'Nutcracker': A look at Westside School of Ballet's production

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Dancers wait to go on stage during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Ballet dancers Talya Marks, 13, Milly Davies, 13 and Camilla Marks, 13, get dressed into their Peppermint Candy costumes during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Ellen Hunt, left, watches with her granddaughter, Daisy Kohner, 10, as Sara Akiba, 9, and Daniella Zhou, 9, wait to go on stage during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Charity Drake, 12, looks for scissors in the costume room during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Ballet dancer Talya Marks, 13, rehearses the Peppermint Candy scene during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Dancers practice during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Ballet dancer Kailan Jenwick puts on her tiara during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Adele Hall, 16, from second left, waits to go on stage during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Dancers gracefully wave their hands in the air during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Dancers stretch during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Santa Monica College Orchestra Conductor Dr. James Martin observes dancers during the party scene during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Lucia Connelly stands on her toes as she runs through the Sugar Plum Fairy scene during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Ballet dancers run through the Land of the Snow scene during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Anna Davtyan, 13, left, and Cailyn Genewick, 13, put makeup on before a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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A ballet dancer uses a fan as she runs through the Spanish scene during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Westside School of Ballet Artistic Director Martine Harley observes her students during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Charity Drake, 12, puts on her shoes during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Artistic Director Martine Harley, left, shows Lucia Connolly, 15, how to crown Clara with a tiara during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Lucia Connolly, 15, right, controls her breathing as associate wardrobe director Nancy Drake squeezes her into her Sugar Plum Fairy dress during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Dancers get dressed during a rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Ballet dancers Mikaela Sayyah, 14, Alexa Fallica, 13, Skye Wight, 14, Ava Shapley, 12, and Sara Akiba, 9, watch other dancers during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Artistic Director Martine Harley goes over some notes with her students during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Guest dancer from San Francisco Ballet Jennifer Stahl runs through the Sugar Plum Fairy scene during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

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Lucia Connolly, 15, rehearses her part as the Sugar Plum Fairy during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker” at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. The production will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

By Cheryl Guerrero

Nov. 29, 2013 9 AM PT

It’s the busy season for dance.

Ballet schools, local companies and touring troupes present variations of “The Nutcracker” in late November and December. Some productions are fully staged, while others are excerpts.

The classic ballet to Tchaikovsky’s beloved music is more than a holiday mainstay. It’s populated with an abundance of roles, giving stage time to young and eager dancers with visions of becoming the ultimate ballerina, the Sugar Plum Fairy.

In Santa Monica, the Westside School of Ballet is celebrating the 40th-anniversary production of its “Nutcracker.” This year, the school’s dancers will be accompanied by a live orchestra, the Santa Monica College Symphony.

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The two sold-out performances next weekend at the Broad Stage team the college musicians with Westside, a pre-professional student company that gives young dancers the opportunity to advance and prepare for careers in ballet.

This “Nutcracker” features original choreography by the school’s founder, the late Yvonne Mounsey, who was a principal dancer in the New York City Ballet and who danced in George Balanchine’s “Nutcracker.”

For her school, Mounsey created two scenes, Peppermint Candy and Crystal Bells, to give even more opportunities for her young charges. Martine Harley, Westside’s artistic director, was a former student of Mounsey’s.

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Lucia Connolly, 15, will be featured as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Connolly has danced with Westside for 11 years and has previously appeared as Clara, Lead Candy, Center Mirliton, Snow Queen, Lead Spanish and Dew Drop.

“To me, Sugar Plum is the ultimate test,” Connolly says.

“Can Sugar Plum move the audience enough to believe that they really have been transported to some bizarre land where candies dance? That is a challenge I am greatly looking forward to.”

Westside has received more than $85,000 in public and private donations to support its education and community outreach initiatives.

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