Ballet Etudes Celebrates 40 Years of THE NUTCRACKER in East Valley

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Guest artists Arianni Martin and Alejandro Mendez join Ballet Etudes company dancers and founding artistic director Sharon Seder Meko.

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Ballet Etudes brings the magic of The Nutcracker back to East Valley stages this holiday season, celebrating 40 years of the beloved production with performances Nov. 27-Dec. 6 at Chandler Center for the Arts and Dec. 12-20 at Mesa Arts Center. Tickets are on sale at chandlercenter.org and mesaartscenter.org

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Set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, The Nutcracker follows Clara on a magical Christmas Eve journey filled with larger-than-life mice, a sparkling winter wonderland, dancing confections and the Sugar Plum Fairy. Ballet Etudes’ full-length production brings the holiday classic to life with colorful costumes, imaginative choreography and accomplished dancers in a festive production that has become an East Valley holiday tradition.

“Celebrating 40 years of Ballet Etudes is incredibly meaningful because we’ve watched generations of dancers and families make The Nutcracker part of their holiday tradition,” said Sharon Seder Meko, founding artistic director of Ballet Etudes. “Whether it’s your first Nutcracker or a tradition you return to every year, we want you to leave feeling like the holiday season has truly begun.”

Guest artists include former Ballet Arizona company members/Ballet Etudes Academy instructors Arianni Martin as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Alejandro Mendez as Cavalier. Martin Gaxiola, Artistic Director and Founder of Phoenix's Calo Flamenco will take the role of Drosselmeyer, with Kaleb Garcia performing as the Nutcracker Prince and Kleiton Sistelos in the role of Arabian and the Snow King.

They join Ballet Etudes company dancers, who train throughout the year in classical ballet technique and gain extensive stage experience through full-length productions. This year’s cast includes Ellie Ball and Lyla Wahlbrink alternating in the role of Clara, Emma Ashby as the Mouse King, Whitney Dana and Sarah Girard as the Snow Queen, Hazel Sherwood and Whitney Dana as the Dew Drop Fairy, with Chloe Johnson and Mikayla Bryan performing the Spanish Dance in Act II in the Land of the Sweets.

Founded in 1986, Ballet Etudes has a unique history with both of the East Valley’s major performing arts centers. The company has presented The Nutcracker at Chandler Center for the Arts since the venue opened in 1989 and at Mesa Arts Center since it opened in 2005, making Ballet Etudes part of the story of both venues from their earliest days.

Founded in 1986, Ballet Etudes is the East Valley’s premier ballet company, providing exceptional dance education and professional-quality performances that inspire audiences of all ages. Through rigorous training and extensive performance experience, Ballet Etudes prepares serious young dancers for the demands of professional ballet, including the opportunity to perform full-length classical works on major stages.

Alumni have gone on to dance with New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, Ballet Arizona, Ballet Zürich, Philadelphia Ballet and others, and have trained or performed with organizations including American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Paris Opera Ballet School and The Royal Ballet School. Its annual production of The Nutcracker has become one of the Valley’s most cherished holiday traditions.

Ballet Etudes is supported in part by a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, an agency of the State of Arizona, as well as the Mesa HoHoKam Foundation.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/phoenix/article/THE-NUTCRACKER-to-Return-to-East-Valley-with-Ballet-Etudes-40th-Year-Run-20261006)._