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Ron Cunningham by jeff hudson A quarter century at the helm, through sometimes turbulent times. That’s the thumbnail description of artistic director Ron Cunningham’s tenure with the Sacramento Ballet. He came onboard in 1988—a heady year. Right around the same time Cunningham began laying out his plans to grow his company, actor/producer Tim Busfield was setting up the B Street Theatre; the long-established Music Circus series of locally-produced summer musicals sprouted Broadway Sacramento (hosting touring shows) and a certain basketball team moved into a hastily constructed ARCO Arena. Cunningham is now the longest serving artistic director with any of Sacramento’s arts organizations— and early on, he started sharing those duties with his spouse Carinne Binda. (If you visit Sac Ballet’s studios, you will quickly observe that they really do function as a team—but Ron generally takes the lead with the public.) One thing for sure: Cunningham appreciates Shakespeare (ordinarily thought of as a “word guy”). Cunningham’s choreographed Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet and The Tempest (which premiered at the Mondavi Center in fall 2002). He’s also likes American material, like A Streetcar Named Desire (also performed at the Mondavi Center), and his big project this year—an original ballet based on The Great Gatsby. I fondly recall Cunningham’s ballet in 2007 based on Tamsen Donner, a member of the ill-fated Donner Party. (Cunningham told me that he got the idea when he drove past Donner Lake on his way from Boston to Sacramento in 1988; he researched further listening the idea and considered for years before bringing the piece to fruition.) All the while, Sacramento Ballet has staged classics by the likes of Balanchine, and newer works by contemporary choreographers. Cunningham also added sparkle Sac Ballet’s Nutcracker, with lovely scrims and backdrops commissioned from Russian artists in St. Petersburg. Directing 25 years of Nutcracker productions—including, over the years, literally thousands of Sacramento area youngsters— have made Cunningham into an expert on child psychology. He’s learned that it’s best when he introduces the big mouse costumes (worn by adult male dancers) g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y, so that the younger kids aren’t shocked to find themselves standing next to a seven-foot-tall dancing rodent. Along the way, Sac Ballet has kindled a love of dance in the hearts of countless youngsters (and their parents, too), even as the company survived two sharp downturns in regional company, among other adversities. It’s really quite a record of artistic leadership and community connectivity— no small accomplishment. Jeff Hudson contributes coverage of the performing arts to Capital Public Radio, the Davis Enterprise and Sacramento News and Review. original cast of Billy Elliot the Musical and performed on Broadway in Hairspray and Aida. The New York Times wrote “Moultrie moves his dancers around the stage with remarkable authority[and]… is obviously someone to watch.” Darrellgrandmoultrie.com. Nicole Haskins (choreographer), a former company dancer with the Sacramento Ballet, has danced in George Balanchine’s Four Temperments (Melancholic), Scotch Symphony (Scotch Girl), Concerto Barocco, Allego Brilliante, Serenade and Donizetti Variations, Ron Cunningham’s Alice in Wonderland, Etosha, Carmina Burana and The Nutcracker (Rose, Lead Marzipan, Solo Candy Cane), Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty (Fairy of Happiness, Pas de Cinq), Septime Webre’s Fluctuating Hemlines, David Lichine’s Graduation Ball (Fouette Competition) and Amy Seiwart’s end quote. She has danced in premieres by John Selya, Sidra Bell and Ron de Jesus. Haskins received her training from the Westside School of Ballet under the direction of Yvonne Mounsey, where she was a recipient of the Rosemary Valaire Scholarship and was a 2004 Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award winner. Haskin’s choreography has been chosen three times for the McCallum Theater’s Dancing Under the Stars Choreographic Competition, and this year she has been selected for the prestigious New York Choreographic Institute. She is currently in her first season dancing with the Washington Ballet. Stefan Calka (choreographer) is a graduate of Indiana University, where he trained with the legendary Violette Verdy. There he performed the roles of the Cavalier in The Nutcracker and Siegfried in Swan Lake. In his eighth season with the Sacramento Ballet, he has danced numerous principal roles including Romeo and Juliet (Romeo), The Sleeping Beauty (Prince Desire), Ron Cunningham’s Bolero, Carmina Burana (Beige Couple), and he created the role of Jonathan Harker in Dracula as well as dancing the title role. Calka has also danced principal roles in the works of George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Trey McIntyre, Lila York, Septime Webre, Amy Seiwert, Mathew Neenan, Darrell Grand Moultrie and Edwaard Liang to name a few. He has toured China with John Clifford’s production of Casablanca and assisted him in staging Balanchine ballets for the Kirov and Bolshoi Ballets. MondaviArts.org | 29
Thank you to our Faculty Anderson Family Catering & BBQ Our name has become synonymous with great food, service and attention to detail. It is our privilege at the Mondavi Center to draw on the expertise of our great UC Davis faculty. Through engagement activities, such as Pre-Performance Talks and post-performance Q&A’s, faculty members help audiences achieve a richer understanding of Mondavi Center performances. We gratefully acknowledge the work of the following faculty who graciously participated in audience engagement activities during the 2012–13 season: PPT Contact us today at andersonfamilycatering.com for a quote. Pre-Performance Talk Speaker: Jeremy Ganter • Elizabeth Constable Associate Professor, Women and Gender Studies, UC Davis • Jaimey Fisher Associate Professor of German and Cinema and Technocultural Studies Program Director, Cinema and Technocultural Studies, UC Davis • Sarah Geller Ph.D. Candidate in Ethnomusicology, UC Davis Department of Music • Milmon F. Harrison Associate Professor, African American & African Studies, UC Davis • David A. Hawkins Professor of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, College of Biological Science, UC Davis • Carol Hess Professor of Musicology, Department of Music, UC Davis • Enrique Lavernia UC Davis Dean of the College of Engineering • Katherine In-Young Lee Assistant Professor, Ethnomusicology, UC Davis Department of Music • Nita Little Performance Studies doctorial candidate, Department of Theatre and Dance, UC Davis • Sam Nichols Lecturer, Department of Music, UC Davis • Lorena Oropeza Associate Professor, Department of History, UC Davis • Sudipta Sen Professor, Department of History, UC Davis • Henry Spiller, Chair, UC Davis Department of Music Jeremy Ganter became the associate executive director & director of programming at the Mondavi Center, UC Davis in September 2006, after serving as the artistic administrator and then director of programming for five years. Ganter oversees the programming and implementation of each Mondavi Center season and recently directed the development of the Mondavi Center’s 10th anniversary celebration for its 2012–13 season. He has also recently led Mondavi Center staff in the development and implementation of several programs focused on developing young talent, including the expansion of the Mondavi Center’s Young Artists Competition, the Mondavi Center SFJAZZ High School All-Stars and an arts administration internship for UC Davis students (“Aggie Arts”). Ganter is on the Board of Directors of the Western Arts Alliance (WAA), serves as the chair of the WAA Professional Development and Membership Committees and served several terms on the board of California Presenters, both as a director and as treasurer. Prior to coming to UC Davis, Ganter worked as a professional guitarist and as a campaign and legislative staffer for the New York State Assembly. He lives in Davis with his wife Allison and their two sons. 30 | Mondavi Center Presents Program Issue 9: APR–may 2013
Page 1 and 2: ISSUE Issue 7: 9: MAR AprIl/MAy 201
Page 3 and 4: 10th Anniversary Season sponsors Co
Page 5 and 6: an exclusive wine tasting experienc
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Page 9 and 10: Moldenhauer, in their biography of
Page 11 and 12: Anakreon’s Grab (“Anacreon’s
Page 13 and 14: ich weiss es wahrlich selber nicht.
Page 15 and 16: Indeed, it was early exposure to ch
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Page 19 and 20: Alvin Ailey, Founder Judith Jamison
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Page 25 and 26: has performed with Lula Washington
Page 27 and 28: SACRAMENTO BALLET AN EVENING OF SOL
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Page 33 and 34: Variation 16. Ouverture a 1 Clav. V
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Page 43 and 44: Madonna Der kranke Mond (“The Sic
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Page 55 and 56: Michele Tracy and Dr. Michael Goodm
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PROGRAM - Mondavi Center

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