T’is the season to be jolly! Falalala Lalalala! For me and for many other dancers, it’s time to break in those pointe shoes, fluff out the tutus, turn on the stage lights and bring out the Nutcrackers! As soon as it’s back to school season, dancers, instead of going school supplies shopping, they book their next pointe shoe fitting to get ready for upcoming Nutcracker auditions!

The Nutcracker is a festive ballet which is commonly performed around Christmas time. This famous ballet, originally written by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, is performed by dancers around the world and is a huge holiday tradition in the dance community. Dancers begin auditions and rehearsals for the ballet way back in September so that there ready to perform as soon as the holidays begin! As the curtain rises, the dancers take you on an unforgettable Christmas adventure through Clara, a young girl’s dream. You get to encounter toy soldiers, large beastly mice, life sized dolls and delightful dances from all over the world! Although there are many variations to the story, a brief overview of the plot line would be this:

Its Christmas Eve in the 1800s and a lively party is being held at Clara’s house. Suddenly, Clara’s godfather Drosselmeyer appears and presents her with a Nutcracker doll. Acting like a spoiled child, Clara dances around happily with her doll and even ends up falling asleep beside it under the Christmas tree. I mean how comfortable is that? Clara awakes and realizes her Nutcracker has come to life! Together, they battle an army of mice and their evil mouse king and ride through a frozen forest and encounter the beautiful Snow Queen until finally, the two arrive in the land of sweets and are greeted by the lovely Sugar Plum Fairy. There, they watch many dances performed in front of them from all around the world! As the night goes on, Clara begins to feel sleepy and falls asleep. When she awakes, she is back under the Christmas tree, her Nutcracker doll is beside her and she realizes the who,e thing was no more than a dream.

Now that you have an idea of what the Nutcracker story is about, you probably also have an idea of how much work goes into this production to bring this story to life. Allow me to take you on an inside look at the rehearsal process us dancers go through as we prepare ourselves for the big nights ahead!

You may be wondering, why on earth would you want to give up your weekends and the majority of your Christmas holiday dancing and being stuck in a stuffy studio? Well the production isn’t only a show but it’s a chance for the dance community to come together and hang out while expressing a common interest, dancing! Just like the saying, “if you do what you love then it won’t feel like work!” The Nutcracker is meant to be a fun and positive experience and is a great chance for younger aspiring dancers like myself to meet and perhaps even get to dance beside those who are more experienced or are dancing at the professional level! The magic isn’t only shown on stage but even happens backstage as we all help each other out and through the pure joy and happiness of all those pearly white smiles on our faces.

The rehearsal process goes like this. After going through a gruelling 4 hour audition, selected dancers are then invited to dance in the company’s production. Your given a phone call about a week after the audition telling you the roles you’ve been given. These roles are decided not only by talent and ability but also height, weight, size, appearance, maturity and age. This means that the company may not give you the role simply because your an inch or two too short or tall to fit the costume or that you look older than their other girls your dancing with. This sounds harsh but it’s true! Imagine 12 year old who looks like they’re 15 playing Clara who is meant to be a child around the age of 12! That wouldn’t fit with the story very well. So, for those who know me, I was dancing with 11 year olds simply because I match the face, size and height of them.

Rehearsals start early and can take the entire day depending on the number of roles you’ve been cast in. By the end of it all, your feet hurt, your sweaty and more than anything your ready to go home and relax. And if your someone like me, finish up the assignment that’s due tomorrow 😬. However, on the night of the show, all the stress, sweat and tears are worth it. As soon as the curtains are up everyone is nothing but smiles as they excitedly bring the audience through Clara’s magical dreamlike experience.

So the next time you see a ballet, regardless of how effortless the dancers make it look, remember all the pain and effort that went into the production your seeing. And hopefully, it’ll help you appreciate the overall experience just a little bit more.😊

Happy Holidays!!!

Below are a few more images from past Nutcracker performances⤵️