Local students to be featured in ‘Nutcracker’ at Civic Arts Plaza

Pacific Festival Ballet will present their 12th annual holiday classic, “The Nutcracker,” in the Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd. Pacific Festival Ballet is the resident “Nutcracker” production at the Civic Arts Plaza.

Four school outreach performances are at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Wed. and Thurs., Dec. 14 and 15. Tickets are available through Ramona Brandes of Community Educational Entertainment at (805) 496-1233 or (877) 394-0608.

Four weekend performances are at 2 and 7 p.m. Sat., Dec. 17 and at 2 and 6 p.m. Sun., Dec.18. Tickets are on sale at the Civic Arts Plaza box office; call (805) 449-ARTS.

Guest artists include Tina LeBlanc (San Francisco Ballet and Joffrey Ballet) dancing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, David Palmer (San Francisco Ballet and Joffrey Ballet) as her Cavalier, Alexander Kalinin and his Russian Dance Troupe, and Spencer Gavin (Maximum Dance Company) as the Nutcracker Prince.

Several Agoura High School students will be featured in the production. They include Courtney Deri and Chase O’Donnell, both 14, dancing the role of Clara on Saturday and Sunday, respectively; and Emiko Flanagan, 16, and London O’Donnell, 17, dancing the Snow Queen role. These dancers study with Kim Maselli and Stanley Holden at Pacific Festival Ballet’s training school, the California Dance Theatre in Agoura Hills.