Pot Shot #34

Posted on November 14, 2024 by Sue Pascoe

Ashleigh Brilliant writes:

WHAT EXACTLY IS A “POT-SHOT” OR “BRILLIANT THOUGHT?”

Pot-Shots are epigrams, composed according to the following very strict rules.

The length must never exceed 17 English words. Note that this is a maximum. Some Pot-Shots are much shorter. Hyphenated words count as a single word.

Pot-Shots must be easy to translate into other languages. Therefore there can be no use of rhyme or rhythm, idioms, puns, or other word-play.

Pot-Shots should be capable of being appreciated in all times and cultures. Topical and cultural references must be avoided.

Every Pot-Shot should be as different as possible from every other one.

Every Pot-Shot must be totally original, and unlike anything else the author, or anyone else, has ever said before.

The words of a Pot-Shot must be able to stand on their own, and not require any illustration in order to be understood or appreciated.

Whatever is being said should be worth saying and said in the best possible way.

NOTE: These are ideal standards, and I myself have failed to meet some of them occasionally — but in general I have adhered to them quite scrupulously

 

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“Dodged a Bullet” Because of the Timing of the Fire

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Sue Pascoe

Firefighters worked to stop the fire from going over the hill to the enclave of homes on the other side. The reservoir, which appears dry is in the background.

A five-acre brush fire was reported in the Palisades Highlands near the Santa Ynez Reservoir and adjacent to Topanga State Park at 9:50 a.m. on November 13.

According to LAFD this is “slow moving in heavy brush. It is topography driven (not wind) with steep slopes.” The cause of the fire is under investigation.

An hour later, LAFD reported that more than “60 firefighters on scene have stopped all forward progress. The precisely targeted, rapid water drops from LAFD Air Operations combined with the firefighter’s aggressive fire attack on the ground held the fire to approximately one acre (revised from initial size).”

Los Angele Fire Department Margaret Stewart told KTLA News that this area is a challenge because there are no hydrants, but that water tenders (large trucks carrying water) were being sent to the area.

“Fortunately, we’re not in a Santa Ana event,” she said, “but the moisture level in our vegetation is critically low.”

Bruce Schwartz captured this photo of a water-dropping helicopter at the Highlands fire on around 9:50 a.m. on November 13.

Water-dropping helicopters, which come from the Van Nuys Airport, were deployed to stop the fire from going over the hill to large homes on the other side, located on a street, Calle Del Jonella.

Last week portions of Ventura County were not so lucky. The National Weather Service had issued a rare “Particular Dangerous Situation” alert, which is a rare weather advisory that forecasters say is issued only once every few years due to especially severe conditions.

The Mountain Fire started November 6 at 8:51 a.m.in the Somis area, northeast of Camarillo. The cause of that fire is still under investigation. Then, there was a Santa Ana “event” and meteorologists tracked some gusts blowing more than 60 miles per hour.  Strong winds grounded firefighting fixed-wing aircraft within the first hours of the wildfire, adding another hurdle toward full containment, fire officials said.

As of today, the Mountain Fire was 60 percent contained. About 20,630 acres were destroyed and more than 200 structures damaged/destroyed and s=10 people injured. Additionally,  the county is the state’s top avocado-producing region and lost over 500 acres of avocado-growing land. The fire also destroyed 130 acres of citrus crops, valued at $1.3 million in revenue, $300,000 in nursery stock, about 10 acres of raspberries and 2,500 acres of range land, according to the Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Korinne Bell.

Drew Smith, fire behavior analyst with LAFD, said the wet weather last season which resulted in built-up dry brush and the strong Santa Ana winds spelled a disaster.

“We’re coming off of two years of above-average rainfall, which gives us a very robust grass component,” Smith said. “And those fine fuels that are receptive to warm, dry, windy (weather) supports the recipe to support large fire growth when we have high winds.”

Santa Ana winds are caused when high pressure builds in the Great Basin (between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada) and flow towards the low pressure off the California Coast. The dry winds blow east to west. The reference to Santa Ana winds is found in an 1882 L.A. Times archive.

Or as former Palisades resident Raymond Chandler wrote in Red Wind: A Collection of Short Stories, There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot, dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch.”

Luckily the November 13 fire was not pushed by Santa Ana winds or the Castellammare area of the Palisades and Sunset Mesa, which are west of the Highlands, might have been impacted.

 

(Editor’s note: Is there an update on people in Southern California being able to buy fire insurance, particularly given the gravity of the loss of homes in Ventura?)

 

Posted in Accidents/Fires | Leave a comment

Comparing the Presidents: Donald Trump and Grover Cleveland

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Sue Pascoe

Grover Cleveland served two terms as U.S. President, but the terms were not consecutive.

By HENRY KAMER

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump was elected as the 47th president of the U.S. on November 5th, 2024. He was also the 45th president, serving from 2017 to 2021. Huh, that seems rare. As unique as Trump is, he is not the first but the second president to serve two non-consecutive terms. The holder of that record is Grover Cleveland.

Grover Cleveland served as the first Democrat elected after the Civil War, being the 22nd and 24th president, or 1885-1889 and 1893-1897. Cleveland and Trump share a few similarities and some important differences.

Both were leaders in New York City. Both had accusations of rape brought up against them, and both attacked those accusations. Trump was formally indicted of this crime, while Cleveland went on to support the child that came as a result. The ugliness of the two cases wasn’t enough to dissuade voters. Both Trump and Cleveland used executive privilege to refuse to hand over department files to Congress.

Trump and Cleveland also bring their own features to the table. Trump became the first president to be elected with felonies and a criminal record, while Cleveland became the first president to be married in the White House.

Cleveland loved drinking beer so much that he had eight a day, while Trump loves downing Diet Coke. Maybe if Cleveland was around today, he would like Diet Coke too.

Trump made four attempts for the presidency compared to Cleveland’s three (many have forgotten about the 2000 campaign of Trump as the candidate of the Reform Party). Trump lost the popular vote three times. In 2016, he lost the popular vote but took the Electoral College over Hillary Clinton. He lost both in 2020, and finally won both last Tuesday. Cleveland, on the other hand, won the popular vote in all three of his elections, but lost the Electoral College in 1888 to Benjamin Harrison, before winning in a rematch in 1892.

Cleveland was a frugal Democrat, disliked by the working class. Cleveland was anti-tariff, while Trump is a Republican who is pro-tariff.

It’s important to remember that these parties actually switched. The Democrats at the time of the Civil War were more like what the Republican Party is today. When Cleveland campaigned for his re-election in 1888, he faced moderate Republican Benjamin Harrison.

Harrison was a descendant of William Henry Harrison, the ninth president who was able to accomplish a gargantuan load of feats through his shockingly long month-long presidency before an untimely death.

Cleveland lost to Harrison, even though Cleveland won the popular vote. This was actually one of five elections in which the popular vote winner lost (1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, 2016). Cleveland came back in 1892 and defeated Harrison by campaigning on his opposition to the country’s tilt towards the silver over gold standard. Just imagine if Cleveland discovered Crypto and Apple Pay. Oh boy.

Historians agree that Grover Cleveland was not a great president. We’ll just have to wait and see what historians say about Donald Trump.

Donald Trump was just voted to his second (nonconsecutive) term as President.

Posted in History | 1 Comment

“Private Eyes” Explores Secrecy and Deception

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Sue Pascoe

The cast of Private Eyes, Richard Conolly, Nikki Marie, Erin Galloway, Cara Kluver and Richard Osborn are ready to entertain you.
Photo: RICH SCMITT

By LIBBY MOTIKA

Circling the News Contributor

In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” the mourning Hamlet commissioned a play that pantomimes the murder of his father by his uncle to “catch the conscience of the king.”

It is a very human inclination to unearth an uncomfortable truth though the use of metaphor. We are loath to confront a friend or lover, whom we suspect has betrayed us. We can’t let ourselves believe it.

Steven Dietz’s play Private Eyes, on stage at Pierson Playhouse, uses the time-honored play-within-a-play device to tackle the painful subject of marriage and adultery.

The play opens with Lisa (Cara Kluver), who is applying for a job as a waitress. Café owner Matthew (Erin Galloway), underwhelmed with her skills, sits down pretending to be customer so she can try again.

The audience, eager to see what happens next, is caught short. This is just a rehearsal for a play, and Lisa and Matthew are married.

The vignette prepares us for the uncertainty that lies ahead. The couple are indeed actors preparing for a new play directed by the famously manipulative director Adrian (Richard Conolly).

The play they’re rehearsing mirrors their own real-life situation. It’s about a director having an affair with a married actress. The audience is never sure whether the scene we’re watching is from the “real” story or from the play within the play.

Lisa is having an affair. Maybe. Or it might be in Matthew’s mind. The clues are all there that Lisa is having an affair. But, then again, it might just be part of a play that the couple is in. Who knows?

Matthew sees indications that his wife is having an affair but doesn’t want to believe it. Self-deception. For their part, Lisa and Adrian decide to tell Matthew the truth, but then again, because their love affair is over, no need to tell the truth.

Private Eyes does not unfold in sequence. We go back to the beginning and slowly discover the essence of play: secrecy and deception. Dietz’s characters try to tell the truth but along the way learn the value of a “the comforting little lie.”

The author, Dietz, offers his discourse on long-term marriage by having Matthew wonder whether the only thing that will get a bored partner’s attention is something hurtful, adultery maybe? He and Lisa sense the surprise missing from their lives. “I think you’re gorgeous” in the morning just doesn’t do it anymore, so is the only surprise left to say, “I’m having an affair?”

“We all desire,” Dietz said in a 1998 interview. “But we fill our lives with the complexity to avoid the terrifying fact of simply having someone you want to be with.”

Given its complex structure, the play is sometimes confusing, especially in the early scenes before the audience catches on. But director Michael Keith Allen adroitly guides the superb cast through the labyrinth of the playwright’s imagination.

“Steven Dietz holds mirror up to the face of society, using humor as his primary tool,” said Jennifer Stewart, who directed the play in a 1999 production. “Only comedy can make us realize the truths we are not fond of.”

Private Eyes continues at Theatre Palisades Pierson Playhouse through December 15, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Contact: (310) 454-1970.

Cara Kluver and Erin Galloway examine their marriage in Private Eyes.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT

Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

. . . And Baby Makes Three for Schwarzenegger and Pratt

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Sue Pascoe

Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt announce their third child, who was born on November 8.
Photo: Instagram

By BERNICE FOX

Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt and Chris Pratt are parents to a third child together. After two girls, Lyla and Eloise, they now have a boy named Ford. This is Chris’ second son. His first is his oldest child, Jack, with his former wife, Palisadian Anna Faris.

Grandma Maria Shriver, Katherine’s mother, posted the birth announcement on her Facebook page.

“My heart is overflowing with gratitude for the arrival of sweet baby Ford!  . . . .In moments like these, I’m reminded of the importance of nurturing a world filled with kindness, compassion and acceptance for every child.

“May we all do our part to build a brighter, gentler world for them to grown into-a world where they can feel safe, loved, and free to be who they truly are.

“Welcome to the world, little one. You are already so loved,” Shriver wrote.

Katherine and Chris remain Pacific Palisades homeowners. In July 2023 they listed their mansion on a private street near the end of Bienveneda Avenue for $32 million. When they took down the for-sale sign in June of this year, they had cut the price to $25.5 million. But it had not sold. And they stayed in the home while Katherine was pregnant.

The couple caused an architectural uproar earlier this year when, to make way for a larger house, they demolished a beloved mid-century modern home that was on a lot they had bought in Brentwood.

That lot is across the street from where Shriver lives.

So, when Katherine and Chris’ new home is completed and they move in, they’ll have a babysitter just a few feet away.

Posted in Community, Kids/Parenting | Leave a comment

Enjoy a Delicious Thanksgiving with Delizoso

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Sue Pascoe

Chef Gianba Vinzoni

Want to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal made by a top chef? Chef Gianba Vinzoni is making that possible.

Delizioso Cinque is offering a new Thanksgiving Dinner Takeout package. This all-inclusive feast features a fully-prepped 10-pound brined turkey along with classic holiday side dishes.

“We know how hectic the holiday season can be, especially for families in the Palisades area who have busy schedules. That’s why we wanted to offer our customers a stress-free Thanksgiving solution,” said Chef Gianba.  “Our dinner takeout provides everything you need for a delicious holiday spread, with no fuss and no mess, so you can focus on enjoying quality time with your loved ones.”

The takeout Thanksgiving Dinner includes:

10-pound Brined Turkey: Seasoned to perfection with herb butter tucked under the skin, and ready to pop in the oven.
String Beans: Perfectly seasoned and crisp green beans.
Mashed Potatoes: Creamy, smooth mashed potatoes in the ultimate comfort side.
Cranberry Sauce (32 oz): A sweet and tart accompaniment to the Thanksgiving feast.

The Thanksgiving Dinner Takeout serves 4 and is priced at $150. Orders can be placed by emailing [email protected] or by calling (424)268-4053. Pre-orders must be placed by Tuesday, November 19. Pickup will be available Tuesday, November 26 between 3 and 5 p.m.

Out of town for Thanksgiving? Good news. Chef Gianba is also available for holiday catering.  Whether it is an intimate dinner party or a large corporate event, Chef Gianba will create a custom menu that will leave a lasting impression.  Click here to contact Chef Gianba’s team.

Posted in Holidays | Leave a comment

CalTrans Supports Castellammare Residents

Posted on November 12, 2024 by Sue Pascoe

The Tramonto landslide closed one lane of traffic between Sunset Boulevard and Porto Marina when the toe of the slide went onto PCH. Caltrans wants the city to remediate and stabilize the upper slope.
Photo: MURRAY LEVY

L.A. City Planning had tentatively approved four large homes to be built on an active landslide on Tramonto in the Castellammare area of Pacific Palisades.

The residents were against the development, not because they didn’t want the homes, but rather out of concern that the landslide needed to be remediated before anything was built on the site.

Councilmember Traci Park held a meeting on October 1 with residents before the project went to the Planning and Land Use Committee. She told residents that the City felt that doing “anything” for the slide is better than doing nothing.

That meeting came to an abrupt halt, when residents found some unexpected backing from Caltrans official, Joon Kang who said, ““We are concerned about this development.”

Now, Caltrans has sent a November 6 letter to the City and the local property owners, requesting a meeting and detailing why the agency was concerned.

“On the weekend of March 9, 2024, following heavy precipitation, a major movement of the existing landslide occurred,” the letter noted. “Caltrans Geotechnical Services (GS) performed an initial site observation and noted that the large landslide movement from within the City of Los Angeles and Private Property Owners’ right of way had pushed slope material, measuring 30 feet by 20 feet by 160 feet, onto Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), a state highway.

“The landslide debris blocked both the northbound PCH right lane and shoulder. Caltrans re-aligned and re-striped PCH in April 2024 through an emergency project,” the letter stated. “This has fully restored two travel lanes in each direction. Motorists are currently being redirected around the toe of the landslide. The landslide debris remains on state right of way.

“The failed slope, which is owned by either the City or by private parties, as well as the resultant landslide debris is encroaching onto state right of way and adversely impacting the safe operation of PCH. Caltrans intends to clean up landslide debris to restore PCH to its original alignment, and to develop a long-term remediation plan to prevent any future slope failures that may impact PCH and public safety.

“Caltrans has concerns that the City Department of Building and Safety is processing permits that would allow private developers to build homes on the upper portion of the currently active Tramonto Drive landslide area.”

The letter said that Caltrans requested a meeting with the City and Private Property Owners (and/or their representatives) to discuss this matter.  The letter was also sent to Senator Ben Allen, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and Councilmember Traci Park.

The lack of remediation on this slide has been an ongoing issue. In 2010, a joint study was done by Caltrans and the City of Los Angeles, which documented the history of the slide and recommended that long-term repairs start from the top of the slide. The cost then to repair it was listed at $25 million. Nothing was done.

 

 

 

Posted in Environmental | 4 Comments

Girl’s Flag Football Comes to 2028 Olympics . . . and Pacific Palisades

Posted on November 12, 2024 by Sue Pascoe

The San Padro Pirates are leading the City Section in girls flag football.

After the Paris Olympics the announcement came that at the L.A. 2028 games, flag football will be played by both men and women.

Flag football for high school girls debuted this past year, and San Pedro is at the top of L.A. City rankings followed by Marshall, Eagle Rock, Birmingham and Garfield.

And Palisades Charter High School? It did not have a team.

Two men, Chuck Price and Tharen Todd are going to bring the sport to Pacific Palisades, starting with two clinics for girls in kindergarten through 8th grade.

The Verdugo team (black uniforms) is ranked sixth in the City Section.

If you have a daughter in kindergarten through 4th grade, an introduction to the sport will be held at the Palisades High School baseball field on Friday, December 6, from 4 to 6 p.m.

If your daughter is in grades five through 8th, that clinic will be held on December 10 from 4 to 6 p.m.

The clinics are two hours long and one can register at www.footballplayedhere.com.

“We’re helping to create a new sport for girls and a new opportunity,” Price said.

He pointed out that there’s a lot of dads out there that love football, “and this will provide a chance to be involved, not only with their daughters, but also with a sport, where they have a lot of passion.”

The father of two adult daughters, Price said that playing football was never an option for them. One daughter kept statistics for her school team, Hamilton, the other started a spirit squad (now cheerleaders) at Windward.

It is hoped the clinics will generate an interest in the Palisades and that balanced leagues could be started in April 2025.

The girls will start from scratch, including learning that when the flag is pulled that is how the play is stopped.

“We’ll teach girls how to catch the ball,” Price said and added that football helps with eye-hand coordination.

Other skills that will be taught are throwing, strategy, speed, athleticism and reading the field. Tharen and Price hope that if the girls stick with it a few years, they’ll realize “I’m good at this.”

And they will be, with two such highly qualified people to lead them to the next level.

Todd, a popular figure in the Palisades has taught fitness classes at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA for 16 years.

Football Coach Todd Tharen will help the beginning league of girls flag football in the Palisades.

For more than a decade, he has been the Calvary Christian School’s football coach for the 8th grade team, overseen fifth through seventh graders and provided afterschool football programs for first through fourth grade. He started Coach Todd’s Football Academy, where he teaches football and athlete fundamentals.

Todd has served as the assistant varsity coach at Venice and at Palisades High and was the head coach for the L.A. Rams Youth football camps.

Price has spent the last 30 years in sports administration and was a certified NFL Agent from 2003-2013. Following that, Chuck spent three years working for UCLA Football Coach, Jim Mora Jr.

After UCLA, Chuck ran the College and Pro Football Division at Mamba Sports Academy (2016-2019). A year later, he served as the Director of Football Administration for the LA Wildcats of the XFL.

For the past three years, he has organized the Bowl High School All Star Game, which has been underwritten by the L.A. Chargers. “Last year it was played at Birmingham,” Price said, and added it pays recognition to L.A. City School players who stay loyal to their district, even though they might be recruited elsewhere.

This year the game will be held at El Camino College on December 20. He was asked by the Chargers, “Can we do a girls flag football game in advance?”

“Yes,” was Price’s answer. This inaugural game is exactly what he wanted, an opportunity for girls to play, too.

Coach Chuck Price with his daughter at a football game.

Posted in Sports | Leave a comment

Veterans Day Celebration Held on Santa Monica Pier

Posted on November 12, 2024 by Sue Pascoe

A Veterans Day celebration was held on the Santa Monica Pier  drawing large crowds.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT

The armistice to end WWI was signed outside Paris at 6 a.m. in the railway carriage of Allied Commander Ferdinand Foch, and the cease-fire took effect five hours later: at “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.”

On November 11, 2024, at 11 a.m. a  Veterans Day event was held at the Santa Monica Pier to honor the men and women who are currently serving in the military and to celebrate those who have served.

The event, which was hosted in collaboration by the Santa Monica Pier, the City of Santa Monica, Post 283 and the U.S. Army had something for everyone, who had gathered for the ceremony. There was a military flyover with Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters from the U.S. Army Reserve and a flyover by the Conor Squadron.

Miss USO Heidi-Marie Ferren sang the National Anthem and God Bless America, accompanied by the 300th Army Band.

Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock welcomed nearly a thousand people who had come to celebrate the day under pleasant temperatures and a sunny sky. “On behalf of my family I appreciate all of you [veterans]. One day is not enough to celebrate all you do. Thank you for serving our great nation.”

SM City Councilmember Gleam Davis said being a mother to a veteran made her a firsthand witness to “the pride that veterans have taken in answering the call to duty” as well as the sacrifices that “come with this calling.”

Four-star General Andrew Poppas was the key-note speaker.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT

Four-star General Andrew Poppas gave the keynote speech. He said he visits this area a lot, because his brother, a filmmaker lives here. He became the 24th commander of United States Army Forces Command, Fort Liberty, N.C.  July 2022, overseeing more than 710,000 soldiers and 13,000 civilians.

“On Veteran Day it is an opportunity to say thank you. And to say thank you to those that take the call,” he said. “U.S. is not a fighting nation: we are a nation of fighters.”

Poppas said that selfless sacrifice of the U.S. Military has become a beacon around the world. “Families are drawn here because of peace and security,” he said. “People see the U.S. as a land of opportunity.”

He explained that “we do not sell war,” but we have the “will to compete and win against all that oppose us.”

Those in the service understand “the commitment, the discipline and the teamwork needed,” Poppas said. “They understand the courage, the sacrifice and the resilience it takes to embrace the mission – even though there are no guarantees.”

Former NFL great Andrew Whitworth spoke about his former roommate, Lee Deal, who he said was his hero.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT

Former NFL All-Pro and Super Bowl Champion Andrew Whitworth spoke. “It is an unbelievable honor to recognize Veterans today.”

He told the audience that “I had an opportunity to win a Super Bowl, and I’ve seen a lot of cool guys do a lot of cool things. They had great success, but they were never my heroes.”

Instead, he said his hero was his roommate at LSU – Lee Deal. His best friend was killed in action in Iraq in 2006, the year Whitworth was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals while serving in the Navy. Deal comes to Whitworth’s mind every time the Star-Spangled Banner plays.

“There wasn’t a single National Anthem that I didn’t stand there with tears in my eyes, realizing that I got to play a kid’s game for my life’s calling because of the sacrifices that he made to give me the opportunity to be safe, to enjoy and to chase my dream, and I will forever see Lee Hamilton Deal as my ultimate hero for that.

The West Point Golden Knight Drill team performed in front of the roller coaster on the Pier.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT

Afterwards, Past 283 Post Commander Jim Cragg told CTN the event “kicked off an American Legion – wide campaign focused on the need to improve public perception of military and veterans from stigmatized to normalized.”

Cragg, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel said, “It’s a two-pronged approach: one effort is through media and entertainment advocacy to educate and improve the way military and veterans are portrayed on screen.

“The other is to encourage American Legionnaires across the country to visit schools to show that they are successful citizens and dispel the myth that all veterans are “broken” emotionally,” Craig said. “Both efforts will hopefully alter society’s view of veterans from stigmatized to normalized.”

Cragg told CTN that “When I gave a Veterans Day talk at Corpus Christi [November 8], one-third of the kids raised their hands saying they didn’t know a veteran.

“That’s scary because that means a huge portion of American knows us only by what they see on the screen.  Realizing that we live in a time societal dichotomies, we need to communicate and educate so American can learn who veterans really are.  And when 80% of Americans say the word they associate with “veteran” is “PTSD,” then we have a lot to discuss.”

Celebrants were treated to a flyover.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT

Posted in Holidays | 2 Comments

Talented Palisades Dancers Make a Mark in the Nutcracker

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Sue Pascoe

Palisades Residents Mila Bakhshandehpour, Clara Ditter, Valentina Finci, Izzy Heidt, Inès Macpherson, Imogen Marble, Carlin McCaffrey, Zoe Nakamura, Laurel O’Donnell, Addison Russell, Kaia Sappington, and Olivia Yu will perform in Westside Ballet’s 51st annual Nutcracker.
Photo: SARAH MADISON PHOTOGRAPHY

This year the Westside Ballet production of the Nutcracker will feature New York City Ballet Principals Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia. Westside Ballet alumna Tiler Peck is the Sugar Plum Fairy and is joined by fellow NYCB principal Roman Mejia as her Cavalier.

The pairing offers an extraordinary display of talent, echoing the spirit of legendary productions at New York City Ballet. As the magic unfolds on stage, Peck and Mejia’s dynamic artistry promises to make this Nutcracker truly unforgettable. Shows will be Sunday, November 30, Sunday, December 1, Friday, December 6, and Saturday and Sunday, December 7 and 8.

Also, dancing are 12 students who live or attend school in Pacific Palisades and include:  fourth grader Imogen Marble, who attends St. Matthews, and Palisades Elementary fifth grader Zoe Nakumura. Both have roles as Polichinelle and a Red Soldier. Marble said one of her favorite parts of the rehearsal process is “I get to spend so much time with friends.”

Ines Macpherson from Crossroads, will be a party boy and a mouse. And fifth grader Carlin McCaffrey of Curtis School will dance as a side angel. She has been with WSB, since she was seven years old.

In addition to dancing, McCaffrey likes fashion designing/sewing, playing the Ukele and writing for her school newspaper. “It’s special to dance at Westside, it makes me feel like I have another home with our dance family,” McCaffrey said. “The teachers all take it seriously, yet know we are still children and help us with baby steps get to where we need to be.”

In duo roles as Crystal Bell and Party Girls are Clara Ditter and Valentina Finci (Revere Middle School) and Izzy Heidt (St. Matthews). Finci said that dancing is important to her because “I learned to practice something until you can understand and learn from it.

“Dancing in the Nutcracker is a special experience because I love performing for audiences and learning the dances,” said Finci, who is in sixth grade and has been dancing three years at the Westside.

Last year she shared the stage with professional dancer Peck and was asked about that experience. “It was the most incredible experience to be able to take the stage with an amazing dancer and inspiration to everyone,” Finci said. “Her dance included things I aspire to able to do and made me think of when I would hopefully be dancing in the Nutcracker as an esteemed professional like her.”

Revere sixth grader Laurel O’Donnell will be a Crystal Bell and a Side Angel. She has been dancing at Westside Ballet since she was seven years old. “I enjoy spending time with my friends and learning new choreography,” O’Donnell said. “I like performing for an audience and dancing with a live orchestra.”  When not dancing, she swims, plays piano, does art and gymnastics, enjoys reading, crafting and sewing.”

Kaia Sappington, who attends St. Martin of Tours, will dance as a Polichinelle and Snow Fairy.

Addison Russel (John Thomas Dye) will dance Side Chinese, as will Olivia Yu (Harvard Westlake).

Mila Bakhshandehpour, 16, will have a solo role as Center Chinese. She will also be part of the Waltz of the Flowers Corps. This dancer is unusual because she started studying ballet when she was 13.

She was also featured in Westside’s Spring Performance last spring in the principal pas de deux in Fête de Carnivale, Classical Symphony’s 3rd movement, a SMC contemporary piece Murmurations, and the jazz piece Dancing through the Ages.

This past summer, Mila received training in selective programs such as the Royal Ballet School, Royal Danish Ballet School and Ballet West Academy.

“I am interested in pursuing ballet and dancing professionally or via a collegiate ballet program,” Mila said. “Dance has become such a pivotal part of my life, and I can’t really see a future without it.

“Ballet has truly helped me grow and develop into the person I am today and learn so much more about myself, my ability to persevere, grow, and improve both as a person and a dancer,” Mila said. “It would genuinely be such a dream come true for me to dance professionally in a company, but I am just excited to see what will come as I can envision myself following numerous paths in the future.”

The Nutcracker will be held at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St, Santa Monica. Tickets are $65 and can be purchased online at westsideballet.com/NutTix

Show Dates and Times:

Saturday, November 30: 1 pm and 5 pm*

Sunday, December 1: 1 pm and 5 pm*

Friday, December 6: 7 pm

Saturday, December 7: 1 pm and 5 pm*

Sunday, December 8: 1 pm and 5 pm*

(*Dance professionals, who are also New York City Ballet Principals, Tiler Peck & Roman Mejia will performing.)

Palisadian Mila Bakhshandehpour has a solo in this year’s                                                                                Photo: ANNE SLATTERY

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