San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker celebrates big milestones this season
SAN FRANCISCO - It's a magical and beloved holiday tradition that's uniquely San Francisco - The San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker.
This year, the production is marking big milestones at the War Memorial Opera House.
The San Francisco Ballet performed the first Nutcracker in the United States in 1944. This year, the company is celebrating its 80th anniversary.
"My family has this term called ‘nerv-cited,’ it's a mix between nervous and excited… so I'm feeling nerve cited," said 12-year-old Stella Sieck.
Sieck performs as a butterfly in the Nutcracker this season. Dancers have been rehearsing for the production since October.
This holiday season, the company is marking its 20th year of Helgi Tomasson's Nutcracker. The former artistic director set this production in San Francisco, inspired by the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a world's fair held in 1915.
Tomasson led the San Francisco Ballet for 37 years. The Nutcracker is his tribute to San Francisco.
"It means so much to the city, and the audience, how they bring their children and their grandchildren, and it has become a real tradition, and they have taken ownership of this Nutcracker, and I'm very proud of that," Tomasson said.
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Grace Maduell Holmes first danced in SF Ballet's Nutcracker in 1979, performing in upwards of 350 holiday shows. Today, she serves as the San Francisco Ballet School Director.
"I hope that they're not just enjoying their time on the stage as performers but also having a look at the teamwork that it takes to put on a production of this professional level," she said. "I think it's so important for these students to see that it's not just about class, it's not just about performance, but it takes a huge group of people to put something on like this."
KTVU was there as Stella prepared to go on stage. She normally trains six to seven days a week throughout the year, and hopes to join the company one day.
"It's just an honor and I'm so grateful to be in a production like this one, and there's so many amazing dancers," said Sieck. I'm standing here, an incredible dancer stood here before me."
"We make people happy. I love making people happy because I know when I dance, I'm bringing joy to other people," she added.
This season, the San Francisco Ballet will hold more Nutcracker shows than ever. The final day of performances is December 29.