Santa Rosa Dance Theater Nutcracker Ballet

December 20-22, 2024

Spreckels Performing Arts Center
5409 Snyder Lane
Rohnert Park, California 94928
$35, spreckelsonline.com | santarosadancetheater.com

December 20, 2024, 7 p.m.
December 21, 2024,  2 & 7 p.m.
December 22, 2024, 2 p.m. 

Set to the beloved music of Tchaikovsky and featuring new choreography by Artistic Director Joshua Trader

• Snow falling
• Flowers waltzing
• Children delighting
• Magical Land Of Sweets
• Dancing Sugar Plums
• 6 fresh, new choreographies by Artistic Director Joshua Trader

Whether you see it for the very first time, or the tenth, The Nutcracker captures the imagination and transports guests to a magical world. Experience favorite holiday classics with young artists as they perform Nutcracker Suite, transporting the audience back to the magical Land Of Sweets where you can enjoy dancing Sugar Plums and Waltzing Flowers to your heart's delight!

About SRDT
Santa Rosa Dance Theater is the premier dance studio in Sonoma County for classical ballet instruction since 2005. We welcome all ages, from tiny dancers and advanced students to adult students, inspiring each one to envision a future in dance. They offer the level of ballet instruction required for students who aspire to dance professionally. Santa Rosa Dance Theater presents 2 annual performances; the holiday classic "The Nutcracker" of which the cast comprises of our own SRDT student dancers and the "Spring Showcase" which consists of a student demonstration highlighting each level of the school and what they have been working on in their respective classes during the year as well as true, fleshed out choreography for our highest level students. This section shows a range of styles from high classical ballet to cutting edge contemporary ballet that is required from today's dancer.

Santa Rosa Dance Theater was founded in September 2005 by Adele Davalos Mitchell. She was inspired by the vision and talent of our previous Artistic Director Tamara Statkoun.
Adele's goal was to create a school where students could experience outstanding dance instruction within a warm and nurturing environment.

In 2017 Tamara retired and she forwarded her vision to Joshua Trader who is now the Owner and Artistic Director of the studio.

About Artistic Director Joshua Trader
Born in San Francisco, CA, Joshua Trader trained at the Academy of Ballet under the Direction of Richard Gibson. After completing his training he joined Eugene Ballet for two years where he danced numerous leading roles. He then joined Tulsa Ballet for eight years where he expanded his classical and contemporary works and danced in the works of the world's leading choreographers including George Balanchine, Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, Val Caniparoli, Jerome Robbins, Hans van Manen, Christopher Wheeldon, Nicolo Fonte and Stanton Welch among others.

Trader was always interested in teaching ballet and began teaching early into his dance career. Some of his teaching credits include The Joffrey Ballet Summer Workshop in San Antonio, TX, Ballet Idaho Academy, Tulsa Ballet Center For Dance Education and Tulsa Ballet's junior company Tulsa Ballet II.

Upon retiring from the stage in 2010, Joshua began teaching full time at his alma mater the Academy of Ballet in San Francisco, CA. While teaching at the Academy he was instrumental in helping young students achieve their goal of becoming professional dancers. His students joined the likes of National Ballet Of Canada, Kansas City Ballet, Ballet West II, The Julliard School, and Fordam University among others.

In the fall of 2015, Trader and his family moved to Santa Rosa and he joined the faculty of Santa Rosa Dance Theater. In the Summer of 2017, Joshua was named the Artistic Director of SRDT. As co-owner of the school since 2017 with wife, Marit, who immigrated from Holland, Trader is fulfilling a dream to have his own school.  

Contessi Ballet Clara's Enchanted Dream, the Land of Sweets

Petaluma School of Ballet with North Coast Ballet The Nutrcacker

December 9 - 11, 2022

Spreckel's Performing Arts Center
5409 Snyder Lane
Rohnert Park, CA
$35, contessiballet.org

Friday December 9, 2022, 7:30 p.m. 
Saturday December 10, 2022, 1:30 & 6:30 p.m.
Sunday December 11, 2022, 1:30 p.m.

Marcella Contessi-Smith, artistic director of Contessi Ballet and founder of the North Bay Performing Arts Center, celebrates her 40th year directing Contessi Ballet performances. The holiday classic, The Nutcracker, brings to life the beloved Christmas Eve story of a girls dream, with memorable music by Tchaikovsky. The performance is a unique collaboration between Contessi Ballet and Napa Valley Ballet and showcases dancers of all ages and abilities.

Contessi-Smith is a centerpiece of the Sonoma County dance world, and has touched the lives of many dancers over the decades she has taught classical ballet in the community. The North Bay Performing Arts Association sponsors the production.

You are invited to this delightful full-length classical ballet, following bright-eyed Clara and her beloved Nutcracker Prince as they battle the sinister Mouse Queen and travel through the Snow Flurries to the magical Kingdom of Sweets. This beautiful, Russian-inspired Nutcracker Ballet is choreographed by SRDT's Artistic Director Tamara Statkoun, a graduate of the Vaganova Ballet Academy of St. Petersburg, Russia; former principle dancer with the Kirov Ballet, the Maly Ballet Theater of St. Petersburg, and the Kremlin Ballet Theater of Moscow. Treat the entire family!