Ron Cunningham’s The Nutcracker: A Dancer’s Perspective

Backstage opening night: The excitement of hundreds of children scampering around already in costume or completely lost and out of costume.  There is a buzz…within the dancers, within the company, within the staff, within the children, within their parents, and within the community.  Another Nutcracker is about to open!  What will happen this year?  Who will be the stand out performers? Who will make a heartbreaking mistake?  It’s all part of the passion and thrills of this whirlwind experience!

Col. Fred mans the stage door to make things work in military fashion; he’d have it no other way.  The professional dancers are all slowly making their way to the company warm-up class.  The younger dancers eagerly stretch and warm-up, while the elder statesmen postpone the inevitable of pushing through the soreness of the grueling schedule.  All dancers hesitate when the sound of high heels are heard sharply walking into the stage area.  It’s Carinne Cunningham (Co-Artistic Director) coming to teach warm-up.  The whole company lifts in the lower spine that extra inch as she arrives.  She is coming in to tweak us that final time before the public sees us.

Warm-up class is over and Carinne gives her final corrections; and as she always does, she gives the performance to us, the dancers, to make it ours!  A tall mysterious man, who frequently played guitar, sang, and drank at after parties (Kevin Ankele) in a commanding voice announces, “Half-Hour!”  Some dancers still practiced difficult steps and some go and get into costume.

When entering the hall, the staff, children are buzzing around like the day before Christmas at Macy’s with everyone shopping for that last-second gift!  If you were lucky enough to be playing a parent in Act 1, usually one or two of your children have tracked you down to ask you a few important questions before the performance, like: do you think the Nutcracker can beat up Batman? Or, are you married to or in love with your stage wife/husband?  And, of course, I would always answer, “yes!” to both questions.

Depending upon what role you, the dancer, were playing that performance, dictated the stress level of you and your partner that evening.  If you were granted the gift of dancing the Snow Pas De Deux or Grand Pas De Deux, you were as focused as someone competing in the Olympics! 

Because of this vigorous over-training required to be a professional ballet dancer, your muscles, ligaments, and tendons are constantly being pushed to their limits.  We were lucky to have the Physical Therapy of Jeff Mitchell and his crew.  There was always a line to get a little rubdown, stretch, or treatment prior to the show.

Half Hour has been exhausted by socializing amongst dancers in the dressing rooms, last minute details, partners discussing steps, people discussing after party plans, and the staff (Wes, Laurie, Jan) making sure the kids are all in their places!  The tall, mysterious man yells, “Places!”  Suddenly, for a brief moment, the whole cast of 150+ listens and goes to their first entrance.

On route to the stage, one might be lucky enough to catch some true magic of “The Nutcracker” going on back stage.  It’s a man in a black cape, black hat, and eye-patch going over some pantomime.  He’s practicing something he’s probably done thousands of times for many, many years; a true master at his craft.  After all these years he’s still perfecting each move, not taking anything for granted.  He’s playing the role of Herr Drosselmeyer.  A role most dancers dread, because that means they are no longer “dancing”.  However, this man brings experience, richness, humor, and passion to the role.  He created his own character of the role.  In fact, he also created this whole amazing version of “The Nutcracker”.  This black-capped man is, of course, Ron Cunningham, the Artistic Director of Sacramento Ballet.

The main curtain rises and the sound of the overture is heard, all the butterflies and tingling begins as each dancer and child hits the stage.  Another Nutcracker has opened!

The actual show seems to have only lasted a moment as adrenaline takes over. The cast was always supportive during shows particularly during Nutcracker season.  Ron and Carinne were very generous in giving chances to dancers during this wonderful time in the theatre!  When the curtain closed there was a sense of accomplishment, relief, and yet still anticipation for the next Nutcracker performance or the next series of shows after the New Year.

Ron Cunningham’s “The Nutcracker” was sort of a snap shot of times at the Sacramento Ballet.  We were a big family with Ron and Carinne as our “parents” (Directors), that worked together, played together, fought with one another, loved one another, struggled, failed, succeeded, and in the end made our dreams come true by making art of dance.

Top Ten highlights of my experience performing “The Nutcracker”:

1.  Meeting and working with all those great children, and watching their expressions when they first hit the stage!
2. Having the opportunity to have danced it!
3. Touring Canada with it!
4. Getting snowed out in Victoria, CA and then beating the Canadians in a snow fight
5. Performing with Ron Cunningham as Herr Drosselmeyer
6. Partnership with Amy Seiwart as Sugar Plum
7. Experiencing the growth of both the audience and the length of the run in the theatre from 2 to 3 weeks
8. Getting to perform the role of the Nutcracker with Alex Cunningham as Clara
9. Having special moments onstage with all the members of Sacramento Ballet
10. And last, but certainly not least, the camaraderie that “The Nutcracker” brought to our company and the whole dance community, at that time.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! And Merde!                                                                    

~Rome Saladino, 1995-2000

"Every year Ron lectures the Party Parents on manners, explaining that since they’d be embarrassed if their real children were caught picking their noses in public, they’d better not let it happen at the Stahlbaums’. "

Mr. Nutcracker

If the Sacramento Ballet were to perform a ballet to celebrate Ron Cunningham’s 25 years as artistic director, naturally it should be his favorite one: The Nutcracker! As a dancer or guest artist with the company since 2000, I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing and sharing in Ron’s joy surrounding his choreographic creation.  He once told me that all year, child performers and their parents know him as “Mr. Nutcracker”—a fitting title.

Ron plays Dr. Drosselmeyer, who is Clara’s godfather, the Nutcracker Prince’s uncle, and the architect of their fantastic journey. He demonstrates admirable commitment to his character. Ron patterns Dr. D.’s makeup after what he sees as his own facial peculiarities, and he sometimes teaches company warm-up with his face on. Donning a black cape he runs, lunges and lifts with gusto during the Battle and Transformation scenes. Upon exiting the stage, he looks and sounds as spent as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier after their grand pas de deux. Never complacent, he continually refines and experiments with his production.

Once, just before curtain, Ron as Dr. D. told me and another dancer as Vivandiere and Soldier Doll that he planned to try out some “new moves” during Party Scene. Normally after he winds us up, we tread militantly before spiraling out of control and pretend-shooting him. During our dance’s final moments, Soldier Doll and Vivandiere lock hands and encircle Dr. D. as he cries for help and tries to escape. That night, Ron reached high and low with even more vigor than usual, delivering a sensational performance. He lost his balance and landed on his back, feet overhead, in near perfect time with the music. As we dolls froze, having fully wound down, both of us wondered whether Ron was okay and tried desperately not to bounce from laughing at his realistic portrayal of the toy maker overtaken.

But Ron doesn’t only love to play Drosselmeyer. As he rehearses the more than 500 children who appear onstage each Nutcracker season, rarely does he miss an opportunity to teach the Party Children to skip or Fritz how to shake a gift properly to guess its contents. Ron especially enjoys delivering the English translation of Clara’s mime during the opening of Act II: “I-thought-use-my-shoe!” to distract the Mouse King. Every year Ron lectures the Party Parents on manners, explaining that since they’d be embarrassed if their real children were caught picking their noses in public, they’d better not let it happen at the Stahlbaums’.

The company members take their elder responsibilities seriously, but not at the expense of fun. As the Candy Cane soloist I so enjoyed my little Canes, who drew me pictures, wrote notes, told silly sixth-grade jokes, and dressed in matching outfits even out of costume. During an Arden Fair Mall parade, when we were expected only to walk and wave, I harnessed their enthusiasm to march, then skip, and then emboité in front attitude with me down the parade route. Fondly I watched students grow from Teeny Tiny Mice to Flowers, through many Sacramento Ballet Summer Workshops, and now into a Sugar Plum Fairy, a first-rate contemporary dancer, or a Princeton University student. I loved to see Barbara, Chandler and Sarah grow each year in their recurring roles in Prologue and in their lives outside of performing.

May Ron’s hopeful and child-centered telling of a holiday fairytale continue beyond the years he performs Drosselmeyer or greets the audience with a curtain speech. But for now: Mr. Nutcracker, put on that cape!

Emily Hite

"I’ve learned to appreciate the artist that can not only be a great technician, but, more importantly, show the story or feeling that needs to be expressed to the audience."

To ballet dancers, The Nutcracker is an important part of every season. For me, this ballet is connected to a number of my first experiences in rehearsing and performing -- all of which began with Ron and Carinne at The Sacramento Ballet.

            I first performed in Ron’s production in 1997, when I was eight years old, as a ‘Mother Ginger’s Child.’ When I received the role, I was still a bit impartial to the whole “performing” thing; two years prior I had forced my mom to promise me that I would never go on stage again. Ever. However, my sister, Carolyn Judson, had performed with Sac Ballet as Clara the year before, so I decided I would try out, too.

            As soon as rehearsals began, my feelings about performing began to change. I remember being in my first rehearsal with Ron and him explaining to the room of 8 year olds why we were dancing for Clara in the first place. He told us that we weren’t just dancing to dance; with our movement, we were graciously thanking her for saving our friend, the Nutcracker, and for bringing him back to our land safely. I remember that I enjoyed getting to be a real character, rather than just a person dancing on stage. For the following nine years that I performed with the Sacramento Ballet (in The Nutcracker, as well as other ballets), Ron continued to instill in me this love of storytelling – how the audience cares most about the feelings you portray to them…those feelings are why they are watching you dance in the first place

            Today, after 6 seasons with the Houston Ballet, I’ve been lucky to perform as a number of different characters: the Sugar Plum Fairy, Clara, a Neapolitan Princess, and a swan, to name a few. And still, I go back to what Ron told us in that rehearsal 15 years ago. I’ve learned to appreciate the artist that can not only be a great technician, but, more importantly, show the story or feeling that needs to be expressed to the audience. My belief in what creates a great artist stems from my experiences with Ron; I try to be that artist every day I dance.

            Thank you, Ron, for all of the wonderful memories I’ve had in growing up with the Sacramento Ballet. Congratulations on 25 incredible years!

 

Love, Elise Judson

"I remember the enchanted world I was whisked into when the curtains began to rise."

Little Celina as a Christmas Doll

My first role was Hungarian Doll. I was pretty convinced that there could be no better role; that it was my time to shine. As I progressed through the roles of baby mouse, mother ginger child, party girl, candy-cane, until finally flower, Nutcracker came to be a part of my life in an unbelievably momentous way. Ron Cunningham and Carinne Binda have taught me how to perform, how to smile until my face shook, and of course how to perfect the technique that went into the more difficult roles. Every September for 12 years, I stood outside Sacramento Ballet studios, with my hair back in a crispy hair-sprayed bun, black leotard and pink tights, my heart fluttering no matter how many times I went through the audition. Rehearsal was exhilarating, especially magical when we finally got to perform with the actual professionals. By the time we were performing on stage, for dress rehearsals and performances, I was absolutely giddy with the thought of dancing for an actual audience. The nervousness and anticipation never went away as I stood behind the wings, counting the seconds until my first entrance. By the time I was a flower in the Waltz of the Flowers, I could not believe that I had reached the role that I couldn’t possibly dreamed of having when I was a six year-old doll being lifted up by the Big Mice. 

Celina (front row, left) as a Center Angel

Thank you to everyone in the Sacramento Ballet community, especially Ms. Binda and Mr. Cunningham, for the highlight of my year for twelve years in a row. Every time I hear the prologue to The Nutcracker play, those same flutters start to occur and I remember the enchanted world I was whisked into when the curtains began to rise. 

Celina Culver

Celina (in yellow) as a Flower

"Like many Fritz’s before and after me, I had a crush on my Clara and I couldn't remember ANY of the choreography."

My earliest memory of the Nutcracker is sitting with my fifth grade class in the Community Center Theatre. As an 11 year-old, the sheer size of the theater was overwhelming. Then the show started. I had never seen anything like it. My only frame of reference was what little I’d seen on T.V. so nearly everything involved in the Ballet from the back drops to the dancing was completely foreign to me. I remember feeling absolutely hypnotized before the prologue scene had even come to an end. The precision and sharpness of the Columbine, Vivandier,  and Soldier dolls in Act I was so difficult for me to grasp. I couldn't tell at first if they were actually dolls or human beings.

What also caught my attention right off the bat was the fact that there were so many children involved with the show. Two little boys in the party scene stood out to me. One of the little boys, “Kilt Boy” was a scrawny little pipsqueak who wore a kilt (that little boy, Aaron Bahadursingh would eventually become my best friend) and the other little boy, “Fritz” was a snotty little child who broke Clara’s Nutcracker. I knew immediately that I wanted to be a part of it, but the idea of DANCING on a stage with those costumes, make up and set pieces seemed so unrealistic to me that I didn't give it much thought. It wasn't until a few months after the performance when my mother approached me and asked if I wanted to audition, that the idea of taking part in “The Nutcracker” actually began to come into fruition. So I went in and auditioned. I wanted to be one of the two boys I remembered from the year before. I knew “Fritz” was a bigger part, but “Kilt Boy” got to wear a kilt! Since I’d seen the ballet, I had a sort of vague idea of what the character Fritz was… I just needed to go in there and act like a brat. I was good at that. That audition was huge for me. There were so many other little boys who were the same age as I was. Many of them had been a part of “The Nutcracker” for years and some of them, like me, had no idea what they were doing. For the first time in my life, I felt very small and VERY nervous.  At the end of the audition, Ron Cunningham began to sit all of us children down into three different  group formations. Each group was a different cast; A, B and C. I was placed in the middle of the “B Cast” formation. Ron sat me down and I quickly found out from the other children that I had been placed in the “Fritz” spot. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that I wasn't going to get to wear a kilt.

My experience as “Fritz” was incredible. Like many Fritz’s before and after me, I had a crush on my Clara and I couldn't remember ANY of the choreography. I remember walking up to Ron after one rehearsal and telling him, “Well, Mr. Cunningham… it can only get better”. But what was really special to me was getting to meet all of the professional dancers. They were rock stars to me. There were two male dancers, Michael Vester and Easton Smith who impacted me the most. As a kid I was fascinated by Michael Jackson and spent much of my free time teaching myself how to moonwalk. This amused Michael and Easton and they asked me to share my dance moves with them. I now know that they were just being nice and probably didn't even really care too much about learning how to moonwalk, but all of the time they spent talking and joking with me back stage and in rehearsals made me feel  SO COOL. That was what made me want to continue performing. I went through all of my performances never knowing if I did the steps right and even got a special cameo role in “The Nutty Nutcracker” as a moonwalking party kid after Ron saw me practicing my Michael Jackson moves the with professionals. I still wasn't too excited about dancing, but everything from being onstage, to the costumes, to the massive backstage area, to my friendships with the dancers inspired me to pursue Musical Theatre- something I thought I had much more of a knack for.

It took me several years after “The Nutcracker” to finally commit to taking ballet classes. I was able to take a 45 minute ballet class a day at my high school, but that was it. My teacher, Shirin Kayani-Rose had a very successful career as a dancer and urged me to take elsewhere.  I had tried taking drop- ins at a couple different schools around Sacramento, but I was far to insecure to ever stay anywhere longer than a couple of days. From the time I first performed in “The Nutcracker” until age fifteen, I’d invested nearly all of my time into Musical Theatre. However, the day finally came where I was too old for children’s casting calls and I had to attend general dance auditions for shows. The day I attended the dance auditions for Music Circus was the day I decided that Shirin was right. I NEEDED to begin dance training somewhere other than school if I wanted to pursue Musical Theatre with any sort of success. A few months later, my mom enrolled me in the Sacramento Ballet’s summer intensive.

 I began training with the Sacramento Ballet in the summer of 2007. It was by far the most difficult, humbling three weeks of my life. I found out at the end of the summer that Ron wanted to allow me the opportunity to perform in “The Nutcracker” as a Big Mouse and Side Russian. Those two roles were not large roles at all, but they were mine and I was proud to perform them because I had earned them. They inspired me to continue to pursue Ballet as a career and to work toward larger, more pivotal roles onstage. Since then, I have since performed both character and dancing roles in “The Nutcracker” such as Grandfather, Soldier Doll, Spanish, Chinese, and for the first time this year, the Nutcracker.

 It seems like such a short time ago that I watched offstage in my ridiculous mouse costume (which, yes, I STILL have to perform in when I’m not the Nutcracker) in awe of people like John Speed Orr, Timothy Coleman, John Whisler, Colby Damon, Roberto Cisneros, and even my good friend/coworker Rex Wheeler as they danced the role of “The Nutcracker”. Although I always worked toward it, I honestly never thought that one day I would be the one flying across stage with Clara in that hot air balloon, or spitting fake bits of bitter paper snowflakes out of my mouth in the snow scene with Amanda Peet, Alex Cunningham, and Stefan Calka (all dancers I grew up watching in my awkward teenage years). I still feel that same nervousness that I felt in the party child audition years ago before I go onstage as the Nutcracker and I don’t know if that will ever go away. And I have a very long way to go as a dancer but I can honestly say that “The Nutcracker” was what started it all for me as a performer. And even though party scene rehearsals become a bit of a chore at the end of a 6 hour work day, I am always pleasantly reminded of how special “The Nutcracker” was to me as a kid and still is to me as a dancer.

Alex Stewart

Our Newest Dancers Reminisce of How It All Began

Karina Hagemeyer as Clara
in th Santa Ana production

Karina Hagemeyer - First season with Sacramento Ballet:

Nutcracker is definitely one of my favorite ballets.  I love everything about Christmas, and so it is impossible not to love Nutcracker.  I have done many different Nuctrackers in my life, and I’m excited to add Sacramento Ballet’s version to my list.  One of my favorite memories is when I got to be Clara at the little tiny studio in Santa Ana, California that I grew up in.  I was so nervous for auditions, since I was the perfect age for Clara.  And when my name was called I was pretty much in shock.  I will never forget the little solo I got to do in Party Scene, the feeling of all eyes on you and the spotlight right in your face.  It’s just this ecstatic joy where you forget everything else.  I was so sad when it was over, but my parents were so proud.  And the photos and enormous bouquets of flowers after the show helped.    

A little "Munchkin" from Flint, MI

Guess This Dancer - She's in her 3rd Season with Sacramento Ballet:

Mila Lavoie - 2nd season with Sacramento Ballet:

The first time I can remember seeing The Nutcracker performed, was when I was three years old; it was James Kudelka’s version, performed by The National Ballet of Canada. The image I remember most clear is the beginning of the second act, the curtain went up, and there was the sugar plum fairy standing inside a huge golden Fabergé egg, which was painted royal blue with gold stars all over the inside. It is truly a gorgeous and magical site. At that very moment I told myself that one-day that would be me standing inside that egg. Nutcracker to me is one of the reasons I dance today, it is a huge part of my life, and I can’t see the holiday season without it. 

"I had the opportunity to enact my childhood fantasies of becoming a super hero"

    It is very difficult to recall any one single moment about my time performing Ron's The Nutcracker with the Sacramento Ballet. It has really been an amazing journey that I am thrilled to be able to continue. I must admit that, like many dancers in the US, the reason I am a dancer today is because I saw The Nutcracker as a kid, and I had an uncontrollable urge to be a part of it. That urge was largely due to the somewhat humorous fact that I found the character of the Nutcracker Prince as, well, kind of an amazing super hero, and the potential of my being able to actually become the Nutcracker onstage was really quite enticing to my seven year old sentiments.

Fast forward twelve years, and you have me, at age 19 and beyond, living out my childhood dreams right there on stage in Sacramento! Its pretty amazing (if not somewhat pathetic:) to say that every year, for the whole month of December, I had the opportunity to enact my childhood fantasies of becoming a super hero (who is also a prince!) by donning a military jacket, a huge mask, commanding an army of soldiers, and engaging in mortal combat with a gigantic rat. And I must say, there was never a show I didn't take full advantage of the opportunity. Before going on stage, I would always puff my chest out and give myself a good stare down in the mirror, transforming into a general. Every small gesture, pulling on my boots, my gloves, my mask, was done with ritual precision. Once on stage, I would feel the swell of standing center stage at military alertness, and would revel in the clipped, crisp militaristic aesthetic given to the role. Then of course the was the calling of the sword, the saluting of my captain, and the invitation to cross swords with the King of the Rats! This sword fight, though momentary, was always epically fulfilled. Often me and my good friend Michael Vester ( usually playing the Rat King behind the mask) would fling muffled insults at each other onstage as we simultaneously displayed out shaking fists of disgust and rage, and more than once on stage, in performance, we broke the wooden swords with which we fought as a result of just a tad bit too much enthusiasm. And then there was the moment, where I was miraculously saved by Clara's flash of bravery, and the final thrust of my sword, sending the the King of Rats into the underworld for good. There was always a moment I treasured, right after slaying the beast, where I would keep my guard up for a few more moments as the beast took its last few breaths, and then, knowing the end was near, I would slowly lower my blade, puff out my chest, and slowly raise my head in a subtle display of noble victory. 

After saluting the efforts of the valiant rodent, my freedom from my wooden features into the human ones of the prince always felt especially sweet, not because of the nostalgia of the role per say, but because it was pretty much ridiculously hot jumping around on stage with that mask on. Yet enacting the role of the grateful prince was also always rewarding, and I would take some sort of feigned, yet authentic, pride introducing her to the Snow King and Queen, and then also showing her the beautiful sights contained within my Land of the Sweets.
    

Though much time has passed since I began dancing, and my relationship and approach to ballet and the art of dance in general has changed and evolved drastically, I get the chance every year, dancing in The Nutcracker, to relive again my childhood dreams. It sounds really cheesy, but its true. Somehow I never get tired of it, of the rituals, the music, the enthusiastic audiences, and the affiliation with my childhood sentiments. And for the latter especially I am always grateful.

Colby Damon