Karen founded Ballet San Jose in Northern California, looking forward to sharing her love of ballet with her granddaughter Ella.
Karen first took Ella to see the Ballet San Jose production of The Nutcracker when she was a baby, which eventually led to Ella’s cameo role in the beloved ballet — where she first wore the red dress and felt its magic.
When Ella was 10 years old, she wrote this story with Karen to share the magic and love of ballet with children everywhere — and especially with Ella’s younger sister Hazel. Now 11 years old, Ella has performed in six Nutcrackers and adores ballet.