It would be nice if the 28 second-grade girls who were Nutcracker Sugarplums this year grew up to be professional ballerinas — or patrons of the art.
Still, if all that happens is that they take in a performance 20 years hence with children of their own, members of the Colorado Ballet Auxiliary will be happy because they’ve achieved their goal of building future audiences — one person at a time.
Chaired by Aimee Caplis and Stacy McHugh, the family-oriented fundraiser unfolds over the course of a year, and culminates with a black- tie dinner at the Brown Palace Hotel the night before the Sugarplums are introduced to the opening night audience of “The Nutcracker” at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
Ronette Hall and Jill Hibbeln were in charge of planning the dinner, which included a magic show and the traditional presentation of Nutcracker figurines.
Guests included the program’s founder, Anna Bates; Colorado Ballet’s artistic director, Gil Boggs; Denise Sanderson, chair of the board of trustees; auxiliary co-presidents Kim Reifsnider and Susan McCann; and principal dancer Chandra Kukendall.
Dr. Toby Cole introduced the Sugarplums of 2009 and their parents:
Annabel June Benes, Katrina and Craig Benes of Denver; Caroline Grace Burke-Dullinger, Shannon and Rodney Burke, Marcy and Kelly Green and Ron Dullinger, all of Denver; Paige Karol Cherubini, Maggie and Adam Cherubini of Denver; Anderson LaCille Dodge, Allison and Bruce Dodge of Greenwood Village; Ella Catherine Dunkin, Karrie and Doug Dunkin of Englewood; Jordan Nicole Fisher, Amy and Scott Fisher of Greenwood Village; Isabelle Rae Ford, Michelle and Michael Ford of Aurora; Anna Fucarino, Courtney and Peter Fucarino of Denver.
Lillian Elizabeth Gaechter, Carolyn and Phillip Gaechter of Denver; Courtney Hancock, Cathleen and Mark Hancock of Cherry Hills Village; Charlotte Anne Hillary, Anne and James Hillary of Cherry Hills Village; Jordyn Anne Jentz, Martha and Soctt Jentz of Greenwood Village; Emilie Goerig Jones, Kim and Billy Jones of Greenwood Village; Marie Wilkes Jordaan, Ashley and Hendrik Jordaan of Cherry Hills Village; Alexis Elaine Linafelter, Stephanie and Rod Linafelter of Cherry Hills Village.
Taylor Elizabeth Lucero, Lori Lynn and Shane Lucero of Greenwood Village; Madelynn Jane McDonald, Nikki Withrow and Matt McDonald of Cherry Hills Village; Molly Faye Miller, Kathy and Merlin Miller of Cherry Hills Village; Vidhya Kapur Pathy, Vatsala and Arun Pathy of Denver; Ellen Elizabeth Possehl, Sarah and Bob Possehl of Cherry Hills Village; Alexandra Resnick, Sara and Eric Resnick of Cherry Hills Village; Grace Schmitt, Tina and Jeff Schmidt of Cherry Hills Village.
Hayden Pierce Schwartz, Dr. Evan Schwartz and the late Tracy Schwartz of Denver; Emery Gabrielle Scott, Michelle and Don Scott of Denver; Olivia Penn Stafford, Laura and William Stafford of Littleton; Eleanor Laurel Sullivan, Lynn and Michael Sullivan of Denver; Margaret Vogelpohl, Jenifer and Bill Vogelpohl of Cherry Hills Village; and Abigail Jean Wilkinson, Jana and Brian Wilkinson of Cherry Hills Village.
For more about the honorees, and who attended the ball, take a look at my Seen First blog: blogs.denver .
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com
How sweet it is
One sure sign that the holiday season has arrived is the abundance of “Nutcracker” performances by area ballet companies. Colorado Ballet Auxiliary makes the tradition a bit sweeter with its Nutcracker Sugarplums program, an audience-building effort focused on second-grade girls and their families. Joanne Davidson has more about the 28 honorees — and the Sugarplum Ball held in their honor — in her Inside Line column, above.
Everyone’s a star
Cocktails & Karaoke is the official name, but a good subtitle for the food-and- song fest chaired by Dana Pluss Parks and Brian Parks might be “Songs in the Key of Life.” And not just because selections from Stevie Wonder’s 1976 album were among those chosen by the folks brave enough to get up and sing like their lives depended on it. The event held at the Curtis Hotel helps support the K-8 curriculum at Kunsberg School on the National Jewish Health campus in Denver, whose students face daily medical challenges brought by such chronic diseases as asthma, diabetes and cystic fibrosis.
