Over the last 28 years, Stillpoint's annual Nutcracker Ballet has become an integral part of the Southern Oregon holiday experience. Audience members of all ages flock to the Grants Pass Performing Arts Center to drink in the powerful dancing, whimsical storytelling, brightly colored set pieces and exquisite costumes. This year, with COVID hovering and the Grants Pass Performing Arts Center unavailable, the creative team of Penny King and Jocelyn Vodovoz- Schmidt envisioned a movie version and enlisted the talents of Josh Kennedy Film and Photo. The production was awarded a generous grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust, and our beautiful filming location is thanks to a partnership with Pacifica: A Garden in the Siskiyous. This year's cast features 17-year-old Helena Ghekiere from the San Pedro City Ballet as Clara, dancing alongside David Schmidt as the Prince, Bruce Allen as Drosselmeyer, Elizabeth Hankins as Fritzi, Ashlyn Mosier as the Rat Queen, and Andrew and Joanna Pitzak as Papa and Mama. Other guest artists are Alexa Baksay, a Grants Pass native who is completing her her preprofessional training through Pacific Northwest Ballet School and with Vodovoz-Schmidt, as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Finnian Carmeci of Medford, who is on loan to us for this production from American Ballet Theater's Studio Company in New York City, as the Cavalier. Head of Stillpoint Productions and local ballet teacher Penny King joins the cast this year as Aunt Ada and Mother Ginger. Other featured roles are filled by many of Southern Oregon's finest young dancers and actors, including Bella Martinez, Ashlyn Mosier, Sierra Geohring, Lily Pitzak, Elijah Doane, and Regan Roberts.