Many young girls want to be ballerinas, and for most, the Nutcracker is their first big show. For the ones who stick with it long enough to become a professionals, it’s the ballet they are likely to have appeared in more often than any other. The world of bunheads is filled with a lot of hard work and, as evidenced by the girls in these photos, a lot of happiness. Herewith some very happy looking faces on a few of those who will be appearing in Santa Barbara Festival Ballet’s annual performances of Tchaikovsky’s perennial celebration of Christmas.
