The Nutcracker

Round Top Festival Institute will present Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic ballet, The Nutcracker for the 15th year on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023 at 4 p.m. This year’s performance will be something special!

Have you ever wondered what it takes to put on a large scale ballet like “The Nutcracker”? It takes many people doing different jobs to make it happen…and sometimes things go awry! Ovation Ballet Company, resident youth ballet company at Dancers Workshop in Austin, had an interesting thing happen. Just as rehearsals for the production were about to begin, the professional male dancer, under contract to perform the role of the Nutcracker Prince, suddenly backed out! How do you present The Nutcracker without a Nutcracker Prince?

What could have created a disaster causing the cancellation of the ballet has miraculously turned into a wonderful reunion!

A junior at Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park, Risa Riojas, was cast as the Sugar Plum Fairy. The directors went to her with the disappointing news that the Prince had bailed out. Not to be stopped from performing the coveted role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Risa began to think about who might be able to fill the role of Prince. Male ballet dancers are few and far between. And all the good ones have already committed to performing in other productions. Risa’s first thought was of her dance friend, Gavin Warfield, also a high school junior. Gavin lives in Sugar Land with his family and attends Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Risa and Gavin met last summer in Orlando, Fla. at a dance convention. Unbeknownst to Gavin, Risa had watched him since they were both competing in the “mini” division (age 8) at numerous dance conventions. Highly skilled and always popular with the judges, both Risa and Gavin gained great success in the competition dance world. Both young dancers have been tapped as members of the 2023-24 Streetz Company. Streetz is a competition that they both attend. Additionally, Risa attends Hollywood Vibe and Gavin attends Tremaine Dance Conventions. Both study many forms of dance, not just ballet. Both aspire for professional careers as dancers. Both Risa and Gavin come from dancing families.

Risa’s mother was a dancer and became a teacher of dance. Risa’s mother, Robyn, was her very first dance teacher! It was Robyn who inspired Risa to become a dancer. Risa’s dance training began at age 3. She now trains 20 hours per week and dances with her high school dance team, Ovation Ballet Company and Creative Culture Dance Company.

In Gavin’s case, the entire family dances – mostly hip hop and jazz dance – and not at the professional level, but the family keeps their groove going! Gavin was inspired to start dancing by his sister, KeVhana. The siblings trained at the same studio, The Dance Zone in Stafford. Sadly, KeVhana, 10 years older than Gavin, passed away unexpectedly last April due to complications from diabetes. She was very beautiful, happy, popular and full of life. A graduate of UT San Antonio, she was a former Miss Teen Pearland and competed in the Miss Teen Texas pageant. Losing KeVahna came as a blow to Gavin and his entire family. Determined to carry on with his dancing and hopes for a career as a dancer, Gavin continued training and competing.

Shortly after Risa contacted Gavin asking if he might be able to perform with her, she received a text back that said, “I’m your Prince!” Now, how to figure out a schedule that would get Gavin from Sugar Land to Austin to rehearse with Risa and the cast of 67 other dancers? Happily, there have been several weekends that Gavin has been able to rehearse in Austin with Risa and the company. The ballet production has been saved! Risa and Gavin have put in many hours of rehearsal together in order to present the best possible performance! This production should not be missed. It will be fun to see Gavin, over 6’ tall, partner Risa, a very petite ballet dancer! Ovation’s artistic staff includes Kristi Stere, Julia Dzubinski, Taylor Woolums and Lily Collier. This year’s cast includes dancers ranging from 3rd grade through high school along with two male guest dancers. Aspen Dzubinski, 9th grader, will perform the role of Clara. It is Clara’s dream that makes the ballet very special. The dancer must exhibit acting skills, as well as strong ballet technique, in order to tell the story without using words. New to the production this year, Brendan Rodriguez, Austin actor and acrobatic instructor at Dancers Workshop, will dance the role of Herr Drosselmeyer and Arabian. Nikolay Korygin will design the lighting. His creative design greatly enhances the scope of the production.

This memorable story ballet has something for everyone dancing party guests, menacing rats, soldiers brandishing candy canes, graceful snowflakes, the handsome Nutcracker Prince and, the most famous holiday favorite, the Sugar Plum Fairy. A new tutu for the Sugar Plum Fairy, designed and constructed by Kristi Stere, will grace the stage for the first time!

Please remember that this event usually sells out before the day of the performance. Tickets are available at

or by calling the Round Top Festival Institute office at (979) 249-3129. All seating is general admission. Doors open at 3 p.m. Reserved handicapped seating is available by calling the office. Special discount pricing is available to groups of 20 or more. This ballet performance, danced by children for children of any age, will kick off your holiday season with the joy of dance! Do not miss this beautiful holiday event!