05-Nutcracker Program 2022-combined

Washington Rock Dance Presents

The Nutcracker

A Ballet in Two Acts
Based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s tale,
“The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”

Music By
Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky

Directors and Producers

Cleo Mack Kelli McGovern Blair Ritchie

Guest Performers
Paula Zapata and Brannic Peng

Courtesy of American Ballet Theatre ®

Richard Sayama and Spencer Grossman
Watchung Hills Regional High School Performing Arts Center

December 3 and 4, 2022
2:00 PM

Washington Rock Dance
Production Team

Costume Designer/Creator: Cleo Mack
Lighting Design: Blair Ritchie
Front of House Management: Kelli McGovern
Arborists/Tree Design: Danny Griffin, Brian McGovern,
Melissa Markowich
Scenic Design: Cleo Mack, Kelli McGovern, Blair Ritchie
Load In/Out: Danny Griffin, Josh Bailey, Matt Berry, Luke
Horowitz, Brian McGovern, John McGovern, Mike Portera,
Walter Forrester, Eddie Gartner, Steven Acosta
Backstage Crew: Jordan Pratko, Rachel Stanislawczyk,
Courtney McGovern, Melissa Savarese, Cassidy Rivas, Emily
Weeks, Rebecca Visintainer
Nutcracker Boutique Manager: Diane McGovern

Special thanks to all Watchung Hills PAC Crew

Washington Rock Dance
Mission Statement

At Washington Rock Dance, we believe in acknowledging the
sincere individuality residing in each and every student of
dance. We foster the unique development of our students by

providing an opportunity to be creative, understand the field
of body mechanics, and discover their personal sense of

artistry through the performance of high caliber works. Our
developmentally focused training is dedicated to locating a
student’s maximum potential while experiencing a smart,

inspirational, and fun environment.

About
Washington Rock Ballet

Washington Rock Ballet (WRB) provides an educational
atmosphere for the serious ballet student. WRB offers
students high caliber dance training and performance
opportunities so they can be prepared for a career in dance.

The process of developing a Ballet dancer is progressive and
continual. WRB employs 5 levels of study, each requiring that
physical and developmental benchmarks are met in order to
progress to the next level. Students for WRB are selected by
an evaluation process twice per year.

WRB is a unique opportunity for young dancers to engage in
a professional learning environment while receiving
outstanding training. Level One and Level Two dancers are
taught proper placement, classroom protocol, and expand
their vocabulary of ballet steps and movements based on a
syllabus designed specifically for their development. At an
advanced pace, the young dancer gains artistic discipline,
musicality and increased enjoyment of dance through
increased proficiency. The program lays a solid foundation
for Company work and individual performing roles through

participation in Company performances. Students progress
to consecutive levels based on evaluation by the Company
faculty. Level Three through Level Five continues the rapid
technical progress made by the dancers and provides
opportunities to dance roles in classical and contemporary
pieces.

Calendar
WRB meets for company class and rehearsals each Saturday,
September through June. Level is determined by the dancer’s
age and ability after acceptance into the program. Dancers
are required to take several Ballet technique classes
throughout the week in addition to company rehearsal.

Auditions
Auditions for Washington Rock Ballet are at the beginning of
the Fall and Spring seasons. Please contact Washington Rock
Dance if you are interested in auditioning or would like more
information about the Company.

Executive Directors

Cleo Mack is an award winning choreographer and educator
who has recently completed her M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary
Arts with a focus on choreography and visual arts. Her work
has been described as “a collision of quirky sophistication
and unmeasured recklessness.” She has been commissioned
by the Outlet Dance Project at Grounds for Sculpture, 10
Hairy Legs, Perpich School of the Arts, and Quad City Ballet.
Ms. Mack has been honored to receive an Individual Artists Fellowship from
the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, in recognition of her high artistic
merit and was selected by Dance Magazine as one of the “25 to Watch.” Cleo
has enjoyed support from the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage
Commission, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and has also received space
grants from The Field, DTW, and Lincoln Center.

Ms. Mack’s performance work has been presented at Joyce Soho, Dance
Theater Workshop’s Fresh Tracks, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.,
WAX, P.S. 1 Moma, the Hungarian American Dance Festival in Hungary, and at
NJPAC as part of Jersey Moves. 2016 marks the inception of Mack's newest
project, Rock Dance Collective (RDC) is focused on creating interdisciplinary
work in traditional and non-traditional environments.

Ms. Mack is the Director of Dance at the Middlesex County School of
Performing Arts and co-owner of Washington Rock Dance. She has been a
part-time lecturer at Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts and a
teaching artist for the American Repertory Ballet Institute, DeSales University,
Muhlenberg University and the University of Iowa. She was the recipient of the
2017 Hollins University Teaching Award.

Cleo is a professional costume designer and has created costumes for
Alexandra Bellar, Pam Tanowitz, Meghan Frederick, Chein-Ying Wang, Randy
James, Stephanie Batten Bland, Paul O’Campo, and Julia Ritter.

Kelli McGovern is a Doctoral student in the Ed.D. Dance
Education program at Columbia University’s Teachers
College and a recipient of the Arnhold Fellowship
Scholarship. She is a graduate of Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey with an Ed.M. in Dance Education
from the Graduate School of Education and a B.F.A. in Dance
Performance from Mason Gross School of the Arts. Kelli is a
full time tenured dance educator at Bayonne High School
(BHS) where she has created the dance arts curriculum in
the district and the BHS Young Dancer Program, an outreach program
designed to offer dance classes to the community.

Ms. McGovern is also co-owner of Washington Rock Dance (WRD) along with
her business partners and collaborators, Cleo Mack and Blair Ritchie. WRD is a
private dance school, founded in 2015, based on developmentally focused
training designed to maximize the potential of each student. WRD creates a
foundational support structure for the professional dance company, Rock
Dance Collective (RDC), a non-profit company of which McGovern is a Founder
and Executive Director. RDC has been commissioned by Rutgers Summer
Stage, DanceNOW SteelStacks and Joe’s Pub, as well as CoLab Arts. RDC has
self-produced multiple evening-length works throughout NYC and NJ. Their
most recent project, Arrangements (Brooklyn, 2020), was selected to be
presented by the Morris Museum (A Smithsonian Affiliate) and the New Jersey
State Council on the Arts, for the 2020 NJ Arts Annual exhibition, Dissonance.

Kelli served on the writing team for the new 2020 NJ Core Curriculum Content
Standards for Visual and Performing Arts, developed the Model Curriculum
Dance Assessments to be used as the guide for all dance programs in New
Jersey, and has facilitated workshops for NJ CTE Arts Assessments. She has
been selected to present her educational philosophies at the National Dance
Education Organization National Conferences in Arizona, Washington, D.C,
Florida, and at the NJAHPERD Conference. Kelli is an American Ballet
Theatre® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT®
Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National
Training Curriculum.

Blair Ritchie is a member of the faculty at Mason Gross
School of the Arts Dance Department at Rutgers University
where she has taught for the past ten years. She sits on their
Dance Technique Curriculum Committee and has created the
curriculum for the Yoga for Dancers course. In collaboration
with Rutgers University and Om Factory in New York City,
she developed the first ever Rutgers/Om Factory 200hr.
Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training.

Ms. Ritchie is an owner of Washington Rock Dance, a private dance training
facility located in Warren, NJ. She is also a Founder, Managing Director, and
Dancer for Rock Dance Collective, a professional dance company. Her
company's educational and professional work has been presented at many
conferences, performance venues, and universities throughout America.

Blair has a M.F.A. in choreography from Wilson College and a B.F.A. in Dance
from Mason Gross School of the Arts. Throughout her career as a dancer, she
has performed nationally and internationally as a member of multiple modern
dance companies.

Blair is a registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) and has completed her 500 hour
teacher training with renowned yoga teachers Sue Elkind and Naime Jezzeny
at DIG Yoga. She is also a Registered Restorative Yoga Teacher after completing
her Restorative Teacher Training with renowned teacher Jillian Pransky. For
the last decade, she has continued her education in alignment based Hatha
yoga and the life affirming philosophy it brings with it. She has also taken
extensive therapeutics training to learn the practical applications of yoga and
hands-on adjustments for the chronically and acutely injured body.

Washington Rock Ballet Faculty

Rachel Stanislawczyk is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of
Rutgers University, where she earned her Ed.M in Dance
Education with a K-12 teaching certification in 2020. During
her time at Rutgers, she taught as a Part-Time-Lecturer of
Ballet in the Dance Department at Mason Gross School of the
Arts, and was awarded the EDM Dance Education Scholarship.
Currently, Rachel is a full-time Dance Educator at Abraham
Clark High School, where she created the highschool dance
curriculum for the Roselle Borough School District and serves on the Social
Emotional Learning committee. Rachel performs professionally with Rock
Dance Collective, and is a teaching artist at Washington Rock Dance.

Additionally, Rachel is the Director and Founder of the Dance for Parkinson’s
Program at American Repertory Ballet: a program for people diagnosed with
PD and their caregivers. As Director, she has presented at The Parkinson’s
Foundation’s Moving Day NJ, Dr. Jill M. Giordano Farmer’s PD Education
Conference, The American Parkinson’s Disease Association’s Annual Spring
Conference, and The Parkinson’s Alliance’s 5K Team Parkinson Run. In 2017,
Rachel progressed from an intern to a lead teacher of the Mark Morris Dance
Group (MMDG) Dance for PD® program, where she taught classes at MMDG,
New York University, Juilliard and Ballet Academy East.

Rachel graduated with a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia
Commonwealth University in 2017. In the spring semester of her junior year,
she was a student in the University of South Florida’s Dance in Paris Program,
where she studied with various celebrated dance artists in Europe. She was
awarded the VCU Arts Dance and Choreography Outstanding Service Award,
the VCU Academic Achievement Award and the VCU Arts Dean’s Renewable
Scholarship. Rachel is a proud alum of The Middlesex County Vocational and
Technical School of the Arts where she developed her foundational dance
training under Cleo Mack.

Jordan Pratko is an Ed.M. graduate in Dance Education
with a K-12 teaching certification from the Graduate
School of Education, Rutgers University. While at
Rutgers, Jordan was awarded the Mastrobuono EdM
Dance Education Excellence Award Scholarship, the
Mastrobuono Distinguished EdM Dance Education
Student Scholarship and the Nancy Higginson Dorr
Award.

Jordan is a full time dance educator and yoga instructor at Bayonne High
School (BHS) where she has collaborated with Kelli McGovern to create the
yoga curriculum in the district. Jordan teaches various dance styles and age
levels at Washington Rock Dance (WRD) in Warren, NJ. She is pleased to
announce that during this year’s production of The Nutcracker she will be
performing the role of the infamous Mother Ginger.

In May 2019, Jordan graduated summa cum laude with her B.F.A. in Dance
Performance from Mason Gross School of the Arts. While at Mason Gross,
Jordan performed the works of Ani Javian, John Evans, Cleo Mack and Blair
Ritchie. Currently, she is a company dancer for Rock Dance Collective and has
appeared in various venues across New York and New Jersey. Her original
choreography has been performed at the Loree Dance Theater and Victoria J.
Mastrobuono Theater in New Brunswick, NJ and the Ailey Citigroup Theater in
New York City. Jordan is a 200-Hour Registered Vinyasa Yoga Teacher (RYT)
through the Om Factory in NYC under the instruction of Blair Ritchie and
Taryn Vander Hoop.

Performer Biographies

Richard Sayama
“Nutcracker Prince”

Originally from Honolulu, Hawai’i, Richard Sayama earned
his double major in B.F.A Modern Dance and B.A Business
Arts & Management from Marymount Manhattan College.
Currently, Richard works with Jon Lehrer Dance Company, General Mischief
Dance Theater Group, and iKADA Contemporary Dance. In addition, Richard
works with One Day Dance, McKoy Dance Project, and H.T Chen & Dancers. He
has finished seasons with Rock Dance Collective and Alison Cook Beatty
Dance. He has had the pleasure of performing works by Paul Taylor, Jose
Limon, Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, Elisabeth Motley, Maria
Torres, and many more.

Spencer Grossman
“Arabian Prince”

Spencer Grossman, from East Brunswick, New Jersey is a
Performer, Instructor, Choreographer, and Graduate of Mason
Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Spencer
graduated Cum Laude and received the DancePlus Performance Prize, an
award given to a choreographer of exceptional group work in 2018. While at
Rutgers, Grossman had the opportunity to perform works by: Maxine Doyle,
Camille A. Brown, Ellen Cornfield, Bill T. Jones, Lar Lubovitch, Martha Graham
Dance Company, Keith Thompson, Randy James, and Graham Lustig.
Throughout his years at University he attended acclaimed summer programs:
American Dance Festival, the Movement Invention Project, Pilobolus summer
workshop series, NW Dance projects LAUNCH and Springboard Danse
Montreal in 2018 & 2019 where he had the privilege to work with Shannon
Gillen / VIM VIGOR and Johannes Wieland. Grossman has been a teaching
artist for 10 Hairy Legs, extending dance outreach programs throughout the

state of New Jersey, as well as a master assistant setting repertory under

Janice Rosario across NYC. Spencer has toured Internationally and Nationally

with Catapult Entertainment. Starting in the new year, Spencer can be seen

performing in Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More.

Jerry Amedeo

“Drosselmeyer”

This is Jerry’s 8th appearance as Drosselmeyer in The
Washington Rock Ballet version of “The Nutcracker” with five
previous performances as a Party Parent. Jerry’s stage
credentials include performances in Watchung Arts Center’s
version of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot-in-the-Park” and Studs
Turkel’s “Working”. Jerry also performed in “The Via
Dolorosa” passion play for seven years running in Bayonne.
He also appeared in the penultimate episode of “The Sopranos”. Jerry has
performed on stage many times playing keyboard and drums for the likes of
“The Shirelles”, “The Duprees”, “The Emotions”, “Del Shannon” and many more.
He has published 11 original songs and has recorded an album and several
singles on the United Artists and 20th Century Fox Record Labels.
His background includes Rock & Roll shows at Convention Hall in Asbury Park,
hosted by the WMCA “Good Guys” and Cousin Bruce Morrow. He also
performed at The Brooklyn Fox Theater alongside Stevie Wonder and hosted
by the late Murray-the-K. His band played events at Monmouth University,
Rutgers University, Fordham and others. Until his recent retirement, Jerry was
Director of Camp Harmony for 54 years and was also the founder and
Executive Director of “The Orchard Academy”, a private Pre-School/Day Care
right here in Warren. In 2005, Jerry won the prestigious
Humanitarian-of-the-Year award from The NJ Make-A-Wish Foundation. He is
married to his lovely wife, Carol and has three fantastic daughters and six
fabulous grandchildren. Jerry wishes to thank The Washington Rock Ballet
Company for giving him this wonderful opportunity.

Louis Horowitz
“Dr. Stahlbaum”

When Louis Horowitz first heard the words, uttered by a
dazzled audience member, "that Horowitz really lights up the
stage," he knew. What did he know? He knew he was born to
be in the show. This monumental turning point occurred
during the first dress rehearsal of Horowitz's debut as Dr.
Stahlbaum in the 2016 Nutcracker presented by Washington
Rock Dance. Since then, Horowitz has appeared in 10 more Nutcracker
performances, mastering his role as Dr. Stahlbaum through a regiment of
intense method acting and rehearsal. Additionally, Horowitz, known as a
powerful orator of best man wedding speeches and eulogies, was requested to
perform in Rock Dance Collective's "Invited." "Invited," a three night immersive
theater experience in SoHo, NY was received extremely well by the dance and
theater communities and critics. Horowitz, authoring his own script,
performed as the host of a melodramatic party and delivered an introduction,
a toast, and a revealing. In 2021, Louis Horowitz appeared in his first
professional modern dance show called "Bodies of Work" presented by Rock
Movement Collective. Prior to live performances, in 2012, Horowitz made his
film debut when he appeared in a music video for the song “Bring It On” by
New Jersey’s notorious rock band The Gaslight Anthem. Louis Horowitz
welcomes the opportunity to perform in his seventh consecutive season as Dr.
Stahlbaum in Washington Rock's The Nutcracker .

Paula Zapata
“Sugar Plum Fairy”

Paula Zapata is 17 years old and from Fort Lauderdale,
FL. She started dancing when she 6 years old at
International Ballet Academy in Weston, FL. Paula has
performed many principal roles including Snow Queen
in The Nutcracker in 2019. She joined the American
Ballet Theater JKO Pre-Professional Division in 2021.

Brannic Peng
“Cavalier”

Brannic Peng is a 15-year-old sophomore and
pre-professional student at the ABT JKO school in New
York City. Brannic has studied ballet for 6 years,
competed in the 2022 YAGP Finals, and hopes to one day
become a principal dancer with ABT. Growing up in
Austin, Texas; Brannic loved going to see Ballet Austin’s production of “The
Nutcracker”. His parents took notice of this and signed him up for a ballet class
at a local dance studio. Brannic instantly fell in love with dance, and decided
that he really wanted to share his passion with the world.

The Story of the Nutcracker

Act I
The Christmas Eve Party

It is Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum Residence – A large and grand
home with the most beautiful tree imaginable. The Stahlbaums are
hosting their annual Christmas Party, welcoming the arrival of their
family and friends. The children, Clara and Fritz, are dancing and
playing as they welcome their friends too.

The party grows festive with music and dance. Soon, the mysterious
Godfather Drosselmeyer arrives. He is a skilled clock and toy maker
and always full of surprises. With him is his handsome nephew to
whom Clara is drawn. Drosselmeyer brings everyone’s attention to
the life-sized dolls he has brought. They are the delight of the party,
each taking a turn to dance.

As the children begin to play with the dolls, Dr. Stahlbaum fears they
will break and has them removed. Clara and Fritz begin to protest,
but Drosselmeyer has brought something else, the Nutcracker
soldier, which he gives to Clara. Fritz immediately becomes jealous
as Clara and her friends dance with the beloved doll, and plans to
steal it from her. Chaos ensues and Fritz ends up breaking Clara’s
new gift. Clara is heartbroken, but Drosselmeyer quickly repairs the
Nutcracker with magical dust. All of the guests are invited to join in
the final dance of the party, and depart for the evening.

Tiny mice enter the parlor searching for crumbs left over from the
party. Clara, anxious to see her beloved Nutcracker, sneaks back into
the ballroom to check on him, and at the stroke of midnight finds
herself surrounded by the little scurrying mice. She bravely scared
them off, then falls asleep with her Nutcracker in her arms.

Clara’s Dream

Magical things happen all around Clara as she sleeps. The parlor is
transformed and when Clara awakens she is surprised to discover
her beautiful Christmas tree has magically grown high about her.
Soon an army of huge mice appear, led by the fierce Mouse Queen.
Toy soldiers arrive to battle the mice, but are quickly defeated. The
Nutcracker springs to life and engages in a duel with the Mouse
Queen. Clara sees the Nutcracker is quickly losing ground in the
sword fight, and makes a daring move, bravely throwing her pillow
at the Mouse Queen. The MouseQueen charges towards Clara. The
Nutcracker seizes the moment to bring the battle to an end. The
Mouse Queen drops to the floor and is carried away by her minions.

The Land of Snow

A spell the Mouse Queen had put on the Nutcracker is broken, and
he turns into a handsome Prince, who bears a striking resemblance
to Drosselmeyer’s nephew. In a snow covered sleigh, the Prince
takes Clara on a journey to the Land of the Snow, an enchanted forest
wonderland where they are welcomed by the Snow Queen, reindeer,
dancing snowflakes.

Act II
The Land of the Sweets

The Prince and Clara arrive at the Land of the Sweets where they are
greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her retinue of cloud fairies. The
Prince tells her about their daring battle with the army of mice the
Sugar Plum Fairy applauds Clara for her bravery and rewards them
both with a celebration of dances and gifts:

Spain- Hot Chocolate
Arabia- Coffee
China- Tea
Russia- Candy Canes
Austria- Marzipan
France- Gingerbread
Holland- Flowers

As a finale, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier dance a beautiful
Pas De Deux. Then Clara and her Prince say farewell to the Land of
the Sweets, and continue their enchanted journey to other magical
lands.

Performers

Act I
Holiday Party at the Stahlbaums

Dr. Stahlbaum: Louis Horowitz
Frau Stahlbaum: Rachel Stanislawczyk
Clara: Gigi Mandarakas (12/3/22), Rebecca Flum (12/4/22)
Clara’s Best Friends: Olivia Taylor, Kate Holczinger, Olivia
Phan
Clara’s Demi Best Friends: Sonia Shah, Grace Maslovsky,
Evie Kleinberg
Fritz: Nina Shah
Fritz’s Best Friend: Molly Casagrand
Maids: Dena Mistichelli, Ember Arp
Party Parents: Perry Mandarakas, Jaya Dave, Rich
Mistichelli, Danella Vecchio, Mike Zangrillo, Jordan Pratko,
Mirat Dave, Rebecca Visintainer, Kevin Cale, Jen Cale
Party Children: Mia Bolewicz, Isla Buchanan, Vania Carrera,
Eleanor Craig, Kira Feuchtbaum, Lena Garcia Sanles, Jessica
Krupp, Leanna Larkin, Abigail Lopez, Laci Millard, Charlotte
Pena, Isabella Pimenta, Sophia Poon, Alondra Rodriguez,
Abigail Sutain, Victoria Bodajlo, Cora Camiolo, Molly
Casagrand, Hannah Cheung, Sydney Collman, Grace Coyle,
Sydney Feldman, Stella Ferreiro, Shiloh Greenbaum, Leela

Hannan, Sophia Parisi, Dia Sachin, Gianna Scagliozzi, Ameera
Shah, Melina Zhang, Emily Baechtold, Lyla Macke, Emma
Stoicescu, Beatrice Young
Drosselmeyer: Jerry Amedeo
Drosselmeyer’s Nephew: Richard Sayama
Harlequin: TJ Cale, Jillian Shaw
Doll: Giada Damiano, Nina Shaw
Toy Soldier: Liana Damiano, Lina Zangrillo
Baby Mice: Blake Baldwin, Sophia Beekhuysen, Sage
Brotspies, Luna Carollo, Lena Czarnecki, Olivia D’Annunzio,
August Davies, Camilla Jiminez, Dana Lee, Luna Mocean,
Sonia Mutafov, Sarina Oren, Emerie Rivas, Ezra Saltzman,
Amy Shao, Mary Kate Walsh, Ruby Blick, Evy Kirchheimer,
Quinn Lafkowitz, Luna Liu, Julia Perez, Avery Short, Leanna
Utz, Charlotte Buchanan, Ayla Greenbaum, Cora Huddle,
Susana Pimenta, Maria Sgro, Eloise Yacone, Alyssa
Gekhtman, Sloane Atanasio, Myra Brar, Carmela D’Annunzio,
Nil Kayaci, Bella Labadie, Lizbeth Liu, Gaia Megrish, Lailany
Mendez, Anastasia Nadolny, Mckenzie Nolan, Grace Perrotti
Mouse Queens: Abby French, Annabelle Cheng
Mouse Demi Leads: Jaya Dave, Eleni Mandarakas, Dena
Mistichelli, Juliana Steier, Emily Aroneo, Mary Cate King
The Nutcracker: Richard Sayama
Lead Soldier: Stella Ferreiro
Soldiers: Victoria Bodajlo, Cora Camiolo, Molly Casagrand,
Hannah Cheung, Sydney Collman, Grace Coyle, Sydney

Feldman, Stella Ferreiro, Shiloh Greenbaum, Leela Hannan,
Sophia Parisi, Dia Sachin, Gianna Scagliozzi, Ameera Shah,
Melina Zhang
Reindeer: TJ Cale, Charlotte Covey, Giada Damiano, Liana
Damiano, Olivia Phan, Jillian Shaw, Nina Shaw
Snow Queen: Dena Mistichelli
Snow Dancers: Emily Aroneo, Annabelle Cheng, Jaya Dave,
Rebecca Flum (12/3/22), Abby French, Thea Horowitz, Mary
Cate King, Eleni Mandarakas, Gigi Mandarakas (12/4/22),
Juliana Steier, Kate Holczinger, Olivia Taylor, Lina Zangrillo

Act II
Candy Palace

Sugar Plum Fairy: Paula Zapata
Cavalier: Brannic Peng
Cloud Fairy Lead: Juliana Steier
Cloud Fairies: Abby French, Annabelle Cheng, Dena
Mistichelli, Emily Aroneo
Cloud Puffs: Emily Baechtold, Sonia Shah, Grace Maslovsky,
Lyla Macke, Emma Stoicescu, Beatrice Young, Evie Kleinberg,
Nina Shah, Kaleigh Gartner
Cloud Angels: Cora Camiolo, Amara Feuchtbaum, Stella
Ferreiro, Abigail Liu, Ameera Shah, Alexa Short
Princess Clara: Gigi Mandarakas (12/3/22), Rebecca Flum
(12/4/22)

The Prince: Richard Sayama
Spanish Lead: Mary Cate King
Spanish Demi: Thea Horowitz, Dena Mistichelli
Arabian Princess: Eleni Mandarakas
Arabian Prince: Spencer Grossman
Chinese Lead: Thea Horowitz
Chinese Dancers: Emily Baechtold, Evie Kleinberg, Lyla
Macke, Grace Maslovsky, Sonia Shah, Nina Shah, Emma
Stoicescu, Beatrice Young, Kaleigh Garter
Candy Cane Dancers: TJ Cale, Giada Damiano, Liana
Damiano, Olivia Phan, Jillian Shaw, Nina Shaw
Marzipan Lead: Emily Aroneo
Marzipan Dancers: Annabelle Cheng, Abby French, Eleni
Mandarakas, Jaya Dave, Rebecca Flum (12/3/22), Gigi
Mandarakas (12/4/22)
Mother Ginger: Jordan Pratko
Bon Bon Au Pairs: Emily Baechtold, Beatrice Young
Polichinelles: Mia Bolewicz, Isla Buchanan, Vania Carrera,
Eleanor Craig, Kira Feuchtbaum, Lena Garcia Sanles, Jessica
Krupp, Leanna Larkin, Abigail Lopez, Laci Millard, Charlotte
Pena, Isabella Pimenta, Sophia Poon, Alondra Rodriguez,
Abigail Sutain
Dew Drop: Jaya Dave
Flower Dancers: TJ Cale, Charlotte Covey, Giada Damiano,
Liana Damiano, Kate Holczinger, Olivia Phan, Jillian Shaw,
Nina Shaw, Olivia Taylor, Lina Zangrillo, Emily Aroneo,

Annabelle Cheng, Jaya Dave, Rebecca Flum (12/3/22), Abby
French, Thea Horowitz, Mary Cate King, Eleni Mandarakas,
Gigi Mandarakas (12/4/22), Dena Mistichelli, Juliana Steier

Acknowledgements

Washington Rock Dance would like to thank all of our
amazing Ballet Company families for their generous support

and contributions to the production of The Nutcracker.

We would like to thank all instructors at Washington Rock
Dance who contribute to the development of our dancers:

Cleo Mack, Kelli McGovern, Blair Ritchie, Jordan Pratko,
Cassidy Rivas, Rachel Stanislawczyk, Becky Visintainer,

Kristen Darthard

Dancer Acknowledgements