Russian talent adds excitement to ‘The Nutcracker’

An exuberant troupe of professional Russian ballet dancers will

join local students in two presentations of “The Nutcracker” given by

Ballet of the Foothills on Sunday at The Alex Theatre in Glendale.

The Kalinin Russian Dancers will perform the Russian dance

sequence, said Jill Sanzo, executive director of Ballet of the

Foothills, which is the dance company of Ballet Petit school in La

Canada Flintridge.

“The Kalinin dancers’ performance is always a big hit with the

audience,” said Sanzo, who lives in Burbank.

Other professionals sharing the stage are Karyn Lee Connell of the

Cincinnati Ballet, who will dance the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy,

and Nikolai Kabaniaev, a member of the Kirov Ballet, in the role of

the Cavalier.

“Karyn is beautiful and technically exquisite,” she said. “And

Nikolai, who is Russian, has the athletic ability that Russian

dancers are known for.”

Ballet Petit students from 7 to 18 will dance in this production

as well as some of the adult students.

“It’s always a gratifying experience for students to perform on

stage,” Sanzo said. “It’s putting class-work theory into practice. I

heard one student say ‘I can’t wait until Sunday to do “The

Nutcracker.” ’ “

The shows are at 3:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday at The Alex Theatre, 216

N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Tickets are $17.50 for the balcony and

$22.50 for orchestra and terrace. Children’s tickets are $15 for the

balcony and $17.50 for orchestra and terrace. Tickets for groups of

20 or more are $15 for the balcony and $17.50 for the orchestra and

terrace. For reservations, call The Alex box office at 243-2539.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Handmade items shine at boutique

Student artists are exhibiting and selling their handmade works,

some for the first time, in the 2002 Holiday Boutique at the Creative

Arts Center Gallery in Burbank.

“We showcase our students enrolled in all the visual arts classes

at the Creative Arts Center,” said Barbara Rog, recreation program

specialist. “They get to sell their work, which helps them build

confidence in that area. We make it a positive experience for them.”

Also exhibiting are the teachers and members of the Burbank Fine

Arts Federation, the financial support group of the center, whose

members are community artists, city staff and former staff.

There are more than 2,000 pieces in the show, and everything has

to be handcrafted, Rog said. Items include pottery, watercolor

paintings, greeting cards, jewelry, ornaments, photography, mosaics,

wood and clay pieces and handcrafted purses. Prices range from $5 to

$50. There might be a few things more expensive, she said.

Felicia Nilson of Burbank, who has been taking classes at the

center for three years, is showing her high-fired clay ornaments.

Each features an image or images, mostly in the art-nouveau style,

that have been cast out of molds she makes herself from antique

pieces she collects.

The show is a learning experience, she said, because students get

to see their colleagues’ finished works.

“You get inspiration from other people and put your own spin on

things,” she said. “And it takes you down a path you might not have

gone down before.”

For Diane Kolde, also of Burbank, taking a pottery class at the

center was her saving grace when she moved here in 1997 from

Michigan.

“I had no family or friends out here, and the class opened up a

new world for me,” she said. “I met friends and now they are my

family.”

The classes are good therapy, Kolde added, because some of the

students have health problems.

“When we come to class, people hug each other,” she said. “It’s a

very warm place.”

Kolde enjoys creating organic things. Her bowls look like

carnations or other flowers. She also makes three-dimensional

sculptures that look like rock formations.

“Everything is very nature oriented,” she said.

Show hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. The show continues through

Dec. 19 during the center’s regular hours from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. The center

is at 1100 W. Clark Ave. in Burbank. For more information, call

238-5397.

Come celebrate some early holiday cheer

A spirited celebration to kick off the holiday season is planned

today at The Alex Theatre in Glendale. Two screenings of “A Christmas

Story” (1983) are scheduled at 1 and 8 p.m. and tucked in between is

the free 27th annual Merry Tuba- Christmas concert at 5:30 p.m.

The film is set in the 1940s, and the story is told in first

person by a 7-year-old boy. His wish for Christmas is to receive a BB

gun, but everywhere he goes, he’s told “you’ll put your eye out.” Bob

Clark, the movie’s director, will attend the evening screening and

talk about the film. The Walt Disney classic cartoon “Pluto’s

Christmas Tree” (1952) will precede the feature.

Tickets are $7, $6 for youngsters for the 1 p.m. show and $8.50

for the evening show. For more information, call 243-2539. The Alex

Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd. in Glendale.

The community is invited to sing along with more than 300 tuba,

euphonium and Sousaphone players when they perform holiday music and

Hanukkah songs during the Merry TubaChristmas concert. The musicians

will assemble in front of the theater, and the audience will

congregate in the street, so the 200 block of north Brand Boulevard

will be closed from 4 to 7 p.m.

‘A Christmas Carol King’ opens tonight

The Troubadour Theater Company, known for writing musicals that

combine Shakespearean plays with songs made popular by groups in the

1970s and ‘80s, is opening “A Christmas Carol King” at 8 tonight at

The Falcon Theatre in Burbank.

Previous hits include “Romeo Hall & Juliet Oates” and “Midsummer

Saturday Nights Fever Dream.”

This time, the theater company takes the Charles Dickens’ classic

“A Christmas Carol” and sprinkles it with music by singer/songwriter

Carole King.

Performances are 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and

Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 29. There is no performance

Christmas. Tickets range from $25 to $37.50, and $15 for children 13

and younger. For reservations, call 955-8101. The playhouse is at

4252 Riverside Drive in Burbank.

Barbershop singers give holiday concert

The Crescenta Valley Highlander Chorus will present its 11th

annual holiday concert titled “The Secret of Christmas” at 2:30 p.m.

today in the Hall of Liberty of Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.

Tickets are $8, $5 for children 12 and younger. Group rates are

available. For more information, call 248-5647. Forest Lawn Hollywood

Hills is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive.

Jazz singer’s quartet entertains

The Stephanie Haynes Quartet will be the featured act for this

month’s Jazz Celebrations at 5 p.m. Sunday at the First Lutheran

Church in Glendale.

She received her classical training in the flute, but has built a

vocal repertoire of more than 350 standards and originals. She has

performed as a vocalist with jazz groups like Clark Terry, Carl

Fontana, Ron Eschete and others.

A free-will offering will be taken. The church is at 1300 E.

Colorado St., Glendale. For more information, call 240-9000.

La Crescenta pop/ rock singer at Borders

Traysee, a La Crescenta pop/rock singer and songwriter, will play

songs from her recently released CD “Lift Off” at 8 and 9 p.m. today

at Borders Books Music and Cafe in Glendale.

The five songs on the CD touch on subjects such as love and the

lighter side of life.

The CD was released in June and that same month it received a

2002-2003 ASCAP Plus Award. In July, the second track, “Keep Shinin’

” landed on Creative Line Magazine’s Great Songs Chart in the

Inspirational Songs category.

Borders is at 100 S. Brand Blvd. in Glendale.

Dance Theatre gives ballet performance

Pasadena Dance Theatre is presenting its 23rd annual “Nutcracker”

ballet at the San Gabriel Civic Auditorium for three weekends.

Joining the company for this traditional holiday event will be

special guest artists from around the world, along with more than 80

local children.

Each weekend, the company will have professional ballet stars

dancing the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. Tanya

Weidman-Davis and Thaddeus Davis, former principal dancers with the

acclaimed Dance Theatre of Harlem, appear today and Sunday.

For tickets, call (626) 308-2868.

ON STAGE

A NOISE WITHIN PRESENTS CLASSICS

A Noise Within officials have extended the run of William

Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” to Jan. 25 at its playhouse in Glendale.

It plays in repertory with “The Cherry Orchard” by Anton Chekhov,

continuing through Sunday.

“A Wilde Holiday,” featuring fairy tales by Oscar Wilde and works

by other authors, opens at 8 p.m. Friday.

Returning for a second year on the A Noise Within stage, the play

is adapted and directed by Sabin Epstein. The music is by Laura

Karpman.

Performances continue at 8 p.m. Dec. 14, 19 and 20; 2 and 7 p.m.

Dec. 15 and 22; and at 2 and 8 p.m. Dec. 21. Tickets range from $28

to $38. For reservations, call 240-0910. The playhouse is at 234 S.

Brand Blvd. Glendale.

‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL’ AT CENTRE THEATRE

All of Dickens’ timeless characters are featured in the new

musical version of “A Christmas Carol,” at Glendale Centre Theatre

through Dec. 23. Directing this production is Mario Di Gregorio.

Tickets range from $14 to $21, student and senior rates are

available. For reservations, call 244-8481. The theater is at 324 N.

Orange St. in Glendale.

GENE BUA PRESENTS ‘2ND WIND THE MUSICAL’

A revival performance of the rock opera, “2nd Wind the Musical

2002,” is continuing at the Gene Bua Acting For Life Theatre in

Burbank.

The story is about an acting coach, Teacher, who rallies together

three celebrity volunteers to help him with a new program at

Strawberry Fields Residential Treatment Center. They attempt to teach

three street kids how to turn their rage, fear and shame into

positive energy through acting.

“2nd Wind” plays at 8 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 14. Tickets are

$25, with discounts available for seniors, groups and teens. Proceeds

benefit the nonprofit Here’s To Life Foundation, reaching at-risk

youth through art and entertainment. For reservations, call (310)

680-9109. The playhouse is at 3435 W. Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank.

‘JUDY’S SCARY LITTLE CHRISTMAS’ AT VICTORY

The Victory Theatre in Burbank is presenting “Judy’s Scary Little

Christmas.”

This new play is written by James Webber and David Church, with

music and lyrics by Joe Patrick Ward. Kay Cole is director and

choreographer.

It combines a 1959 Judy Garland holiday TV special with “The

Twilight Zone” as Judy and her guests, including Bing Crosby, Ethel

Merman and others, are forced to confront their lives versus their

legacies when a mysterious stranger crashes the party.

Tickets are $28. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and

3 and 7 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 22.

* If you have press releases for the 48 Hours column, please call

JOYCE RUDOLPH at 637-3241 or e-mail joyce.rudolph@latimes.com or fax

them to 241-1975.