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San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker celebrates big milestones this season

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San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker celebrates big milestones this season


It’s a magical and beloved holiday tradition that’s uniquely San Francisco – The San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker.

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This year, the production is marking big milestones at the War Memorial Opera House.

The San Francisco Ballet performed the first Nutcracker in the United States in 1944. This year, the company is celebrating its 80th anniversary.

“My family has this term called ‘nerv-cited,’ it’s a mix between nervous and excited… so I’m feeling nerve cited,” said 12-year-old Stella Sieck.

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Sieck performs as a butterfly in the Nutcracker this season. Dancers have been rehearsing for the production since October.

This holiday season, the company is marking its 20th year of Helgi Tomasson’s Nutcracker. The former artistic director set this production in San Francisco, inspired by the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a world’s fair held in 1915.

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Tomasson led the San Francisco Ballet for 37 years. The Nutcracker is his tribute to San Francisco.

“It means so much to the city, and the audience, how they bring their children and their grandchildren, and it has become a real tradition, and they have taken ownership of this Nutcracker, and I’m very proud of that,” Tomasson said.

Grace Maduell Holmes first danced in SF Ballet’s Nutcracker in 1979, performing in upwards of 350 holiday shows. Today, she serves as the San Francisco Ballet School Director.

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“I hope that they’re not just enjoying their time on the stage as performers but also having a look at the teamwork that it takes to put on a production of this professional level,” she said. “I think it’s so important for these students to see that it’s not just about class, it’s not just about performance, but it takes a huge group of people to put something on like this.”

KTVU was there as Stella prepared to go on stage. She normally trains six to seven days a week throughout the year, and hopes to join the company one day.

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“It’s just an honor and I’m so grateful to be in a production like this one, and there’s so many amazing dancers,” said Sieck. I’m standing here, an incredible dancer stood here before me.”

“We make people happy. I love making people happy because I know when I dance, I’m bringing joy to other people,” she added.

This season, the San Francisco Ballet will hold more Nutcracker shows than ever. The final day of performances is December 29.

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San Francisco man who sexually assaulted relatives gets 25-year prison sentence

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San Francisco man who sexually assaulted relatives gets 25-year prison sentence



A San Francisco man convicted of sexually assaulting two of his relatives was sentenced to a lengthy prison term, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said in a press release that a judge sentenced Sergio Alvarado, 60, to a total of 25 years and four months in state prison following his convictions.

A jury found Alvarado guilty of three counts of forcible rape and one count of forcible oral copulation for crimes that happened in 2014. He was also convicted of attempted forcible oral copulation on a minor and assault in a 2019 case involving a different victim.

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Prosecutors said Alvarado sexually assaulted the first victim repeatedly over a period of several months. Several years later, Alvarado assaulted the other victim, a 16-year-old relative, in his car after he offered to drive her to a job interview, the DA’s Office said.

“Family violence occurs within ongoing relationships that are expected to be protective, supportive, and nurturing,” said Assistant District Attorney Sheila Johnson in a prepared statement. “Mr. Alvarado’s exploitation of that trust caused two generations of women profound psychological trauma. Hopefully, seeing him brought to justice restores their sense of humanity and sends the message that violence of this kind will not be tolerated.”  



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Holiday travel at San Francisco airport being affected by winter weather

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Holiday travel at San Francisco airport being affected by winter weather


With rain and wind in the forecast, it may make some people’s holiday travel a little more difficult.

At San Francisco International Airport, more than 400 flights have been delayed. Maggie Nelson’s was delayed coming into the airport. 

“It seemed like everyone was in a panic or a hurry to get anywhere,” said Nelson. “The plane was crowded. There was a lot of turbulence.”

Nelson flew in from Redmond, Oregon, usually a quick flight to SFO, just under two hours, but she ended up being delayed nearly that long.

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“Originally, we were supposed to take off at 2 p.m. and then our flight got delayed to 2:50 p.m., and then it got delayed again,” Nelson explained. “I don’t think we took off until 3:30 p.m. because of high winds or something.”

California is in the middle of an intense storm period. Two systems bringing heavy rain and strong winds, and Nelson could feel all of it.  

“The turbulence was pretty bad,” said Nelson. “There was a point where I got nauseous. I was like ‘Are we there yet? Is this over?’”

While she’s grateful to be on solid ground, Shon Alkaslasi was about to take off or at least try to.

“United sent a text that wind might affect operations,” said Alkaslasi. 

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He arrived early, just in case of holiday traffic, now he’s anticipating he may be delayed. He’s travelling home to Los Angeles, another area in the middle of the storms.

“I would say I’m not the biggest fan of turbulence so I am a little bit nervous about that,” Alkaslaski detailed. “But if they say it’s totally safe to travel, I’m not usually concerned but the feeling of bumps on a plane is just not the most comfortable and I’ll have to deal with it.”

Airport Duty Manager Crystal David said overall things haven’t been too bad, but West Coast flights, like Alkaslasi’s and Nelson’s, are the ones most likely to be impacted.

“SFO is on a ground delay program throughout the night, through midnight and so right now it’s about 127 minutes because of winds,” said David. “Mostly it’s the west coast flights are that are being affected right now with delays of up to 35 minutes for the west coast traffic.”

She said the delays could continue into the morning, when even stronger winds are expected. She recommends travelers check in with their airlines.

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But for Nelson, she’s just glad she made it home.

“I used to live a lot closer so it’s a lot harder to come home now so when I do get to come home, I try to take advantage of that and appreciate it,” said Nelson. 



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Executive chef of new buzzy San Francisco restaurant Bourbon Steak visits ABC7

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Executive chef of new buzzy San Francisco restaurant Bourbon Steak visits ABC7


SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — ABC7 got in the holiday spirit Monday with the executive chef of San Francisco’s buzziest restaurants that just opened in October — to a lot of fanfare.

We’re talking about Bourbon Steak, inside the Westin St. Francis Hotel.

Legendary celebrity chef Michael Mina’s latest opening brings him back to San Francisco, and everyone came to celebrate: a cable car, Mayor Daniel Lurie, and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry — a partner in this venture who created the bourbon bar Eighth Rule inside the restaurant.

But they’re not just about style. They are first and foremost about steaks.

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Because they are on the menu for so many holiday gatherings, we are delighted that Bourbon Steak executive chef Kevin Schantz joined us on ABC7’s “Midday Live.”

Watch the full interview in the player above.


If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

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