Local students will be helping Nashville Ballet make their triumphant return to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center stage this holiday season as part of the Youth Cast for Nashville’s Nutcracker. A beloved holiday tradition, this annual event allows School of Nashville Ballet students the opportunity to perform alongside Nashville Ballet’s professional Company dancers.
“This is truly such an incredible opportunity for our students,” shared School of Nashville Ballet Academy Principal Dodie Askegard. “Dancing is such an individual endeavor, but by participating in this production, they become a part of a larger team and see how their efforts contribute to the whole. They get the chance to work alongside professional dancers, live musicians, and experience first-hand how these performances come to life on stage. It is a special reminder that this is why we do what we do- to share the beauty of this art form not only with each other but with our community as well.”
An experience exclusive to School of Nashville Ballet students, the Youth Cast for Nashville’s Nutcracker gives over 100 young dancers the chance to learn directly from Nashville Ballet Company dancers on stage. After participating in School-wide auditions, each student is hand-selected for their role by a Nashville Ballet rehearsal director and spends eight weeks rehearsing in the studio in preparation for the final performances.
This year’s Youth Cast includes:
Cheatham County:
Eli Boggs as Fritz
Jordan Hamm as a Party Girl
Davidson County:
Breen Bentzen as a Commodore Cavalry
Penn Beutler as a Party Boy
Devon Brown as a Frontier Soldier
Bridget Byrd as Clara
Brenyn Carlton as a Garden Fairy
CamilleCarter as a Baby Mouse
Evelyn Clark as a Baby Mouse
Adri Cottingham as a Party Girl
Sylvia Dunaway as a Commodore Cavalry
Sydney Emeson as a Bon Bon
Lily Fryling as a Bon Bon
Arabella Fletcher as a Garden Fairy
Carly Graham as a Bon Bon
Hadley Hancock as a Medium Mouse
Beatrice Harvey-Schwartz as a Garden Fairy
Lily Harwell as a Lamb
Gia Hayes as a Lamb
Freya Heard as a Teddy Bear Cavalry
Lottie Heard as a Lamb
Sophia Hill as a Russian Nesting Doll
Cecilia Holleman as a Frontier Soldier
Anneka Jones as a Bon Bon
Erin Joyce as a Frontier Soldier
Ruby Kammerman as a Lamb
Isla Kearney as a Garden Fairy
Briar King as a Medium Mouse
Sashenka Kooienga as a Frontier Soldier
Janesta Krueck as a Frontier Soldier
Jaycie Lynn Krueck as a Garden Fairy
Kennedy Lamar as a Lamb
Frankie Layson as a Garden Fairy
Claire Massey as a Teddy Bear Cavalry
Lili Near as a Teddy Bear Cavalry
Eléonore Ness as a Party Girl
Garrett Northwall as a Party Boy
Angel Ochoa as a Party Boy
Harper Perry as a Baby Mouse
Amalie Phillips as a Commodore Cavalry
Eva Pregont as a Bon Bon
Lillian Pyatt as a Teddy Bear Cavalry
Margaret Rick as a Party Girl
Nora Rieck as a Teddy Bear Cavalry
Fiorella Sergio as Clara
Marshal Simpson as a Party Girl Understudy
KatelynSmith as a Garden Fairy
Ida Soranno as a Bon Bon
Althea Stefansic as a Medium Mouse
Clara Stefansic as a Russian Nesting Doll
Eva Stefansic as a Medium Mouse
Isabella Sutton as a Baby Mouse
Hallie Thackston as a Baby Mouse
Sienna Thompson as a Bon Bon
Einmyria Thurman as a Garden Fairy
Embree Unick as a Bon Bon
Mackenzie Wade as a Russian Nesting Doll
Emma Wade as a Baby Mouse
Nathanial Watkins as a Bon Bon
Avery Weber as a Medium Mouse
Shakia Webster as a Frontier Soldier
Clara Weedman as a Teddy Bear Cavalry
Livia Wernke as a Lamb
Ella Wescott as a Garden Fairy
Morgan Whiteley as a Garden Fairy
Colsyn Whittaker as a Teddy Bear Cavalry
June Wilkison as a Garden Fairy
Kaci Wilkinson as a Russian Nesting Doll
Elizabeth Williams as a Garden Fairy
Tagg Zumwalt as a Party Boy
Maury County:
Carys Gaines as a Russian Nesting Doll
Preston Gaines as a Party Boy
Alany Lopez as a Medium Mouse
Montgomery County:
Kyleigh Gehosky as a Russian Nesting Doll
Bailey Horton as a Medium Mouse
Robertson County:
Piper Mackenzie Harris as a Bon Bon
Laine Sharp as a Commodore Cavalry
Rutherford County:
Mia DeFeo as a Baby Mouse
Noah Drews as a Party Boy
Lennon Elkins as a Party Girl
Samantha Everett as a Teddy Bear Cavalry
Madilyn Rigsby as a Bon Bon
Integrity Schamel as a Frontier Soldier
Lela Sisk as a Teddy Bear Cavalry
Sumner County:
Rylee Braden as a Garden Fairy
Amelia Espindola as a Teddy Bear Cavalry
Madison Herrington as a Party Girl
Harper Judd as a Garden Fairy
Olivia McDaniel as a Lamb
Elizabeth Tongate as a Garden Fairy
Sophia Wright as a Teddy Bear Cavalry
Catherine Yawn as a Commodore Cavalry
Williamson County:
William Barton as a Party Boy
Daniel Bratton as a Commodore Cavalry
Jonah Bratton as a Party Boy
Kai Carter-Sullivan as a Party Boy
Vivienne Irene Clark as a Garden Fairy
Jade Collins as a Party Girl
Bailey Rose Crowell as a Commodore Cavalry
Emerson Rose Duke as a Commodore Cavalry
Jonah Forsythe as a Frontier Soldier
Chloe Graham as a Medium Mouse
Clementine Graham as a Frontier Soldier
Catherine Graves as a Lamb
Elizabeth Graves as a Baby Mouse
Anna Caroline Henry as a Party Girl
Lauren Hill as a Russian Nesting Doll
Mary Husmann as a Bon Bon
Amelia Johnson as a Russian Nesting Doll
Winnie Jones as a Lamb
Courtney Kurkowski as a Russian Nesting Doll
Vanessa Kurkowski as a Commodore Cavalry
Kelsey Martin as a Russian Nesting Doll
Declan Meeker as a Lamb
Kinley Meeker as a Garden Fairy
Clara Owen as a Bon Bon
Aidan Pape as a Party Boy
Adalyn Patel as a Frontier Soldier
Margaux Schneider as a Garden Fairy
Anna Sloan as a Party Girl
Madeleine Stillwell as a Lamb
Brooke Trussell as a Baby Mouse
Gigi Wingo as a Frontier Soldier
Wilson County:
Adrianna Gift as a Party Girl
Iris Lee as a Baby Mouse
Sterling Lekki as a Garden Fairy
Alex Wiggins as a Garden Fairy
Eve Willis as a Commodore Cavalry
Jonah Willis as Fritz
Josefina Yeager as a Lamb
Nashville’s Nutcracker will be Nashville Ballet’s first time performing live at TPAC since February of 2020. Hailed an “eye-poppingly gorgeous work of art” by Broadway World Nashville, this annual holiday event will include pre-performance photo-ops, visits from beloved characters, and free story times led by Nashville Ballet Teaching Artists.
Nashville’s Nutcracker will be live at TPAC December 15–24, 2021. Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased here. For more information, please visit nashvilleballet.com.
About Nashville Ballet
Nashville Ballet is the largest professional ballet company in Tennessee. Nashville Ballet presents a varied repertoire of classical ballet and contemporary works by noted choreographers, including original works by Artistic Director Paul Vasterling. Nashville Ballet and the second company, NB2 (a pre-professional training company), provide more than 55,000 arts experiences to adults and children annually through virtual and in-person season performances and its Community Engagement programming. Curriculum-based Community Engagement programs bring hybrid learning dance education to community centers, colleges, public libraries, and public elementary, middle, and high schools across the state. School of Nashville Ballet brings world-class in-studio, on-demand, and outdoor dance instruction to students age 2 and up. To learn more about Nashville Ballet, please visit nashvilleballet.com.
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