Professional Artists to Portray Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier in Western Arkansas Ballet’s Production of The Nutcracker
Western Arkansas Ballet announces their Guest Artists for the 38th Annual performance of The Nutcracker. Taylor Sambola and Arcadian Broad of New Orleans, Louisiana join the cast as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier. The Sugar Plum Fairy, the benevolent ruler of the Kingdom of Sweets, greets Clara and the Nutcracker Prince upon their entry during Act II of the ballet. She and her Cavalier perform a pas de deux called “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”.
Taylor Sambola is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana and has studied at The School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre New York, Ellison Ballet, Miami City Ballet, The Rock School, Houston Ballet and Orlando Ballet. Taylor joined Orlando Ballet 2 for the 2014/2015 season under the direction of Robert Hill and Dierdre Miles Burger. She continued as a second company member for two years before being promoted to company apprentice in 2016. Taylor danced with the Orlando Ballet main company for four seasons. Taylor joined the Sarasota Ballet as Corps de Ballet member in 2021. She has performed both legendary and cutting edge repertoire including; Balanchine’s “Serenade”, Sir Wright’s “Giselle”, Val Caniparoli’s “A Cinderella Story”, Jessica Lang’s “To Familiar Spaces in Dream” and Arcadian Broad’s “WonderLand: Mad Tales of the Hatter” and “Beauty & the Beast”. Ms. Sambola is a certified Pilates Instructor since 2011. She was one of the youngest to receive her certification in NYC. She has always had a love for Pilates but, a terrible injury brought her even closer. Now she truly expresses the importance of Pilates for dancers.
Arcadian Broad is from Titusville, Florida and began dancing at 10 years old. He trained at the Orlando Ballet summer program and then went on to train at the Julliard School in New York City. At age 16, Arcadian was hired as a professional company dancer with Orlando Ballet. Under the direction of Robert Hill he became the youngest hire in the company to date. In 2019, Arcadian joined the Cincinnati Ballet. In 2021, he joined the Sarasota Ballet as a Demi-Soloist and was promoted to Soloist the following season. He has performed numerous principal roles in ballets including: “Romeo & Juliet”, “Don Quixote”, “Coppelia” “Swan Lake”, “The Firebird”, Michael Pink’s “Dracula”, Van Caniparoli’s “A Cinderella Story”, Twyla Tharp’s “Sinatra Suite”, Jerome Robbins’ “Fancy Free”, Septime Webre’s “Wizard of Oz”, and Sir Kenneth Macmillan’s “Elite Syncopations”. As choreographer and composer Arcadian created and premiered over 30 works, including two full length ballets: “Beauty & the Beast” and “WonderLand: Mad Tales of the Hatter”. His choreography has been performed by Orlando Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, Danceworks Chicago and seen on television and streaming channels. Arcadian was a Top 10 finisher on America’s Got Talent and has appeared on The Ellen Show and So You Think You Can Dance. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and experiences with the next generation via summer programs and masterclasses all around the country.
See these talented dancers and a cast of over 125 local children and adults perform in The Nutcracker Saturday, December 16 at 7:00 PM and Sunday, December 17 at 2:00 PM. Performances take place at the ArcBest Corporation Performing Arts Center at 55 South 7th Street, Fort Smith. Tickets are available for purchase at www.waballet.org. Adult tickets are available for $30. Child and student tickets (with a valid student ID) are available for $20. Please call 479.785.0152 for more information.
