THE NUTCRACKER 2024

December 14-15, 2024

Neal Blaisdell Arena

What better way to celebrate the Holidays than by combining a timeless Nutcracker with the grandeur and elegance of the Hawaiian monarchy!

Celebrate the Holidays with Ballet Hawaii’s lavish Hawaiian-themed Nutcracker presented in the 1858 Kingdom of Hawaii. The production is choreographed by Septime Webre with guest artists from New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Carolina Ballet, and Eugene Ballet and accompanied by members of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.

Audiences can anticipate all the traditional holiday dances, but with historical characterizations of Washington Place resident Mary Dominis and Hawaii’s beloved Queen Lili’uokalani. In this production, the flowers are Crown Flowers, Hibiscus and Plumeria. The birds are I’iwi and new island animal performers are introduced, such as the Honu (sacred Hawaiian Turtle). The toy soldier uniforms are patterned after those of the Royal Guard and the famous Waltz of the Snowflakes takes place atop the slopes of Mauna Kea.  It is truly a delight to behold!

Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com and the Blaisdell Box Office!

Courtesy of New York City Ballet

Megan Fairchild is a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. (The Sugar Plumeria Fairy) is a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. Ms. Fairchild was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and began her dance training at the age of four, studying with Judy Levitre and Kaelynne Oliphant at Dance Concepts in Sandy, Utah, and at the Ballet West Conservatory in Salt Lake City with Sharee Lane, Deborah Dobson, and Maureen Laird.

While at the Ballet West Conservatory, Ms. Fairchild was also a Ballet West trainee. Ms. Fairchild entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, in the fall of 2000.

In November 2001, Ms. Fairchild became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and in October 2002 she joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet.

Ms. Fairchild was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2004, and in January 2005, she was promoted to principal dancer.

Courtesy of New York City Ballet

Born in Guangdong, China, Mr. Chan trained at the Guangzhou Art School from 2004 to 2010. In 2010 he was a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne, which earned him a full scholarship to study with Houston Ballet’s second company, Houston Ballet II. In 2012 Chan joined Houston Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet and he was promoted to principal dancer at HB in 2017. His repertory with Houston Ballet included leading roles in ballets by Stanton Welch, Ben Stevenson, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, John Cranko, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Edwaard Liang, Wayne McGregor, Trey McIntyre, and Justin Peck, among others.

Mr. Chan joined NYCB as a soloist in August 2021, and in May 2022 was promoted to principal dancer.

Mr. Chan has appeared as a contestant on the Chinese television show Dance Smash, as well as at the Nijinsky Gala XLI in Hamburg, Germany (2015), New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival (2015), and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (2018). Chan was also a Guest Principal Dancer with Hong Kong Ballet in 2018 and 2019.

Courtesy of Pacific Northwest Ballet

Lucien Postlewaite (he/him) is from Santa Cruz, California. He trained on scholarship at the School of American Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. While a Professional Division student at PNB School, he received a Level II Award for ballet in the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts’ 2003 Arts Recognition and Talent Search. Mr. Postlewaite joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2003, was promoted to corps de ballet in 2004, soloist in 2007, and principal in 2008. He was a 2008 recipient of a Princess Grace Award. In 2012, Mr. Postlewaite joined Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, and in 2017, he re-joined to PNB as a principal dancer.

While at Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Mr. Postlewaite performed leading roles in Forsythe’s New Sleep; Kylian’s Bella Figura and Gods and Dogs; and Maillot’s Altro Canto, La Belle, Cendrillon, Faust, LAC, Scheherazade, and Vers un Pays Sage. He originated leading roles in Pontus Lidberg’s Summer’s Winter Shadow and Maillot’s Casse-Noisette Compagnie, Choré, and Entrelacs.

Mr. Postlewaite has performed as a guest artist with New York City Ballet on seventy-fifth anniversary gala for the School of American Ballet. He is featured in the film Casse-Noisette Compagnie by Jean-Christophe Maillot. In 2019, Mr. Postlewaite was invited by the Fire Island Dance Festival to organize a commission for its annual gala (Garrett Smith’s Continuum). In addition to performing on galas worldwide, Mr. Postlewaite has performed Petipa’s Paquita and Wevers’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Reiko Yamamoto Ballet Company in Japan, and Balanchine’s Tarantella with Los Angeles Ballet. He is an original member of Olivier Wevers’ Whim W’Him.

Courtesy of Vitacca Ballet

Melody Mennite is a Principal ballerina formerly with Houston Ballet and currently dancing with Vitacca Ballet. She has toured internationally to perform the classics as well as contemporary work in dance. Some of her classical Principal roles include Odette/Odile, Aurora, Kitri, Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Manon, Juliet, The Sylph in Bournanville’s La Sylphide, Nikya in La Bayadere, Ciao Ciao San in Madame Butterfly, Marie in the ballet Marie, Tatiana and Olga in Onegin, Stephanie and Mary Vetsera in Meyerling, Swanhilda in Coppelia, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, and Lise in La Fille mal Gardee.

Melody’s most recent international appearance was in the role of Juliet for the Houston Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet tour to Melbourne, Australia. During Melody’s professional career she has also originated roles in new classical and contemporary productions by choreographers Christopher Wheeldon, Justin Peck, Stanton Welch, Ben Stevenson, Christopher Bruce, Jorma Elo, Cathy Marston, Paul Taylor, Aszure Barton, Nicole Fonte, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Olivier Wevers, Oliver Halkowich, Jane Weiner, and Garret Smith as well as in her dual role as dancer/choreographer for several films. Melody enjoys all forms of dance and has extensive training and experience with styles rooted in classical ballet, contemporary, jazz, and hip hop. She is passionate about both learning and teaching what she has learned with others.

Ms. Mennite has graced the cover of both Dance Magazine and Dance Europe and is celebrated as the Audrey Hepburn of ballet due to her dynamic acting and a predisposition for comedic roles. As an actor Melody has achieved two award winning performances in film and continues to build this part of her resume.

Also from a musical family Ms. Mennite was singing onstage before she ever started training in dance. She has been professionally recorded and released and has performed leading singing roles in regional productions of both West Side Story and Oklahoma.

Melody’s choreography has been featured on film, in music videos, and on ballet stages throughout the United States. In the last ten years she has been commissioned to create thirteen separate works nationally.

Her hobbies include spending time in the outdoors, spending time with her son and two dogs, singing/making music, reading, writing, and practicing new ways to make art.

Courtesy of Carolina Ballet

Ms. Schenberger began her formal training at age 8, at The Ayako School of Ballet in Okinawa, Japan. At age 10, she continued her training at Ballet Hawaii. While attending she competed at Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) San Francisco and won 3rd place bronze in the Junior Women Classical category. She also competed at the World Ballet Competition where she achieved the 3rd highest score in the Pre-Professional category as well as receiving the Jury’s Award. At age 15, she attended the Washington School of Ballet’s professional training program and then the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Ms. Schenberger has also attended summer programs at The Washington School of Ballet, Ballet West, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Boston Ballet. Ms. Schenberger’s featured roles with Carolina Ballet include Lead Couple in George Balanchine’s Valse Fantasie, Cinderella in Robert Weiss’ Cinderella, and August Bournonville’s Flower Festival.

Courtesy of Carolina Ballet

Kiefer Curtis began his training at Metropolitan Ballet Theatre in Alpharetta, GA under Maniya Baredo. He attended summer intensives with Danita Emma and Momchill Mladenov in Syracuse, NY, Orlando Ballet in Orlando, Fl, as well as Peter Breur in Salzburg, Austria. He has also trained at the International Ballet Academy (IBA) with Rossana Gahagan in Cary, NC. His favorite roles include Romeo, in Robert Weiss’ Romeo and Juliet, and the pas de trois in Zalman Raffael’s Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto.

Courtesy of Eugene Ballet

Danielle received her early training from Connecticut Dance School and attended the University of Utah where she graduated with a BFA in Ballet Performance and a BS in Business Management. She joined Eugene Ballet in 2008 as an Apprentice, was promoted to the Company in 2011, and Principal in 2015. During her time with EB, Danielle has performed many lead roles including Aurora, Juliet, Cinderella, Myrtha in Giselle, Odette/Odile, the Sugar Plum Fairy, Carmen, the Snow Queen, and Katherine in Taming of the Shrew. She has also been showcased in numerous works by Toni Pimble and guest choreographers Edwaard Liang, Stephanie Martinez, Amy Seiwert, Jessica Lang, and Val Caniparoli to name a few. Last season while pregnant with her second child, Danielle had the privilege to help set ballets and work alongside the artistic staff and guest choreographers. Danielle is an instructor for Eugene Ballet Academy and also performs and teaches throughout the northwest. She has had the opportunity to work with Ballet Hawaii as a guest artist since 2010 teaching and performing works that include Septime Webre’s Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Peter Pan, as the Dark Angel and Waltz Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade, and most recently as the Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker. Danielle is a proud mom to two sons, Luca and Theo, whom she shares with her husband and fellow principal dancer Mark Tucker.

Courtesy of Eugene Ballet

Mark Tucker is honored to be taking part in his sixteenth season with Eugene Ballet Company. Mark began his training in his home state of Hawaii with Ballet Hawaii. As well as continuing his training in Miami, Houston, and Washington DC, Mark attended The North Carolina School of the Arts where he graduated high school and obtained a BFA in Classical Ballet with a minor in Modern Dance. Mark joined Eugene Ballet in 2008 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2015. Mark has defined his career as a strong partner and has had the opportunity to dance an expanding range of roles with choreographers and directors both internationally and from across the country. Edwaard Liang’s Age of Innocence, Septime Webre’s Alice in Wonderland, Mauricio Wainrot’s Anne Frank, Val Caniparoli’s Tutto Eccetto il Lavandino and Tryptic, Gerald Arpino’s Light Rain, Head Wrangler in Agnes De Mille’s Rodeo, Heather Maloy’s Stranger, as well as works by Jessica Lang, Amy Seiwert, Stephanie Martinez, Devon Carney, Victoria Morgan, Salvatore Aiello, Stanton Welch, and EB’s Suzanne Haag to name a few. In 2017, as a guest artist with Ballet Hawaii, he was featured as Waltz Boy in George Balanchine’s Serenade.

Mark began dancing lead roles with EBC in 2012 as the head male in Rite of Spring with, now, Associate Artistic Director Jennifer Martin. He has had the privilege of premiering many lead roles in Toni Pimble’s works including Jay Gatsby from the classic novel and more recently Petruchio in Pimble’s Taming of the Shrew. He also enjoys bringing characters to life onstage in roles such as Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Von Rothbart in Swan Lake, and the sultan in Scheherazade. In 2015 Mark starred alongside his wife, EBC Principal Dancer Danielle Tolmie, in Pimble’s Carmen. “Dancing the role of Don Jose across from my wife was one of the most memorable and powerful moments I have ever experienced on stage.” He then added “the only thing that may beat that is dancing Siegfried with Danielle while she was pregnant with our first son Luca. He was moving around like crazy during Black Swan.” 2022-2023 was a big year for Mark, dancing Desire in The Sleeping Beauty, as well as being a part of two world premieres, Petrushkaand The Little Mermaid. He’s also happy to announce the birth of his second son, Theo. Follow him and Danielle on Instagram @markdani8688

Formerly of American Ballet Theatre

Native New Yorker John Selya trained at the School of American Ballet from 1980-1988. In his final year, he received the Mae L. Wien award for outstanding promise. John was then invited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join American Ballet Theatre, where he performed and created works by Balanchine, Robbins, Tharp, and Mark Morris, Tetley, Kudelka, and Kylian as well as the classical repertoire. In addition to making a name for himself as a dancer, John choreographed three works for the company: Moondance, Disposition and Don’t Panic. Since that acclaimed first work, Mr. Selya has gone on to create choreography for A.B.T., Houston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theater, Sacramento Ballet, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, and the School of American Ballet.

Following his departure from A.B.T., John created and performed the central role of Eddie in Twyla Tharp’s Tony-winning Broadway show, “Movin’ Out.” His performance earned him a Tony nomination for best actor in a musical, an Astaire award for outstanding dancing on a Broadway stage and a Theater World Award for outstanding Broadway debut. Since then Mr. Selya has appeared as the Mambo dancer in “Damn Yankees”, Scranton Slim in “Guys and Dolls” and Sid in “Come Fly Away.”

Mr. Selya has also acted as director for Twyla Tharp, staging productions of “Come Fly Away” and “Nine Sinatra Songs” and “Sinatra Suite.”

In addition to appearing on stage, John also has appeared on screen in the movies “Everyone Says I Love You”, “Across the Universe” and “Romance and Cigarettes.

In 2008 Mr. Selya was named “artist-in-residence” at the Joyce SoHo where he created two works: “La Voix Humaine” and “Tweaker.”

Mr. Selya continues to perform on stages across the globe as a member of Twyla Tharp Dance. He also is slated to stage Ms. Tharp’s works for Pacific Northwest Ballet in the fall of 2017.

Recently, Mr. Selya was awarded a fellowship with NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts where he continues to create and develop new choreography.