The PEANUTCRACKER-The Story In A Nutshell is a shorter narrated version of the Nutcracker written, designed and choreographed by SNB Artistic Director, Rosine Bena, especially for families with young children (Pre-school through grade 4). This production features professional dancers and apprentices from the Sierra Nevada Ballet and dance students from schools in the local community.

Bena was first inspired to create this special production for families by young audience members.
Bena was a professional Ballerina who danced throughout the USA and Europe with the Stuttgart Ballet, the Washington Ballet and Peninsula Ballet Theatre.

After 25 years of performing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy professionally, Bena came to discover through speaking with young fans that the Nutcracker was often children's first introduction to ballet and often very young children found the full 2-hour ballet too long and difficult to follow. With this in mind, Bena produced her first mini version of the Nutcracker with narration in the SF Bay area in 1993. The short ballet with it's growing Christmas tree and animated story telling proved to be very popular and she continued to present this (as the Artistic Director of Perspectives Dance Theatre and The Reno Ballet) to audiences in the SF bay area every year through December of 2000 when Bena moved permanently to Nevada and started the professional ballet company, Sierra Nevada Ballet. Sierra Nevada Ballet has presented the PEANUTCRACKER-The Story In A Nutshell to highly enthusiastic Northern Nevada audiences since 2002.

PEANUTCRACKER will feature SNB lead dancers: Alexander Biber, Sara Weir, Macy Almendariz, Tyler Bradshaw and Anthony McMenamy with a full cast of professional dancers from SNB and a cast of 40 young dancers from the community. FOR TICKETS, call Sierra Nevada Ballet at 775-360-8663 or visit our website at www.sierranevadaballet.org