SAN DIEGO ARTS : Dance

The local dance drain continues as California Ballet soloist Kevin Engle packs his tights for a spot in Utah’s Ballet West, and Alexander Georgeakopoulos (better known to longtime Cal Ballet buffs as William George) takes off for Israel to teach dance classes on a kibbutz.

But one California Ballet veteran, Marlene Jones-Wallace (sister of director Maxine Mahon and Sugarplum Fairy for the troupe for many years) returned to the fold--at least for a couple of weeks. Jones-Wallace came to San Diego to see the troupe’s “Dracula” during its Halloween weekend run and agreed to stay on to teach and help run rehearsals for the annual “Nutcracker,” which opens at the East County Performing Arts Center on Dec. 11.