A successful community production <P><B>Performers take center stage in fairy-tale world of 'Nutcracker'</B><BR>By CHRIS PAGE in The Bakersfield Californian <P><BR>Every year around September, as the weather begins to cool and summer vacation slips away, young adults like Alyse Keyser and Geoffrey Kropp know it's time to get focused.<P>Yeah, school's starting, sure, but there's something more pressing:<P>"Everyone gets into 'Nutcracker' mode," Kropp, 16, said.<P>What follows are nerve-wracking tryouts, weeks of rehearsals, scrambling for costumes and a heaping dose of camaraderie among more than 100 Bakersfield children, teen-agers and adults -- all gearing up for a quick weekend, like this one, of "The Nutcracker" ballet performances at the Bakersfield Convention Center.<P><A HREF="http://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/story/738516p-786385c.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

This is interesting. I never realized that Bakersfield had a dance center. I have gone through this city just about every year for 35 yrs and the only thing I have ever had there is a flat tire.<P>I will have to check this out next time I go through the town.