In one of the most celebrated holiday traditions, the American Ballet Theatre returns to Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa with the “The Nutcracker” ballet.
The ballet will be performed from December 13 through 22 in Segerstrom Hall. According to ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie, this year’s cast will include Hee Seo as Clara, the Princess and Cory Stearns as The Nutcracker Prince on opening night December 13. The Pacific Symphony will perform for all performances, promising audiences a double threat of amazing music and a classic holiday ballet.
This year marks the 5th year that American Ballet Theatre’s ‘The Nutcracker’, choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky, has been performed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Each December, many So Cal families celebrate the holidays with their loved ones by attending ‘The Nutcracker.’ It has become an annual tradition.
Over the years, ABT has a long, storied history of producing several beloved productions of the annual child-friendly classic tale of Clara and the Nutcracker (previous versions were by Baryshnikov and McKenzie).
ABT has found these productions to be useful in introducing youth performers in the roles of little Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, according to a SCFTA press release.
ABT dancers Catherine Hurlin, Tyler Maloney, Lauren Bonfiglio and Duncan McIlwaine all began their nascent careers in ABT’s production. This December, they appear in The Nutcracker at Segerstrom as adult professionals, dancing various roles bringing famous scenes, such as The Party, The Battle and The Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy, to life on stage.
Mcllwaine, who began his career as the young Nutcracker Prince when he was only 13-years-old, returns to SoCal this year in a new role, yet he is very excited about the upcoming production.
He was born and raised in a family of dancers in Worcester, Vermont. He began studying ballet at age eight at Vermont Ballet Theater School, under the direction of Alexander Nagiba.
McIlwaine attended the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive in Connecticut and he participated in the American Ballet Theatre’s Young Dancer Summer Workshop.
At age 13, he joined the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School on full scholarship. As a student at the ABT JKO School, he performed the role of The Nutcracker Boy in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker at the Howard Gilman Opera House, Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.
In January 2018, McIlwaine joined American Ballet Theatre Studio Company and became an apprentice with the main Company in 2019. He returns to California this week in ‘The Nutcracker.’
