The Nutcracker Ballet Christmas 2011

Did You Know? - he Nutcracker (Russian: «Щелкунчик», Shchelkunchik) is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on Friday, December 18th, 1892, on a double-bill with Tchaikovsky's opera, Iolanta.

Although the original production was not a success, the twenty-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. However, the complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the mid-20th century and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in the U.S.

Tchaikovsky's score has become one of his most famous compositions, in particular the pieces featured in the suite. Among other things, the score is noted for its use of the celesta, an instrument that the composer had already employed in his much lesser known symphonic ballad The Voyevoda. Although known primarily as the featured solo instrument in the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from Act II of The Nutcracker, it is also employed elsewhere in the same act. More....

Did You Know? - The Los Angeles Music Center is a complex of music and theatrical halls on the Grand Avenue cultural corridor between Temple Street to the north and Second Street to the south, including the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theater and Walt Disney Concert Hall. The Disney Hall opened in 2003 as the new home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, increasing the number of major theaters at the Music Center to four. Also housed in the Disney Hall complex is the smaller REDCAT Theater and art studio. Audio and guided tours are provided by the Music Center.

Did You Know? - The earliest known settlements in the area of what is now Downtown Los Angeles was by the Tongva, a Native American people. Later European settlement arrived after Father Juan Crespí, a Spanish missionary charged with exploring sites for Catholic missions in California, noted in 1769 that the region had "all the requisites for a large settlement." On September 4, 1781, the city was founded on the site that currently holds La Placita Olvera.

Land speculation increased in the 1880s, which saw the population of the city explode from 11,000 in 1880 to nearly 100,000 by 1896.

Did You Know? - By 1920, the city's private and municipal rail lines were among the most far-flung and most comprehensive in the world in mileage, rivaling that of New York City, as shown (and parodied) in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. By that year, a steady influx of residents and aggressive land developers had transformed the city into a large metropolitan area, with Downtown at its center. Rail lines connected four counties with over 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of track

Did You Know? - In the early 50's, Reyn McCullough, a visionary merchant who owned and operated a successful men's wear store on California's Catalina Island, saw the growth potential the Hawaiian Islands had to offer. Statehood was imminent — so was the introduction of jet travel — and Honolulu was soon to be a short jet ride from the West Coast. So Reyn packed his family and moved to Hawaii. Within a few years, the growth of Reyn's Ala Moana and other new Hawaii locations convinced him to sell his Catalina business and concentrate his focus in the Mid-Pacific.

Enter Ruth Spooner who, in 1956 had established Spooners of Waikiki, and, with her one sewing machine operation on Waikiki Beach, was cultivating a reputation for the best 'kine' custom surf trunks in the islands. She made swimwear and shirts that Reyn designed, eventually selling him her business in 1962. Reyn set up four sewing machines in the basement of his Ala Moana store, and merging the two company names — Reyn Spooner® was born.

Frustrated in his efforts to find and offer unique, quality swimwear and an aloha shirt dignified enough for his local customer to wear professionally and casually, Reyn determined, in 1961, that he would have to make his own. At the time, the only shirts on the market were poor fitting, loudly colored garments that were generally made out of left over muumuu fabrics —a popular item for tourists and ideal for that once in a lifetime Hawaiian luau, but hardly of the quality and look that Reyn had in mind.

In 1966 the Hawaii Fashion Guild, of which Reyn was an active member, convinced local businesses to allow aloha wear to be worn to work on what we now know as Aloha Friday. By this time, Reyn had designed a pullover, Ivy-League all cotton aloha shirt with a button-down collar that proved to be very popular. But he still wasn't satisfied with the intensity and brightness of the tropical and calico print fabrics he was using. He liked the shirts the surfers wore — the prints had become bleached out and subdued by the sun — and after experimenting with several ways to achieve the same "chambray" effect, realized that he would simply turn the floral and calico prints inside out! Cowabunga! The "reverse print" concept, now synonymous with the Reyn Spooner® name, made history.

Did You Know? - The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)" and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead singers, and were all produced by Phil Spector. The latter three songs are ranked #267, #114, and #493, respectively, on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Did You Know? - Johnny Tillotson (born April 20, 1938 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American singer and songwriter. He enjoyed his greatest success in the early 1960s, when he scored 9 top-ten hits on the pop, country and adult contemporary billboard charts including "Poetry In Motion" and the self-penned "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'". He also sang "Yellow Bird", an adaptation of the Haitian song, Johnny's version is quoted as being a favorite of the former head of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, because he and his wife had enjoyed it during their honeymoon. (BBC Interview). More...

Did You Know? - Kenny Vance and the Planotones first came to be as a fictional band appearing in the 1978 film American Hot Wax. The band consisted of Kenny Vance, Joe Esposito, Bruce Sudano and Ed Hokenson. They were just a combination of the Vance with the musical group Brooklyn Dreams. In the film they were portrayed as a very popular group with lots of hits and sang songs that were actually by artists like Danny and the Juniors and The Del-Vikings.

Did You Know? - The Penguins were an American doo-wop group of the 1950s and early 1960s, best remembered for their only Top 40 hit, "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)", which was one of the first rhythm and blues hits to cross over to the pop charts. The song peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but had a three-week run at #1 on the R&B chart.

The original members of The Penguins were:

• Curtis Williams (December 11, 1934 - August 10, 1979)
• Cleveland Duncan (July 23, 1935)
• Dexter Tisby (March 10, 1935) (tenor)
• Bruce Tate (January 27, 1937 - June 20, 1973)