Inland Pacific Ballet’s Spectacular Production The Nutcracker
Experience the Magic of the Holidays
Special Guest Artists take on the Role of Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier
Mira Nadon, New York City Ballet Principal Dancer returns to her IPB roots to dance in the role of
the Sugar Plum Fairy for December 21-22 Performances
Bridges Auditorium, Pomona College, Claremont: December 7/8 and 21/22, 2024
Fox Performing Arts Center, Riverside: December 14/15, 2024
Who: Inland Pacific Ballet, Southern California’s Premier Professional Ballet Company
What: The Nutcracker
Experience the magic of the holidays with family and friends at southern California’s most spectacular production of The Nutcracker from critically acclaimed Inland Pacific Ballet. This annual production tells the story of a young girl named Clara who receives a magical nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve and sets out on a wondrous journey to the Land of the Snow and the Kingdom of Sweets.
The Nutcracker comes to life in this magnificent ballet with beautiful sets, dazzling costumes, Tchaikovsky’s classic score, and more than 80 dancers on stage. Toy soldiers, life-sized dancing dolls, falling snow, a fantastic dream with battling mice, dancing snowflakes, waltzing flowers, gingerbread characters, and the delightful Sugar Plum Fairy stir the imagination. A wonderful production for all.
In addition to IPB’s Company of professional dancers, the diverse cast includes a total of 62 youth between the ages of 6-18 who make up multiple casts at the two venues. Participating youth come primarily from the IPB Academy, where many are from local area communities.
Inland Pacific Ballet is proud to announce special guest artists who will be performing in this year’s performances as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier:
For performances on December 21 and 22 at Bridges Auditorium at Pomona College in Claremont, former IPB Academy student and now a New York City Ballet principal dancer, and the first Asian American female principal in NYCB’s 75-year history, Mira Nadon returns to IPB’s Nutcracker to dance in the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, along with fellow NYCB principal dancer Peter Walker dancing in the role of Cavalier.
For performances on December 7 and 8 at Bridges and December 14 and 15 at Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside, Lori Hernández, a highly sought after guest principal artist who has over 1.2 million followers on TikTok, will dance in the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, along with City Ballet of San Diego company member Brien Heil in the role of Cavalier.
Brian Heil, a native San Diegan, received his early training at the San Diego Academy of Ballet under Max and Sylvia Tchernychev. In May 2014, he graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, where he trained under John Meehan, then he danced for two years as an apprentice in the Ballet Austin II program. Since joining City Ballet of San Diego in 2016, Brian has performed in Ramonda Variations, Bowed Piano, Esmeralda and the Hunchback, Carmen, Tchai Celebration, Straw Feet, Rhapsody in Blue and Don Quixote. He also performed in Peter Martins’ Hallelujah Junction, George Balanchine’s Rubies, The Four Temperaments and Who Cares?. He has been featured in Geoff Gonzalez’s Seasons and Carmina Burana and Elizbeth Wistrich’s Samuel Barber Adagio. He also performed in the Company’s virtual productions Moving Forward, A Masquerade Nutcracker, Rhapsody in Blue and Raymonda during the 2020-21 Season. Most recently, Brian made his choreographic debut with the company. During City Ballet’s production of On the Move, he premiered his work Moonlit to rave reviews.
Bridges Auditorium, 450 N College Way, Claremont, CA 91711
● Saturday, December 7 & Sunday, December 8: 2 p.m.
● Saturday, December 21 & Sunday, December 22: 2 p.m.
Fox Performing Arts Center, 3801 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, CA 92501
● Saturday, December 14 and Sunday, December 15: 2 p.m.
Tickets: Starting at $50; with senior/child/student/group pricing available
More Information:
• Tickets and program information: https://ipballet.org; Bridges Auditorium https://www.pomona.edu/administration/bridges-auditorium; Fox Performing Arts Center https://www.livenation.com/venue/KovZpZAEA6lA/fox-performing-arts-center-events
• For additional information, please contact the theater box offices directly: BridgesAuditorium@pomona.edu or 909-607-1139; and riversidelive@livenation.com or 951-779-9800
• Visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inlandpacificballet
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inlandpacificballet
• Nutcracker Trailer/Broll: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pNwj-avLZw
Inland Pacific Ballet, founded in 1994 by Southern California natives Victoria Koenig and Kevin Frank Myers, quickly became one of Southern California’s cultural jewels. Its mission is to build and sustain a professional ballet company in the Inland Empire of Southern California, committed to producing exquisitely staged productions of full-length classic story ballets as well as presenting the best in contemporary choreography.
Koenig and Myers have built Inland Pacific Ballet into the premier ballet company in the region, enjoying critical acclaim while performing the largest and most varied repertoire in the area. The Company’s repertoire includes such classics as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Les Sylphides, Graduation Ball and Swan Lake Act II. Full length classical masterpieces include Giselle, Coppélia and a lavish production of The Nutcracker. Contemporary classics include masterpieces by the legendary George Balanchine including Serenade, Concerto Barocco and Who Cares? and a growing body of original work which includes creative adaptations of much-loved stories such as The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Dracula, and Beauty and the Beast. In 2023 IPB began presenting musical theater combined with ballet beginning with the original work LilYpada, and in 2024 Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, The Musical.
The Company has been performing at Bridges Auditorium at Pomona College since 1995, and in 2010 began adding other southern California venues to its regular season including the Lewis Family Playhouse in Rancho Cucamonga (2010), the Arcadia Performing Arts Center in Arcadia (2013), the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside (2014), and the Sophia B. Clarke Theater in Walnut (2019). Festival programs such as the Redlands Bowl Music Festival, Balletfest and Dance Kaleidoscope have also allowed the Company to reach an ever-expanding audience. Recent partnerships include a guest appearance with the San Bernardino Symphony in 2018.
Regional touring has included the Luckman Fine Arts Complex in Los Angeles, the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks, the Annenberg Theater in Palm Desert, the Haugh Performing Arts Center in Glendora, the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro. In 2009 the Company embarked on its first national tour, performing at the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts in Amarillo, Texas.
