|
Nutcracker & Beyond
Unleash your imagination and you're on your way to making holiday magic.
Studio
Collaboration
What makes South
Tulsa [OK] Children’s Ballet’s Nutcracker stand out is that
it is a collaboration by dancers, choreographers, and teachers from
more than 17 schools in the Tulsa area. In fact, performances of
A Children’s Nutcracker have done so well that the group is
considering adding a fourth performance.
This Nutcracker
has an enormous cast: 150 to 165 dancers per performance, with
roughly 400 children participating in the three shows. Lead
roles—Clara, Fritz, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the Dew Drop Fairy—and
the smaller parts like the doll, butterflies, and party-scene maids
are performed by different dancers in each show. Drosselmeyer, the
Snow Queen, Mother Ginger, and the Arabian, Chinese, and Russian
dancers, however, are single cast.
In order to accommodate the large numbers of dancers who want to be in the show, new roles augment the traditional roster of characters. The Chinese and Arabian divertissements include “babies” (roles for 8- to 10-year-olds); in other scenes baby mice, butterflies (in the Waltz of the Flowers), and boy soldiers ages 6 to 13 swell the ranks.
The production and
interstudio collaboration was the vision of Pamela Farry, owner and
director of Dance Pointe in Tulsa. “She has the most diversified job
as she oversees the entire production— costumes, stage schedule,
lighting, and choreography for most of the children’s roles, as well
as opening up her studio for all rehearsals,” says Donna Collins, a
member of the board of directors and the owner and director of Fun
Times Dance & Gymnastics.
Collins has been
involved since day one. “The first year was the toughest,” she says.
“We sent a letter to every studio owner in our city and in adjacent
towns, too. In the beginning, a few studio owners were reluctant,”
apparently fearful of losing students to other studios. For the
first two years, says Collins, “[we] felt like we walked on
eggshells.” Three years later most of those fears have subsided and
the production has ample support from the schools that participate.
Farry is joined by
choreographers Sandy and Matthew Bridwell of The Dance Academy at
TJCC [Tulsa Jewish Community Center]. In addition, several other
instructors choreograph certain roles or assist with rehearsals, and
a few studio owners learn the choreography so they can coach their
students and volunteer backstage.
A payoff from this
collaborative effort has been the group’s ability to award
dance-education scholarships (funded by revenues in excess of
expenses) to one student from each participating school. But that’s
changing, and for the better. “Next season we hope to offer one
scholarship per every five students participating,” Collins says.
For this group, the
holiday season is about bringing dance educators together in a
spirit of teamwork, and that’s proven to be a good thing for the
entire dance community.
Modern
Nutcracker
Terrie Legein has
found a way to turn Nutcracker into something new and
exciting. By setting it in a contemporary time period and
incorporating different dance styles into it, the owner of Legein
Dance Academy in Coventry, RI, has modernized the classic ballet.
The performance
incorporates jazz, tap, theater dance, modern dance, and ballet, set
to music that has been updated to today’s style. Although some of
the choreography may stay similar from year to year (for ease in
scheduling), the styles change to give each show a different feeling
from the previous year’s performances. Legein finds that many people
return each year to see how she has changed the story line.
Over the years,
Clara’s family holiday party has become a teenage gathering with the
opening numbers done in jazz style with modern-dress costumes;
Drosselmeyer has become Uncle D., a magician whose life-size,
performing toys have included a doll in a tutu and combat boots. The
Prince has arrived in imaginative ways, including on a furniture
dolly, a scooter, and inside a bigger-than-lifesize Cracker Jacks
box, and the Sugar Plum Fairy and her court have performed a modern
dance in a mist of dry ice. In one performance, the Russian
variation became a Rockette-style kick line.
The performers are
all from Legein’s school, and everyone who auditions is cast.
Auditions help determine who can handle four or five pieces of
choreography and who can handle only one. Legein says the audition
process “brings a sense of accomplishment, self-confidence, and
camaraderie to the cast.”
Legein produces two
performances each year, and she asks patrons to donate $5 per seat,
as well as any food donations they can contribute. She has raised
more than $1,200 and 1,500 pounds of food per year, which is then
donated to a local charity.
Holiday Magic
Jane Roosevelt, director of Longwood Performing Arts and Longwood Dance Theatre in Kennett Square, PA, puts on a show called Holiday Magic every year. Performed the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend, Roosevelt sees the production as a way to “kick off the holiday season.”
The show is composed
of six pieces performed by the school’s resident company, Longwood
Dance Theatre. Five of the pieces are from the company’s existing
repertoire and remain the same every year, and the sixth piece is
choreographed specifically for the show. Last year, the company
performed a major tap number to “Hot Chocolate” from the animated
film The Polar Express.
Between company numbers, students from the academy perform two or three pieces. The musical selections, such as “The Grinch,” are chosen to appeal to a variety of ages. Roosevelt says that having the students involved in what is largely a company production boosts ticket sales and has the added benefit of introducing the students to the workings of the company. In another sales-boosting move, Roosevelt invites a local high school choral group to participate. The chorus opens the show and performs a medley in the second act.
Roosevelt says her
goal is “for the audience to walk out of the performance very
excited about the holiday season, and for my students to be
introduced to putting on a show for entertainment.”
The
Nightmare
Before Christmas
Kristin Hild and her
school, Dance Motions, Inc. of Bartlett, IL, bring a little
Halloween to the holidays with their performances of The
Nightmare Before Christmas. Adapted from the Tim Burton film,
the production tells the story of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King
of Halloween Town, and how, after accidentally stumbling upon
Christmas Town and seeing the joy brought by that holiday, he
decides to make a Christmas of his own.
The show features
the school’s dance company, Magic Motions, performing mostly jazz
and ballet numbers. But the show’s villain, Mr. Oogie Boogie, does
some tap, which, according to Hild, “really makes him stand out.”
The dance numbers are set to songs from the movie soundtrack by
Danny Elfman, as well as a few Elfman compositions from other Burton
movies, such as Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory. The songs from The Nightmare Before
Christmas all have lyrics, which Hild says “makes it much easier
for the dance company to perform to and also helps the audience
follow the story better.”
Audience
participation has become an element of the performances. In 2005,
says Hild, “some characters went out into the audience during their
numbers and made some [viewers] ‘Honorary Oogie Bugs’ by placing
antennas on their heads.” According to Hild, the audiences seemed to
enjoy it.
Auditions are held
in May of each performance year. Performing every other year makes
it easier on the studio and company members, Hild says. She also
believes that people are more inclined to see the show when it’s
offered only every two years.
A portion of the
nonprofit company’s proceeds from the two performances of
Nightmare goes to charity and the rest to performance costs.
The Nonprofit
Nutcracker
Arizona’s Yuma
Ballet Academy and its affiliated nonprofit company are on the ball.
They’ve established a professional approach and organization that
helped them generate $35,000 in ticket sales and $15,000 in
corporate sponsorship last year.
Kathleen Sinclair
and her husband, Jon Cristofori, are co-artistic directors of the
school, which is home to Ballet Yuma. The company, founded in 1994,
produces six annual performances of Nutcracker, one at an
out-of-town venue and five in their hometown.
Corporate sponsors
of Ballet Yuma include a bank, a local media group, an accounting
firm, an orthopedic surgeon, a podiatrist, and an agriculture-based
corporation (Yuma is a big farming community), among others. “We find local
companies easier [to get funding from] than national corporations,”
says Sinclair, “in that decisions on funding the arts are made at
the local level and don’t have to go elsewhere.”
Ballet Yuma offers
impressive sponsor packages ranging from $250 to $2,500. The sponsor
receives the goodwill of supporting the arts and such benefits as
advertising on performance posters and other printed materials, a
fullpage ad in the playbill, and onstage recognition, including the
opportunity to make brief remarks at a pre-performance presentation.
Sponsors may also place signage and literature (approved by Ballet
Yuma) in the lobby. Sponsors also receive complimentary tickets to
the performance, and higher-level sponsors receive tickets to a
Nutcracker gala dinner.
For the academy, the benefits of corporate sponsorship have been numerous. Sinclair says that it has allowed her to “put on a professional show with professional guest artists, design staff, and production personnel,” while keeping ticket prices reasonable. It has also given the students the chance to perform in a “fully professional, high-quality production.” Any proceeds left over from their corporate sponsorship are used to fund Ballet Yuma’s smaller productions and to supplement the dancers’ training. Image credits (top to bottom):
Guest artists Crystal Brothers and Joseph Jefferies (Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier) are alumni of Ballet Yuma, now dancing professionally with Ballet Memphis. Photo by Bill Butler.
Members of the Longwood Dance Theater in "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" from Holiday Magic. Photo by Duane Plank.
Members of the Longwood Dance Theater in "Jingle Bell Rock" from Holiday Magic. Photo by Duane Plank.
Kristin Hild and Dance Motions, Inc. of Bartlett, IL, bring a little Halloween to the holidays with their performance of The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Andrea Hennig, Yuma Ballet Academy student, backstage waiting to perform as a “Soldier” in Ballet Yuma’s Nutcracker. Photo by Bill Butler. RE022 ©2006, Rhee Gold Co. All rights reserved. |
Ever
wonder what other studios do for their holiday-season shows? These
days, the Nutcracker isn’t the only show in town. Across the
country, studios are branching off from the traditional and
venturing into new and original territory. Although Nutcracker—and
variations of it—remains the popular choice, with a little
imagination, anything goes! You can put a twist on that holiday
favorite or do something entirely different. Read on to see what
creative minds around the country are producing.
Parent
volunteers are a big part of this collaborative success. They are
involved in fund-raising, parades, creating informational handouts,
and supervising student check-in and check-out at all rehearsals and
performances. “These men and women have been amazing,” Collins says.
“They are the true unsung heroes.”