The Nutcracker

James Kudelka, O.C.
Choreographer

James Kudelka is among today’s most versatile and innovative dance artists. He has choreographed for many of the world’s leading ballet companies and for smaller contemporary troupes. His creative range reflects his eclectic musical interests, command of diverse movement idioms and commitment to working collaboratively with artists from other disciplines. James is renowned for distinctive versions of such classics as The Nutcracker and Cinderella – signature works of The National Ballet of Canada where he served as Artistic Director, 1996 to 2005. Equally, James excels in making smaller-scaled dances that are rich in psychological implication and human drama. Born in Newmarket, Ontario and trained by Canada’s National Ballet School, James began choreographing as a student and continued throughout his dancing years with the National Ballet, 1972 to 1981, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, 1981 to 1990. He began an affiliation with Toronto’s Citadel + Compagnie in 2006 and has been resident choreographer since 2008 where he has experimented with cross-disciplinary collaborations. As a teacher, James has worked with Vancouver Arts Umbrella, Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) and Canada’s National Ballet School, and he continues to work internationally as a choreographer. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005 and is among the 2020 Dance Collection Danse Hall of Fame inductees. In 2023, James was the recipient of the prestigious Governor General’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Performing Arts.

Santo Loquasto
Set and Costume Designer

Santo Loquasto is a designer for dance, theatre and film. He has collaborated with choreographers Jerome Robbins, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Kenneth MacMillan, Agnes de Mille and Mark Morris. Twyla Tharp’s Push Comes to Shove marked the beginning of his long-term relationship with American Ballet Theatre. As designer for the Paul Taylor Dance Company, he has designed more than 50 pieces. He has collaborated with James Kudelka on major works for The National Ballet of Canada including Swan Lake, An Italian Straw Hat, Pastoral, Spring Awakening, Firebird and The Nutcracker.

Santo has worked with Woody Allen on over 30 films including costume design for Zelig and production design for Radio Days and Bullets Over Broadway, for which he received Academy Award nominations. Recent designs on Broadway include Fences, Shuffle Along, The Iceman Cometh, Carousel, The Music Man and Hello, Dolly!. He received the Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration in 2002, was inducted into Theater Hall of Fame in 2004, received the Pennsylvania Governor’s Award for the Arts in 2006, the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2007 and the Gaudium Award in 2013.

Jennifer Tipton
Lighting Designer

Jennifer Tipton is well known for her work in theatre, dance and opera. Her recent work in theatre includes To Kill A Mockingbird for London and on tour, Samuel Beckett’s First Love for Zoom and all of Richard Nelson's Rhinebeck plays. Her recent work in opera includes Ricky Ian Gordon's Intimate Apparel with libretto by Lynn Nottage, based on her play by the same name, at the Lincoln Center Mitzi Newhouse Theater; her recent work in dance includes Liz Gerring’s Harbor at ICA in Boston and Amy Hall Warner’s Somewhere in the Middle for the Paul Taylor Company. Among many awards she has received the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in 2001, the Jerome Robbins Prize in 2003 and in 2008, she was awarded the USA “Gracie” Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship.

David Briskin
Music Director and Principal Conductor

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Julian Pellicano
Conductor

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Nathan Brock
Guest Conductor

Nathan Brock is an internationally renowned conductor who performs regularly with many of the world’s leading orchestras, opera houses and ballet companies. After finishing his studies in Zürich, he began his career as Resident Conductor of the Montréal Symphony Orchestra where he won multiple awards for his innovative programming, performances and outreach activity. In 2015, Nathan returned to Europe as Kapellmeister and deputy Music Director at the Hamburgische Staatsoper. There, he principally conducted operatic repertoire and this time was also the beginning of his long association with John Neumeier and Hamburg Ballet. Future engagements include debuts with The Royal Ballet, Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, a tour with Het Nationale Ballet and return engagements with The Royal Danish Ballet and in Toronto and Hamburg. During the COVID-lockdowns, Nathan distinguished himself by winning the graduating fellowship in the Executive MBA class of 2021 at The Rotman School of Management.

Jeff Morris
Stage Manager

Jeff Morris joined The National Ballet of Canada in 1995. Born in Toronto, he studied technical theatre production and administration at Ryerson’s Theatre School (now Toronto Metropolitan University). From 1990 to 1995, he was Production Stage Manager for Toronto Dance Theatre, including the company’s debuts in Berlin, Warsaw, Tokyo and at the Joyce Theater. He was Production Stage Manager for Dancers for Life (1991 – 1997), Stage Manager for Theatre Passe-Muraille (Never Swim Alone) and for the Fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists. Since joining the National Ballet, Jeff has stage-managed a wide range of the company’s unique classical and contemporary repertoire, including the world premieres of James Kudelka’s The Four Seasons, Cinderella and An Italian Straw Hat, Crystal Pite’s Emergence and Angels’ Atlas and Guillaume Côté’s Le Petit Prince and Frame by Frame (with Robert Lepage). Company premieres include John Neumeier’s The Seagull, A Streetcar Named Desire, Nijinsky and Anna Karenina and Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale. He is a board member and instructor for SMArts and Festival CoDirector for dance:made in Canada/fait au Canada.

Alex Wommack
Stage Manager

Alex Wommack (she/her) was born and raised in Waco, Texas and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Her passion for ballet led her to work with Alabama Ballet while completing her undergraduate degree. At Alabama Ballet, she stage-managed works by Jiří Kylián, Agnes de Mille and Sir Frederick Ashton. Following graduation, she moved to Seattle and joined the Stage Management team at Seattle Opera, where highlights included Porgy and Bess, The Barber of Seville and Flight. In 2017, she worked with Pacific Northwest Ballet as an Assistant Stage Manager for George Balanchine's The Nutcracker and then joined the company as Stage Manager in 2020. She is a member of AGMA and served two terms as the staging staff representative for the Northwest area on the National Board of Governors. Outside of her professional work, Alex is actively involved with Books to Prisoners, an organization that fosters a love of reading and help break the cycle of recidivism in American prisons.

Troy Taylor
Assistant Stage Manager

Productions with The National Ballet of Canada include Don Quixote, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, UtopiVerse, Jewels, The Nutcracker, Emma Bovary, Passion, MADADDAM and Swan Lake. Elsewhere, he has worked as a Stage Manager for Fall for Dance North, Soulpepper Theatre, Young People’s Theatre, Canadian Stage, The Shaw Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Nightwood Theatre, Ross Petty Productions and Mirvish.