We are fully funded thanks to an individual donor who has asked to remain anonymous! Thank you to everyone who supported our first fundraising campaign!

With our first funding milestone for our inaugural production complete, we are excited to launch our organization's main grassroots initiative:

ATX Artists Community Impact Initiative

Join us in launching ATX Artists for Social Impact with our production of Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite—our inaugural Jazz Ballet performance that supports local professional artists, provides mentorship opportunities to HBCU music students, benefits unhoused immigrant communities through Casa Marianella and fuels our outreach programs like Dance for All and Jazz for Humanity, making the performing arts and arts education more accessible for the Austin community.

Overview

Event Info:
https://www.atxartists.org/#nutcracker

Purchase Tickets:
https://www.sofarsounds.com/events/62518

This holiday season, our new nonprofit organization, ATX Artists for Social Impact, is unveiling its signature Jazz Ballet Series, bringing Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's full reimagined The Nutcracker Suite to life with a new story, live big band, and original ballet choreography. In this one-night event produced by Sofar Sounds, the ATX Jazz Orchestra and Capital Contemporary Ballet make their exciting debut as our founding resident companies—blending artistic excellence, immersive storytelling, socially relevant themes, mentorship, and multidisciplinary collaboration together for a wonderful charitable cause at the intersection of the performing arts, anti-hate, and philanthropy.

The program showcases a truly diverse cast of exceptional musicians and dancers, beginning with a festive set of Duke Ellington arrangements and holiday classics performed by Filipina-Puerto Rican jazz vocalist Aly Rosa, joined by members of the ATX Jazz Orchestra (ATXJO). The ATXJO brings together Austin’s professional jazz musicians with selected students from the Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Program, creating a unique platform that fosters mentorship, artistic development, and music education while strengthening community engagement with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

A portion of net ticket proceeds will go towards Casa Marianella, an Austin-based nonprofit that combats homelessness by providing shelter to refugees and asylum seekers, a cause in line with ATX Artists for Social Impact’s mission "To Inspire Community and Compassion Through Creative Expression."

Date & Time

December 19th, 2025 @7pm

Location

Brazos Hall
204 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

The Cause

“I want to be a force for real good. In other words. I know that there are bad forces, forces that bring suffering to others and misery to the world, but I want to be the opposite force. I want to be the force which is truly for good.”
-John Coltrane

As this is the launch of our flagship Jazz for Humanity program, net ticket proceeds will go towards:

75% to ATX Artists for Social Impact – a new multidisciplinary performing arts nonprofit that mobilizes artists in solidarity with their local communities to strengthen each other through performance, education, artistic outreach, and community service.
25% to Casa Marianella – a local nonprofit that provides shelter and other essential resources for refugees and asylum seekers in Austin.

By supporting this production, you're not only supporting the work of the exceptional artists bringing this music and story to life, but you're also fueling a collaborative, mission-driven, artistic landscape for the City of Austin while helping some of our most vulnerable communities.

Support Artists. Support the Community. Support Austin.

How You Can Help

Brazos Hall has been so generous in donating us their space for the evening. That said, our goal is to raise $20,000 to cover the cost of 16 musicians, 8 dancers, event and bar staff, and production expenses, ensuring that this project is not just possible–but exceptional and most importantly, respectful of our mission-driven artists sharing their talent and hard work. Here is what your donation will go towards:

🎼 ATX Jazz Orchestra – $5,600

Supports rehearsals and performance stipends for our resident jazz ensemble.

🩰 Capital Contemporary Ballet – $4,200

Covers rehearsals, studio rental, performance stipends, pointe shoes & costumes for our resident ballet company.

🎓 HBCU Artist Development – $600

Provides private lessons and mentorship opportunities for Huston-Tillotson University students with ATX Jazz Orchestra members to promote music education, artistic development, mentorship, and community engagement at historically black colleges & universities.

🎭 Production & Stage – $2,800

Funds licensing, set design, and artist hospitality on performance day.

🔨 Event Staff and Labor – $2,500

Funds event and bar staff, security, and cleaning fees on performance day.

🎥 Media & Documentation – $2,500

Provides programs, professional photography, videography, and live sound recording.

📢 Community & Outreach – $1,800

Expands access through marketing, promotion, and subsidized tickets for students and underserved communities.

GRAND TOTAL: $20000

No contribution is too small, and every dollar brings us closer to sharing this incredible performance supporting ATX Artists for Social Impact and Casa Marianella!

Explore our sponsorship opportunities!

Your Impact

Expanding Arts Accessibility and Education Programs
Your gift will help us expand programs like Dance for All, bringing free and affordable ballet training to socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in Austin. It will also fuel the mentorship component of our Jazz for Humanity program, promoting community engagement and artistic development opportunities for music students at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Mobilizing Artists for a Good Cause
Your gift mobilizes local artists to creatively advocate for our most vulnerable neighbors through a socially relevant, multidisciplinary holiday production about building compassionate communities.

Supporting Local Artists and Communities At-Risk of Homelessness
Your gift supports the livelihoods of the local artists on stage, and every ticket sale supports resources for displaced immigrant communities at risk of homelessness through Casa Marianella.

Fueling Our Long-Term Vision
Your gift helps us build a mission-driven artistic landscape for the City of Austin, laying the foundation for ongoing outreach, education, and community impact programs that will grow year after year.

About Us

The Leadership

This production is guided by the founding leadership team of ATX Artists for Social Impact, Capital Contemporary Ballet, and the ATX Jazz Orchestra in partnership with Sofar Sounds:

The Story and Setting

Developed with the heart of our mission as the central focus, this new, immersive, socially relevant retelling of The Nutcracker brings us to an underground jazz bar inspired by the clubs that served as integrated safe gathering spaces for queer and multiracial communities during the civil rights movement—think places like The Stonewall Inn (NYC), Compton's Cafeteria (Tenderloin, San Francisco), The Black Cat Tavern (Los Angeles), and Manhattan Club, Austin's first documented gay bar. Our cast of characters—including both the dancers and the musicians (yes, the band is part of the story!)—come together as strangers with nowhere else to go for the holidays, gathering for a night of festivities and found family, looking to escape from the prejudice that was much more common at the time and still very much exists today.

The Background and Themes

While these spaces are mostly remembered for the late 1960s protests and police raids targeting marginalized LGBTQ+ people and communities of color, for most of the year—including the holiday season—they were peaceful hubs of community support, compassionate solidarity, individual expression, and peaceful resistance. Like the original Nutcracker, these spaces offered escapism, but instead of a fantasy land of sweets, it was a necessary refuge from racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and other pervasive injustices. Our Nutcracker—while joyful, whimsical, and optimistic at heart—also exists to acknowledge these realities, past and present, and calls us to take collective responsibility in creating and sustaining safe and welcoming communities through our everyday interactions with others.

The Cast

Capital Contemporary Ballet
Kathleen Tiernan
Leo Briggs
Rachel Aucoin
Caitlin Elledge
Veronica Boccardo
Alex Esparza
Katie Lowen
Andrea Duong

ATX Jazz Orchestra
Drums - Joshua Alderete
Piano - Matt Zelenin
Bass & Live Sound - Bruno Alvitia
Aux. Percussion - Dillon Brouse
Reeds - David Saenz, Sanai Haymon-Jallow*, Lauryn Gould, Grant Teeple, Aidan Brown
Trombones - Jacob Martinez, Paolo Dumancas, Josh Garcia*, Sam Irvine
Trumpets - Santana Rojas, Isaac Pittenger, Jason Grant, Josh Saffold*

Special Guests
Vocalist - Aly Rosa
Conductor - Dr. Utah Hamrick, Director of Jazz Studies at Texas State University

*Denotes Huston-Tillotson University Jazz student

About ATX Artists for Social Impact

ATX Artists for Social Impact is a grassroots, multidisciplinary performing arts nonprofit that mobilizes artists in solidarity with their local communities to strengthen each other through performance, education, artistic outreach, and community service. Founded by artists and fueled by community, we believe in the power of art to foster belonging and uplift our most vulnerable neighbors.

About Capital Contemporary Ballet

Capital Contemporary Ballet is the resident professional dance company of ATX Artists for Social Impact. We create innovative and emotionally resonant ballet works that uphold the highest standards of artistic and technical excellence. As a founding partner and Artist in Residence of ATX Artists for Social Impact, we aim to expand access to affordable ballet for the Greater Austin community through our Dance for All program. Founded and directed by professional ballet dancer, educator, and choreographer, Caitlin Elledge.

About ATX Jazz Orchestra

The ATX Jazz Orchestra is the founding resident professional jazz ensemble of ATX Artists for Social Impact. Through our Jazz for Humanity program, we unite local professional jazz musicians, talented student artists, and mission-driven community partners in service of performances, mentorship, and compassionate causes that serve our most vulnerable communities. Co-founded and directed by professional drummer, educator, and bandleader, Joshua Alderete.

Important note regarding accessibility and inclusion

Art is for all. Students are eligible to receive a 50% discount on tickets with a discount code (limited availability). Brazos Hall is an ADA-compliant space, and we will ensure the layout of this theatrical production stays accessible for any audience member.

Donations are Tax-Deductible

ATX Artists for Social Impact is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Our Programs

Dance for All

Jazz for Humanity

Partner Links

Sofar Sounds ATX

Casa Marianella

The Duke Ellington Nutcracker: An ATX Jazz Ballet

By ATX Artists for Social Impact

The Duke Ellington Nutcracker: An ATX Jazz Ballet

A Holiday Performance presented by ATX Artists for Social Impact, Capital Contemporary Ballet, ATX Jazz Orchestra, and Sofar Sounds

Team Members