There are many holiday traditions that we all have and share. A tradition held by many around the world is listening to, participating in or performing “The Nutcracker.” Friday night the Sacramento Ballet hosted “Inside the Director’s Studio, Through the Dancer's Eye: The Nutcracker,” where dancers talked about “The Nutcracker” and shared their personal points of view. Artistic director Ron Cunningham welcomed guests to the event, saying the dancers would talk about their experiences and how they prepare for shows. Cunningham also called the audience’s attention to a Sacramento Ballet calendar featuring the photography of resident photographer Keith Sutter. Cunningham noted that the cal

A delectable performance of Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet “The Nutcracker” played in front of near capacity showings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Performances took place at the Jill Solberg Theatre at Folsom High School. Rainy and cold weather did not prevent audiences from attending any of the performances. The audience was made up of aficionados of all ages. Performance members were also of all ages and even a very well behaved baby made a couple of appearances during the show. At one time there were (and I did try to count them all) slightly over 40 performers on stage. The whole evening was visually appealing as soon as the curtains were parted for the first act. The lighting was

Here are some of the concerts and music events happening in the Sacramento area. This weekend a variety of musical holiday events are going on, so stay dry & warm at a venue near you! For more detailed information on these events and many more go to www.eMusiConnect.com Concerts, Music Events, and The Sacramento Music Scene This Week: Through Sunday, December 26th: Sacramento Theatre Company presents A Christmas Carol at 1419 H Street in Sacramento. Shows take place Thursday - Sunday at various times. Tickets are $20 - $40. Through Thursday, December 23rd: Sacramento Ballet presents The Nutcracker with music provided by the Sacramento Philharmonic at the Sacramento Community Center Thea

Ali Mackani has made a career out of developing potential. As a computer science engineer at Intel, people came to him with ideas and asked how to make them work. Mackani usually found a way. In 2002, the Folsom resident and partners brought Sacramento a bit of high-tech fame by creating the first large-scale outdoor wireless fidelity or "wi-fi" network. He created a buzz on Capitol Mall, where he opened his first restaurant, 55 Degrees. He then opened a bar, Lounge on 20, that anchors one of the trendiest corners in Midtown, 20th and K streets. Now a team led by this ambitious 40-year-old entrepreneur is a top contender to develop a new arena in Sacramento. That possibility has left s

Christmas is back and so is another season of "The Nutcracker". Sacramento Ballet co-art directors, Ron Cunningham and Carinne Binda outdid themselves during the opening performance. In celebration of Cunningham’s 500th "Nutcracker" showing, there were guest performances from Cunningham himself as well as Melissa Sandvig from “So You Think You Can Dance” and former company dancer Nina Baratova, who shared the sugar plum fairly role with company dancer Amanda Peet. But where was the finest sugar plum fairy of them all? Kirsten Bloom, prima ballerina, was sitting in Row J watching the performance in a lovely red dress with her long-time boyfriend. Bloom is expected her first child and i

As children pranced around the well-lit and creatively-designed stage during Tuesday night’s dress rehearsal of the Nutcracker at the Community Center Theater, the Sacramento Ballet prepared for another season of Sugar Plum Fairies. Director of Production Kyle Lemoi, who has been with the company for three seasons, said he has done many Nutcracker productions around the country, but the stage setup and attention to detail is what sets the Sacramento production apart.   “The set was made in Russia and was designed by (Alan Vaes), who lives in New York,” he said. “Everything is hand painted and they painted it with dye.” The stage setup is a recent addition to the company and has only bee