Nutcracker Suite to honor Park City philanthropist Peggy Bergmann

Peggy Bergmann, whose philanthropy made the Ballet West Academy Park City Campus possible, died Aug. 23, 2025. This year's Nutcracker Suite performance is dedicated to her memory and lasting impact on arts education. Photo: Ballet West

PARK CITY, Utah — The Frederick Quinney Lawson Ballet West Academy’s Peggy Bergmann Park City Campus will present The Nutcracker Suite on Dec. 13 at the Eccles Center, with performances at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

This year’s production honors Peggy Bergmann, the philanthropist whose donations established the academy’s Park City campus. Bergmann died Aug. 23, 2025.

“Her belief in the power of dance education has created opportunities for hundreds of young artists to pursue their dreams,” said Adam Sklute, artistic director for Ballet West. “This Nutcracker Suite performance is a beautiful tribute to her lasting impact on the community.”

Students from the Park City campus will perform alongside guest dancers from the academy’s downtown Trainee Division. Jordan DeBona, Ballet West’s senior manager of student life and summer intensives, will perform as Drosselmeyer. Four parents of Park City students — Olga Di Stefano, Dan Aronson, Polly Choque-Mendoza, and Adan Mendoza — will dance as Party Parents.

“As a ballerina who has an aspiration to become a professional, there is nothing like your first experience in The Nutcracker, especially in the most famous roles, like Clara or the Sugar Plum Fairy,” said Allison DeBona, principal of the Park City campus. “To be able to coach these dancers through some of the most difficult choreography there is to dance is beautiful and inspiring.”

Tickets cost $5 for children 11 and younger and $18 for general admission. Tickets are available at balletwest.org.

The Eccles Center is located at 1750 Kearns Blvd. in Park City.

Ballet West, led by Sklute since 2007, operates four academy campuses serving more than 1,000 students. The company’s outreach and education programs reach over 152,000 children and adults in Utah and the Intermountain region each year.