Ladies of the dance — Beloved holiday ballet brings family together

Rebekah Brannan from a professional photo shoot for a magazine feature — photo credit: Inda Reid

Carol Sullivan as Aunt Drosselmeyer in Noble Dance Studio's 2019 performance of "Nutcracker" - Brenda Ahearn Photography

Carol (Brannan) Sullivan at age 4 when she began her career in dance (photo provided)

Carol (Brannan) Sullivan performs the role of the Arabian dancer with the Marin Ballet Co. in California - circa 1968-'69. She also performed the Snowflake, Chinese and Main Flower roles.(photo provided)

Carol (Brannan) Sullivan as the Arabian Dancer in The Marin Ballet Co.'s "Nutcracker" performance in the 1960s. The image was later used in 1979 by the Independent-Journal newspaper in Marin County, California, for an article about Sullivan acquiring Marin Ballet's "Nutcracker" set for her own productions as director of her dance school in Kalispell.

Rebekah Brannan as lead ballerina in the role of Clara Marie and cast in The Ballet Studio's 2021 production of "Nutcracker." (photo provided)

Rebekah Brannan in the role of the Arabian dancer with her pas de deux partner Sergio Gomez in The Ballet Studio's 2020 production of "The Nutcracker." (photo provided)

Carol Sullivan at her residence in Kalispell on Friday, Nov. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)