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| Snow Scene, photo by Keith Sutter |
Our first weekend of Nutcracker performances in Sacramento
were wonderfully well received with standing ovations opening night and Sunday
matinee. It seems impossible that just last Monday the dancers walked
into the theater for the first time. Since then we blocked three or more casts
of the entire ballet, had two dress rehearsals, a 10am school performance, four
regular performances attended by over 8500 people, and a magical Sugar Plum
Fairy Tea following Sunday's matinee. The Tea was held at the elegant
Hyatt Hotel for 500 girls, boys, moms, dads and grandparents, all in their
finest holiday attire. The entire company participates in the Tea so we had 26
costumed characters strolling through the Ballroom to the delight of
everyone. A particular favorite photo opt this year was with the Mouse
King.
Today was the dancers well deserved day off, most likely filled with visits to
the chiropractor, massages, laundry, grocery shopping, and maybe even an
afternoon nap. Tomorrow, the dancers return to the studio for morning
class and rehearsals that run until 6:30. Many times I am asked, what do we still
need to rehearse since the show has already opened? The answer is
"lots." We have cast changes, dancers working with different
partners, more fine tuning, and always more nuance to discover. A large
portion of the day will be devoted to working on The Great Gatsby.
Ron is very inspired by the project and eagerly looks forward to getting into
the studio to create more dances. It is remarkable how many ballets a dancer
can keep in their head and in their body at any one time.
What impressed me most of all about last week's performances was the incredible
sense of confidence and pride that grew with each performance among the
children in the cast. To see their smiles grow, their faces project to
the last row of the 2nd tier, and their posture assume more authority with each
performance reminds me that The Nutcracker can be a life changing
experience.
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Big Mice, photo by Keith Sutter
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