Tradition is a large part of the holidays for most families. My parents were both ballet dancers and our December holiday revolved around performances of the Nutcracker. I have carried on that tradition in Sierra Nevada Ballet with performances of the Peanutcracker-The Story In A Nutshell which I created especially for families with young children and which SNB has performed annually in Carson City and Reno for the past 20 years.
Peanutcracker has become part of our community, and it is especially inspiring to watch young people grow up dancing within this annual tradition as it is passed down from generation to generation.
Anthony McMenamy is one of those young people. Anthony was born in Carson City and first became interested in dance at age seven when one of his school friends asked him to join in a Boys Hip Hop class at Western Nevada Performing Arts Center in Carson City (an affiliated school of SNB). Anthony immediately loved the musical movement and decided to also try tap dancing.
By age nine, Anthony was “hooked on dance” and began taking a variety of classes including Hip Hop, Tap, Jazz, and Ballet.
Eventually, Anthony increased his ballet classes. “As I grew up I began to appreciate ballet more and more. It is demanding and athletic and requires a lot of hard work.” Anthony said.
McMenamy showed an aptitude for ballet, and I was very pleased when he decided to audition for Peanutcracker. He was first cast as a little boy in the Party Scene and did such a good job that the following year I cast him in the featured child’s role of “Frtiz”, the naughty brother of Clara who tries to break her Nutcracker.
Anthony feels that Peanutcracker made him want to continue dancing: “ Seeing the older professional dancers inspired me and made me want to achieve more and more and continue training so that I could be like them.”
Knowing that there is a lack of ballet education in the US, which contributes to the myth that ballet is “for girls”, I asked Anthony if he ever felt uncomfortable telling his friends that he studied ballet: “I never had a gender issue because I learned at an early age that ballet is a very difficult athletic art form and very suited to men.”
Anthony has always been comfortable dancing and attributes that in part to growing up within the popular musical theater scene in Carson City. “ I had no problem inviting my friends to see me perform. Dance is pretty popular in Carson City, especially through the Western Nevada Musical Theater company productions.”
By age 16, Anthony was cast as the Nutcracker Prince in SNB’s Peanutcracker and was hoping to continue on toward a ballet career upon graduation from high school.
Ballet takes extreme dedication and constant training to improve athletically, technically, and artistically and Anthony found that moving to Reno and juggling several teaching jobs (in dance) and attending UNR made it difficult for him to pursue a ballet career for a time and he decided to take a year off from training.
The COVID experience made Anthony revisit pursuing a ballet career. “I realized that I really missed ballet.” He said. He attended SNB’s summer production of Giselle and came backstage to ask me if he could come back to SNB.
Anthony officially joined the SNB professional company in September 2021 as a “featured corps” dancer and performed in this year’s production of Peanutcracker in the roles of the Military Doll, the Rat King, and the Spanish Prince.
McMenamy is happy to be dancing: “It feels really good to be a part of SNB again.”
He shares his love of dance with others by both performing with SNB and teaching on staff at several dance schools in Reno and Carson City: “I am very lucky that my friends and family have always been very supportive of my love of dance and I want to share the joy of dance with others. It has been a great experience to be able to grow up dancing.”
Anthony McMenamy will be featured in 2022 in SNB’s upcoming productions of Brew, Brats and Ballet, Swan Lake, and Dancing By The River.
For information about the SNB company performances and the SNB Academy classes call 775-360-8663 or visit www.sierranevadaballet.org.
Alexander Cain Biber (Principal Dancer/ Ballet Master/ Choreographer in Residence/Teacher) grew up in a performing arts family and has loved theater and performing from an early age. He began his ballet training, at the age of 14, with Rosine Bena at Western Nevada Performing Arts Center – studying ballet, jazz, tap, and musical theater. In 2003, Alexander became an apprentice with Sierra Nevada Ballet and was promoted to the first company in 2006, to soloist in 2008, and to Principal in 2012.
Jennifer Lightfoot-Johnson (Grant Writer and Development Consultant) comes to SNB with 16 years of experience, both professionally and as a volunteer, in grant writing and working in the nonprofit sector.
Jennifer Boyle August (Guest Teacher/Choreographer) discovered her love of dance in Reno, Nev. During her time at Reno High School, Jennifer took a Modern class at TMCC, with instruction in Graham, Luigi, and Horton dance technique. While Jennifer was educated in other areas of dance, she felt these styles spoke to her more than anything else. After graduating from Reno High School, she moved to Boston to study dance with Joan Palladino at Dean College where she received her Associate’s Degree in Dance. She was then hand-selected by Judith Jamison to study at Alvin Ailey Summer Dance Intensive program in New York City.
Sara Weir (Demi Soloist) was born in Provo, Utah, and started ballet at age three. She trained in dance with Trisha Wilstead at Rocky Mountain Dance and then trained with Brittany Squires and Heather Gray at Jaquiline’s School of Ballet. She performed professionally with Showcase and Theater Ballet at Brigham Young University, Utah Regional Ballet, and Sacramento Ballet.
Carlee Bertero (Soloist/ Teacher) was born in northern Nevada and began studying dance at an early age at Fascinating Rhythm School of Performing Arts in Reno. Carlee was invited to join the Sierra Nevada Ballet Apprentice program in 2012; was raised to the first company in 2013; to featured corps member in 2016, to Demi-Soloist in 2017, and to Soloist in 2021. She has performed in many SNB story ballets such as Peanutcracker-The Story In A Nutshell, Giselle, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty-A Fairy’s Tale, A Midsummer Nights Dream- A Steam Punk Ballet, and Twelfth Night-A Ballet Noir. She has performed as a featured dancer with SNB annually in Dancing By The River as part of Reno’s Artown Festival and in SNB’s annual Brew Brats and Ballet in Reno and Carson City.
Domingo Rubio (Second Permanent Guest Artist/Guest Teacher) is SNB’s second Permanent Guest Artist as of May 2005. He has danced professionally for some 30 years. Domingo has danced with the Joffrey Ballet and Ballet Hispanico and was featured in the Robert Altman film, The Company. Rubio danced the role of Maxfield Parrish in SNB’s, A Painter’s Love Story and is a featured artist in SNB’s Dancing By the River and annual ballet classics.
Sam Weber (First Permanent Guest Artist/ Guest Teacher) is SNB’s first Permanent Guest Artist and is a founding member of the Company. He was one of the first permanent guest artists of The Reno Ballet under the direction of Rosine Bena. Weber danced with the Joffery Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and The Jazz Tap Ensemble. Besides being a fine ballet dancer, Weber is considered one of the greatest tap dancers in the world. He is known as “the fastest feet in tap.”
Gina Nelson (SNB Company Coordinator for Carson City and SNB Board Member) is originally from Napa Valley, Calif., and a long-time supporter of the arts and arts education. Gina worked as a crisis prevention specialist in a day treatment elementary school and was a counselor/teacher in a non-public school for at-risk boys.
Steven M. Porter (SNB Board President/SNB CEO) is a long-time devotee of the arts. Originally from the East Coast, Steve was raised with love and devotion to all the arts.
Cathy Mercer (SNB Company Coordinator for Reno/Managing Director/Board Member) grew up in Carson City and is a former dancer with a long-time devotion to the art form.
Ananda Bena-Weber (Associate Director, Dance Artist/ Ballerina/Principal/Teacher) is a principal dancer and NY award-winning artist and the Associate Director of the Sierra Nevada Ballet and a founding member. She has danced professionally as a soloist with the Reno Ballet when it was formed in 1994/95 and 1996. She danced with Perspectives Dance Theatre and Fascinating Rhythm Productions. She has appeared as a featured soloist with Sam Weber performing in Morton Gould’s “Concerto for Tap Dancer and Orchestra” throughout the SF Bay Area. She has appeared in principal roles in several original dance works such as Take Me To The River and Blue Rondo, and classics such as Les Sylphides, Romeo and Juliet, and Paquita.
Rosine Bena (Founder and Artistic Director/Master Teacher)
Sophia Riella (Trainee) was born in Truckee, Calif. She started ballet at the age of two with Sherrie Petersen, Sierra Ballet School and continued there for six years while also studying Irish and Scottish Dance with Lindsey Marccaci in Lake Tahoe and at Truckee Dance Factory doing competition dance. She has also studied classical music, composing, and piano with Elaine Courtney and has studied voice with Stephanie McMoy.
Erin Garman (First Year Company) began dancing at the age of 12 at Scene Stealers Theatre Arts where she trained in jazz, tap, lyrical, musical theatre, and ballet. She later began training with Fascinating Rhythm School of Performing Arts where she continued training in many styles and at Sierra Nevada Ballet Academy where she first met Rosine Bena, and started getting more serious about ballet, also dancing with Spiral Ballet.
Maya Macias (Trainee) was born in Houston, Texas into a military family. While her family was stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, at age two and a half years old, Maya began studying dance at the Children’s Ballet Theater because she wanted to go to “ballerina school. “ Maya continued her ballet training at Space Coast Ballet and when she was six years old, she began performing with Space Coast Ballet in the Nutcracker.
Olivia Mann (SNB Summer Demi Soloist) began studying at the age of four at Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, and the Dallas Ballet Center and later trained at Booker T. Washington for the Performing and Visual Arts.
Heather Rodriguez (Trainee) started dancing at nine years old in Corpus Christi, Texas. She continued studying Ballet, Contemporary, and Jazz throughout her childhood with Corpus Christi Concert Ballet.