San Diego Ballet is nearing the end of the second show of the season with the final performances of “The Nutcracker” showing this Thursday and Friday at the Mandeville Auditorium at UCSD. It has been a wonderful run for our dancers! They took the show on the road to Texas and Montana and received standing ovations and amazing reviews from the communities out there. We also had our first two performances at The Birch in North Park, where the show was loved by San Diego families as well. During the week between performances San Diego Ballet brought excerpts of the production to different schools and outreach programs all over town, spreading holiday cheer to those who may otherwise never be able to see a ballet. These productions have been some of the most rewarding- exposing people to the amazing world of dance is the best gift we can think of during the holidays
We have been so pleased with our productions and while our dancers deserve their winter break, we know that our final productions will go out with a bang.
It is with great pleasure that we present to you a special Dancer of the Day Jr. edition with our child star of the production: Gwen Snyder. She is gracing the stage with her beautiful Clara- a huge honor and opportunity for any young dancer. She has been doing a fabulous job, so we are so happy she could take a little time to answer our questions about her experiences for this blog. Here is what she had to say:
Photo by Graham Blair
Q: Hi Gwen! Tell us a little bit about what made you want to start dancing!
A: Well, I started dancing when I was 3-ish, because one of my friends was dancing and she was having a lot of fun, so I started.
Q: What is your favorite Ballet, and why?
A: I don’t really know. We watched Don Quixote on the bus in Texas, and that was really impressive, and I saw a preview of Romeo and Juliet, and that was incredible, but I haven’t seen that many ballets.
Q: Do you imagine yourself being a professional ballerina one day?
A: Sometimes; after I accomplish a certain goal or step, I feel like “Wow! I want to do that again.”
Photo by Graham Blair
Q: Who is your role model in the dance world, and why?
A: All of the SD Ballet company dancers (including Chelsy Meiss, even though she’s not at SD Ballet anymore) because not only are they AMAZING dancers, they also are really nice and offer great advice!
Former company member & SD Ballet friend Chelsy
Q: How has the experience of performing as “Clara” in SDB’s ‘Nutcracker’ been for you so far?
A: It’s a lot of fun. Before a show, it can be nerve-racking, but once the music starts the nerves go away. It’s definitely an awesome experience.
Thank you Gwen! You are dancing beautifully in our production and we are grateful for your hard work!
Are you a student or educator who loves dance? San Diego Ballet has started a program called Dance Card that is specially catered to your needs. We are hosting a special event at our December 16th production, and are offering 10$ tickets to members of the Dance Card club. All you have to do is “like” our group on FACEBOOK, and e-mail DanceCardSD@gmail.com to get the special promotional code to get in on this discount. We want to spread Christmas cheer to everyone, and we hope Dance Card can help make dance accessible to all.
Very nice interview Miss Gwen. Congrats on a job well done