Link to ONLINE Ticket Purchase Below

Copy of Hansel and Gretel (3)

The Cause: Once again, Ballet Aligned and the Utah Festival Conservatory are teaming up with author and writer/director Joel Ackerman to produce the next ballet in their "Once Upon a Storytime" Series: Hansel and Gretel. This ballet will benefit The Family Place Utah, whose mission is to strengthen families and protect children. The Family Place provides a safe, caring space for children to stay when caregivers need extra support called the Kid's Place, in addition to therapy, educational workshops, the Starfish Children’s Shelter (for children who are transitioning to foster care), and fun, family-focused events in the community. Ballet Aligned and the Utah Festival Conservatory are delighted to donate proceeds from ticket sales of Hansel and Gretel to further the mission of The Family Place and make a difference to "the one." Thank you for your support of this cause!

The Utah Theater is located at 18 W. Center Street in Logan, UT

The Partners

Ballet Aligned
Ballet Aligned offers professional ballet instruction aligned with industry-relevant standards of beauty and excellence, the dancer's goals and dreams, and family and community values. Their training and free educational and outreach programs reflect the goal to make better ballet more accessible. Believing in the power of art as a force for good in the world, their Ballet Benefits are a way for dancers to share their talent in the community, AND to literally make a difference in the world.

Utah Festival Conservatory
Utah Festival Conservatory offers specially designed classes for aspiring young performers ages 4-18 striving to enter the musical theatre field. Professional training and year-round classes in acting, dance and musical theatre are skill- and age-appropriate, and are targeted to help performers take their skills to the next level, increase experience, and maximize growth.

Joel Ackerman
Joel Ackerman is a master story-teller and author of the libretto for our ballet. He has written/produced/directed over 100 videos (ads and other branded video content) which have been viewed nearly half a billion times. He is the Editor in Chief of Print Immortal, a publishing company that publishes “works worthy of immortality” and is also a published author and poet. He currently works as the Creative Director for Angel Studios (distributors of "The Chosen").

Donors & Sponsors

A Special Thanks to our:

Sustaining Donors
Michael Ballam and UFOMT *
Stefan Espinosa and Utah Festival Conservatory*

Business Sponsors


https://hilaryweberphotography.mypixieset.com

* In-kind donation

Additional Thanks

A debt of gratitude to those whose donations of time and talent made this show possible.

UFOMT: ticketing, costume, set, lighting, sound, and prop assistance
Evelyn Casperson: poster design

See The Night Before Christmas AGAIN in Dec, 2023!

Audience Reations to the show:

From Emilee: The Night Before Christmas production far exceeded our expectations.
It brought so many wonderful things about Christmas to life - the stories, music, family. So well organized and executed, and such a positive behind-the-scenes atmosphere. This is something we definitely hope we can count on to take part in again!

From Elizabeth: We loved your ballet! Fantastic job! What a gift to the community!

From Rebecca: The production of The Night Before Christmas offered beautiful storytelling, leaving that magical feeling of the Christmas season. It also showcased the excellent training behind up and coming talent. So happy to be part of the Ballet Aligned family.

From Katrina: The Night Before Christmas Ballet was a heartwarming show! I loved
the message and watching Ballet Aligned students showcase all of their hard work! 

From Darcie: I was excited for the opportunity to see such a well-done production. This is the time of year people want to give, and this night of entertainment was
such a fun way to do that. I went both nights and was so glad I did. The first night was sold out so I was sure to get there early the second night and pre-bought my tickets to make sure I got in. It was just as entertaining the second night! It was a wonderful wonderful thing to be so entertained and give to such a good cause. 

From Candice: The show was amazing. It was the perfect mix of talent, from beginners to professionals. It was funny and charming. The costumes and characters were perfect. 

From Ted: I was so impressed by the professionalism of the entire program. The children did a sensational job at retelling the story through dance. 

From Jennifer: I absolutely LOVED the show. I didn't know what to expect since I've never seen a ballet with the Night Before Christmas story. It was very well done and I loved how each class/age was incorporated. The costumes were also very well done.

From Maribeth: Thank you for offering this ballet to the Logan community. I really appreciate the months that went into this production.  I hope you will continue to show us more of your outstanding work!

Photo credit: Hilary Weber Photography (https://hilaryweberphotography.mypixieset.com)

Info about The Night Before Christmas, 2022

The Night Before Christmas (6)

Starring/Guests

Kai Casperson as Clement C. Moore
Kai is the newest member of Ballet West II. He has trained, on scholarship, at the Ballet West Academy for 5 years and as a trainee with Boston Ballet for 1 year. Kai began dancing at age 9. As a student of Steffanie Casperson, he advanced to acceptance at Ballet West Academy's professional division at age 13. Over the years there, he performed a number of leading roles in Academy productions. Kai appears courtesy of Ballet West.

Tayten Baker as Santa
Tayten trained with Ballet West Academy for 9 years. He received the Fredrick Quinny Lawson scholarship and other full scholarships during that time. He has been in many productions varying from classical ballets to modern and contemporary works. Since graduating from the academy, he has worked as an RI for the Ballet West Summer Intensive, and has taught a Boys Ballet class and an adult class for Ballet Aligned.

Chloë McAllister as Clara Moore, the Shepherdess, and Music Box Doll
Chloë's training began at the age of four with Cache Civic Ballet where she danced the leads of Clara in the Nutcracker and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. As a student of Steffanie Casperson, jury members complimented her YAGP performance as “regal and sophisticated," and she was invited to train at Boston Ballet and Ballet West's summer programs. At the age of 16, Chloë was invited to train with Ballet West Academy’s Professional Training Division and danced a leading role in the Academy production of Coppelia last year. She appears courtesy of Ballet West Academy. 

Grandpa - Stefan Espinosa
A native of Tucson, Arizona, Stefan has been working as a professional actor, director, fight choreographer, and dialect coach for the last 15 years. Some favorite past regional theatre companies include PCPA Theatrefest, Arizona Theatre Company, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, Lyric Repertory Theatre, many productions at Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, and Salt Lake Acting Company. Stefan has taught countless classes at the Conservatory over the years and has been thrilled to be a part of changing young lives in Logan! Stefan has also directed many excellent Conservatory productions including Narnia, The Phantom Tollbooth, HS Musical, Legally Blonde, Les Miserables, Freaky Friday, and more. Stefan has taught Acting, Voice, and Movement in the Idaho State University Theatre Department since 2012 and has directed many productions at the professional and pre-professional level. Stefan has a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Arizona and a MFA in Acting from the University of Houston PATP. Stefan and his wife, Vanessa Ballam, founded the Conservatory in 2009.

Jimmy - Milo Biggs
Milo is currently in the fourth grade at Wilson Elementary School. He has been a  member of the Utah Festival  Conservatory of the Performing Arts since 2021. He loves acting and singing, camping, spending time with friends, playing with dinosaurs, and drawing amazing works of art. Some of Milo’s favorite roles include Earthworm in James and the Giant Peach, Children's Chorus in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Children’s Chorus in Carmen at Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater. He is thrilled to be joining this special production with Ballet Aligned. 

Sabrina Jex as the Scottish Doll
Sabrina trained and performed for five seasons with BYU Theatre Ballet, dancing various leading roles in both classical and contemporary ballets, including works by famous choreographers like George Balanchine and Paul Taylor. She has a love for creating movement and has choreographed on ballet companies at BYU for both live-streamed and live performances. For the last two years of her undergraduate, Sabrina taught intermediate and beginning ballet classes at BYU.

Donors & Sponsors

A Special Thanks to our:

Sustaining Donors ($500 or more)
Gail and Ned Weinshenker
Jonathon Tonioli
Michael Ballam and UFOMT *
Stefan Espinosa and Utah Festival Conservatory*

Business Sponsors
Hilary Weber Photography - thanks for the beautiful images of the show and our dancers!
https://hilaryweberphotography.mypixieset.com

*In-kind donation

Click here to make a donation or become involved in our next "Once Upon a Storytime" Ballet Benefit.

Additional Thanks

A debt of gratitude to those whose donations of time and talent made this show possible.

UFOMT: ticketing, costume, set, lighting, sound, and prop assistance
Evelyn Casperson: poster design
Lauren Ellis: rehearsal assistant
Trevor Stoker: rehearsal assistant
Art En Motion: costume donation
Lisa Preece and Dance Illusion: music mentorship

 

A debt of gratitude to those whose donations of time and talent made this show possible.

UFOMT: ticketing, costume, set, lighting, sound, and prop assistance
Evelyn Casperson: poster design
Lauren Ellis: rehearsal assistant
Trevor Stoker: rehearsal assistant
Art En Motion: costume donation
Lisa Preece and Dance Illusion: music mentorship