikaela Ivanov, Addison Tharp |
| Choreography | Kristopher Estes-Brown |
| Music composed | Pyotr llyich Tchaikovsky |
| Book | E.T.A. Hoffman |
| Set and Lighting Design | Kristopher Estes-Brown, Anthony Putzier |
| Costumes | Jennifer Tierney, Gayla Voss, Deborah Green |
| Party Boy Costume partially underwritten by the Albee Family Sugar Plum Fairy Tutu generously underwritten by the Mueller Family Sheep Costume generously underwritten by the 3GenWealth and The Peck Family Russian costume generously underwritten by the Wang Family | |
2019-2020 AYB Company | |
| Artistic Directors | Jennifer Tierney and Kristopher Estes-Brown |
| Senior Company | Annabella Choi, Hannah Chong, Tara Cook, Kayla Forbes, Madalyn Hesterlee, Ella Kaemmer, Lindsey Kim, Avani Lakkireddy, Arielle Li, Lillian Li, Nadine Peck, Sophia Qiu |
| Junior Company | Altan Badmaev, Bella Breithaupt, Owen Chambers, Mason Cook, Madaline Harvey, Kyla Hess, Mikaela Ivanov, Kylie Julianto, Kiersten Koenings,, Juliet Lothyan, Mia Maciula, Matalin Patel, Adeline Qin, Addison Tharp, Wren Versluis, Ellie Xu |
| Apprentice Company | Katie Chen, Bella Gladish, Nora Kennedy, Layla Maciula, Rowan McGill, Aoi Morita, Shilo Nelson, Anna Sawafuji, Madison Thaete |
Overland Park Orchestra | |
| Sponsored by the City of Overland Park | |
| Conductor | Raffaele Cipriano |
| Assistant Conductor | |
| Violin I | Vicki Hauser, Concertmaster Claudia Banda Lisa Caravello Natasha Derakhshanian Dawn Schnake |
| Violin II | Renee Anne Poulin, Principal Edwin Fukanaga Kristen Moss Ernestine Wildman |
| Viola | Erin Wilson, Principal Vicki Farron Ted Quast Graham Smith |
| Cello | Gail DeGeer Kelly Irvin Fred Reynolds Ed Roxas Betsy Wright |
| Bass | Kathleen McCullough, Principal |
| Flute | Nancy Clark, Principal Charles Jessup |
| Piccolo | Charles Jessup, Principal |
| Oboe | Roy Messick, Co-principal Hannah Thurlby, Co-principal Kristin Thurlby |
| English Horn | Kristin Thurlby, Principal |
| Clarinet | George Pagels, Principal Will Belden |
| Bass Clarinet | Will Belden, Principal |
| Bassoon | Devon Blackwood, Co-principal Greta Christianson, Co-principal |
| Horn | Jerry Old, Principal Tracy Richter Paul Jolley Bryce Morgan |
| Trumpet | David Clark, Principal Tim Gillispie |
| Trombone | Danny Lovell, Principal David Hass Santiago Latorre |
| Tuba | Santiago Latorre, Principal |
| Timpani / Percussion | Tony Liu, Principal Kurt Johnson |
| Harp | Katie Sigler, Principal |
| Librarian | Kathleen McCullough |
FYI - For your information - Because of COVID, and your assurance
This is a scanned copy of my COVID record card, as filled in by the VA (Veteran's Administration).
I've blotted out my patient number with red and overwritten some of the card in gray text with my
name, stating that this is a vax card from the VA, KC VA Honor Annex March 16 and April 6th and the
KC VA Medical Center at 4801 Linwood (booster) October 28 of 2021.
Note that:
regardless of my vaccination status (both myself and Nicole have both shots and booster),
we continue masked, usually double masked because of immuno-compromising condition,
so I have to be careful about bringing anything back, as does Nicole, teaching at FHSU.
Mike Strong
And a Sad Note - the closing of American Dance Center
As the new year approached, this was the front page at amdance.org - the home page for American Dance Center.
No links, just a logo and the message: "Thank you for 42 years"
On Facebook, on December 29th, 6:55 pm, Jennifer Tierney wrote,
"Yesterday was the hardest day. Today was better.
My ballet school has fallen to COVID and I'm absolutely heartbroken.
My job, my world, my purpose, my way of putting a roof over my head
and food on my table for the last 15 years is gone."
I will add that this is a loss to us all. For years ADC has been one of the best of the area's ballet schools
and AYB one of the best of the young ballet companies. My own work with AYB and ADC goes back to
their 2010 Nutcracker, as you can see from the links below. They have always been young kids
working to professional standards and alongside professionals as side-by-side examples.
As an educator and a developer of online learning software in the late 1990's
I've regarded the methods here as exemplars of "embodied learning,"
an academic term for a method of learning in which the
information is retained the best. The youth here have
learned far more than mere steps and technique.
In shared sadness,
Mike Strong