The Nutcracker Ballet

[Anthony De Luca]

The Nutcracker Ballet (Balanchine)
Shanachie Ballet Company
Nov 8th - Nov 28th

Cast

Act I

Doctor Stahlbaum - Jonathan Granger
Frau Stahlbaum - Mataya De Luca
Herr Drosselmeier - Anthony De Luca
Drosselmeier's Nephew/Nutcracker Prince - Rick Harker/Martin Rogers
Marie/Little Princess - Maria Storm/Caty Harker
Fritz - Oscar De Luca/Benjamin Granger
Harlequin - Brianna Parker
Columbine - Dante Alvarez
Mouse King - Rhodes Vasilakis
Children - Younger STARS members
Mice/Toy Soldiers - Older STARS members & students from DeLuca School for Performing Arts
Adult Party Guests - Adult Students of De Luca Dance Studio
Snowflakes - Corps de Ballet (NPCs)

Act II

Sugarplum Fairy - Josette Wheeler
Cavalier - James Willis
Dewdrop Fairy - Zahan Granger
Flowers - Corps de Ballet (NPCs)
Coffee - Brianna Parker, Katy Lonergan (NPC), & Serena Smythe (NPC)
Candy Canes/Russian Dance - Dante Alvarez, Rhodes Vasilakis, & Michael Blanchard (NPC)
Marzipan - Anya De Luca, Sofia Aldrich (NPC), & Julianne Dodd (NPC)
Chocolate - Merethyl & Christian Benoit
Mother Ginger - Darren Shaw (NPC)
Gingerbread Children - Students from De Luca Dance Studio

[Anthony De Luca]

Synopsis

Act I

It is Christmas Eve in Germany 150 years ago: Doctor and Frau Stahlbaum, along with their children Marie and Fritz, are hosting an elegant holiday party. In a festive parlor with a splendid Christmas tree, they entertain friends and relatives with games, dances, and gifts. At the stroke of eight, an owl suddenly flaps its wings over the grandfather clock in the corner of the room; the lights flicker and fail. The party is swept up in a sense of wonder as Marie’s godfather, the mysterious Herr Drosselmeier, makes a dramatic entrance with his young nephew. They have brought life-sized dancing toys that they unveil to the delight of the assembled guests. Drosselmeier then presents Marie with a special gift: a Nutcracker.

Marie proudly shows off her new toy until Fritz, in a jealous tantrum, seizes the doll and breaks it. Drosselmeier mends the Nutcracker with his handkerchief and gives the doll to Marie, who tucks it into a toy bed beneath the Christmas tree. After a final dance, which Marie shares with the nephew, the guests say goodnight and the family goes to bed. At midnight, Marie sneaks back to look for her Nutcracker. She soon falls asleep; the room begins to change.

Giant mice scurry through the shadows while the Christmas tree and the toys beneath it grow bigger and bigger. Under a now-towering tree, the mice, led by their fierce King, do battle with the Nutcracker and his army of toy soldiers. It seems the mice will be triumphant until, at the very last moment, Marie throws her slipper at the King, distracting him long enough for the Nutcracker to run him through with his sword and seize victory. Exhausted, Marie falls onto her bed and is magically transported to the Land of Snow. There, where snowflakes dance, she is reunited with the Nutcracker, now transformed into a handsome young Prince.

Act II

The Nutcracker Prince leads Marie on a journey to the Palace of the Land of Sweets, where the Sugar Plum Fairy reigns. There, the Prince tells the court how Marie saved him in his battle with the Mouse King. As a reward, the Sugar Plum Fairy seats them both upon a special throne to enjoy the dances performed in their honor. As a final honor, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier dance a majestic pas de deux. Marie and the Nutcracker Prince thank the Sugar Plum Fairy for her grand entertainment. Everyone in the Land of Sweets gathers to bid them farewell.

((Please note: The above is a slightly modified version of Balanchine's Nutcracker, which utilizes students from STARS, De Luca Dance Studio, and De Luca Performing Arts School. Also please note that the principal children's roles are shared - Rick, Maria, and Oscar will perform the first half of the shows; Martin, Caty, and Benjamin will perform the second half. As always, feel free to post for your characters - cast, crew, family, friends, audience members, etc. - below, and remember to have fun with it!))

[Josette Wheeler]

"I want to dance. One day I will dance this ballet."

Josette’s father smiled, relief spreading over his deeply lined face-- too lined for a man of his age. "Of course you will."

"Papa?"

"Yes?"

"I understand now. We are here to remember who we really are. We are here to awaken...”

Those words echoed in Josette’s mind and felt all too surreal as she readied herself to take the stage as the Sugarplum Fairy. It was perhaps every little girl’s dream to dance this role. The Nutcracker was her first and forever favorite ballet that her father brought her to see in New York Once Upon a Time.

Though she had danced the role of Marie, a Snow Flake in the corps, Coffee and Dew Drop before, she had never had the privilege of playing the Sugar Plum Fairy. It was impossible not to think of her father now and his confidence and belief in her despite her many difficulties that she would dance this ballet one day.

And here she was...from the young girl fervently clutching her program in absolute awe, to a principal dancer at a ballet company she truly adored.

The wand she held so delicately between her fingers seemed to have its own special magic that night. She took the stage to the celestial, bell-like instrument of the celesta to dance her solo before welcoming Marie and The Prince to the Land of Sweets. Adorned in a frothy pink tutu that looked like fairy floss with its painstakingly hand sewn Swarovski crystals that glittered in the stage lights with her slightest movement.

In a bit of light hearted teasing, she winked at Dante as she passed him with his Candy Cane hoop. “Bet you drinks after the show Rhodes gets more rotations with that hoop tonight than you do.” She knew that would drive The Black Eagle crazy!

There were many dreams besides Marie’s that wove their magic over the audience that night. Caty and Maria were both exceptional in their roles and Josette was so proud of Zahan Granger as she made her debut as Dew Drop. The young dancer was so utterly magnificent, that Josette was clapping as hard as the audience and very nearly missed her cue, if not for her trusty Cavalier, Jamie, offering his hand to guide her to take the stage for their pas de deux.

She was a little misty eyed as she took her long time partner’s hand when the harp began to play. The opening bittersweet chords of that cello that followed always took her by the heart, but it was not long before she lost herself completely in the dance. The sweeping grandeur of Tchaikovsky’s music in this particular pas de deux had always seemed like a divinely inspired miracle to her.

It was through her supreme confidence in Jamie as he lightly held her hand that she was able to hold that notoriously difficult arabesque for what seemed like an eternity as the music of the orchestra soared to magnificent heights and she held her slight weight in utter stillness on a single pointe shoe.

As the audience erupted in wild applause at the end of their pas de deux, Josette was beaming. It had been a difficult year for her, but it was in this moment that she believed it had all been worth the struggle it took to get here. With a grateful squeeze to Jamie’s hand, the two took their bows.

It finally felt like Christmas to Josie.

[Dante Alvarez]

“Dante…it is not a competition.” Cesare’s rumbled words echoed within the mind of Dante Lorenzo Domínguez-Álvarez. The ballerino’s inamorato forever trying to stifle that limitless sense of self-confidence and need to dominate the ballet world. “Es Navidad ... no los Juegos Olímpicos. Cálmate y diviértete. Eres parte del equipo, ¿no?“

“Count his jumps, Cesare…I must know.” Dante had said with a predictable snap of his fingers. He must do more than Rhodes and Michael. He must always do more. This gesture was met with a pronounced roll of Cesare’s eyes and an exasperated kiss to his lover’s cheek.

“Mula terca. Dios dame la gracia…”

The memory of his beloved Cesare’s exasperation brought a smile to Dante’s face as he waited for his unboxing on stage so that he might dance the role of Columbine in Act I of The Nutcracker. In rare moments of quiet reflection, such as this, Dante would allow for and concede that Cesare had been a positive, calming influence on the man. Forever the Bad Boy of Ballet, Dante had reigned in the most extreme parts of his personality and had even freely offered the depth of both expertise and talent to those younger than him. He had also, at Cesare’s urgings, even spoken directly to newly hired dancers…something he would never have done in the past. One had to earn the privilege of conversing with such talent beyond the obvious request for an autograph.

But everything on stage was a contest to el águila negra, The Black Eagle.

And so he would transform himself into the best version of Columbine that such immense talent allowed. And what a contrast it was…the stiff legged movements, the sharp hinged flexion of doll-like joints and rheumatic articulation…to the passionate, tragic role of The Poet in The Little Mermaid. Though he would never admit to such things, the arthritic rigidity of the doll’s march greatly challenged a man who was fueled by fiery passion and lust, and rhapsodic intensity and fervor. His body forever desired inspired and limitless motion. And yet it was flawlessly performed with Brianna’s assistance as his partnered Harlequin which helped ease him through the dance. Each plant of his toes a dagger, each robotic movement infused with perfect precision as the children watched the dolls come to life in wonder after Tony wound them up as the enigmatic Drosselmeier.

It was Act II where the Black Eagle would truly soar as one of the Candy Canes. Josette’s playful taunt had caught Dante casually standing off stage, his hoop nonchalantly spinning round on a finger. The challenge caused him to seize the hoop, keen eyes narrowing as she fluttered on by with fairy-like grace to sparkle upon the stage. “Nadie puede volar más alto que el águila negra.” A playful grin for the petite ballerina which revealed his teeth before it was time to dazzle…that iconic music of Tchaikovsky summoning him.

Dante’s invigoratingly aerial performance would channel the spirits of Alexander Shiryaev and George Balanchine…the former the creator of the dance while the latter made it famous the world over. Dante’s turning pas de chats followed by cabrioles seemed to deny the existence of gravity…much to the spectacle of the audience. It was the only time Dante would willingly jump through hoops, the leaping jumps while turning, over and over and to increasingly impressive effect would leave many men winded. But not the Black Eagle. His flourishing conclusion would include not one or even the typical two rotations of the hoop but the exceedingly rare three. Known for his leaping ability, Dante Lorenzo Domínguez-Álvarez would add to his accomplished resume that night…as well as his notable list of nicknames as the Bad Boy of Ballet, the Black Eagle, became… El tres.

Little Miss Sugar Plum had best honor that bet! That is of course the unthinkable happened and the Black Eagle lost...

((Feel free to have fun with The Black Eagle and perhaps even teach him some humility this holiday season! Holiday Miracles can happen!))

[A Ripple in Time]

Maggie Harker often helped out backstage by checking to make sure that the Shanachie STARS performers had a last minute once overs before going on stage. On closing night, it was Kit Harker, age 25, that was backstage attending to that duty. Last minute hair pins to hold unruly locks in place and fluffing the skirts of a few costumes were just a few of the things needing to be done. The first act was ready to begin.

"Remember, the Nutcracker is a fall apart prop, Maria. Don't punch out Oscar for breaking it." A half smile appeared on Kit's face as she spoke in teasing tone.

It took a moment before one of the children said, "You did that, didn't you?"

Kit pressed a finger to her lips and winked. "Have fun out there!"

As the performance went on, Kit drifted into her memories of being on the Shanachie's stage in her own childhood. It was no longer disconcerting to see the principal dancers as at least twelve years younger than what she was used to. A presence made itself known, the Grey Lady of the theater. Kit moved away from the stage so as to not disturb the performers with the conversation.

"You should know by now that I can't see you if you don't want to be seen, Madame Hortense," Kit said as she prepared some tea. Many spirits, by their nature, were able to cross time and space. That fact was not lost on Catherine Harker. "The children are likely used to you by now."

"What have you seen in your travels?"

"Many things and many people."

"Those you see before you? What about them?"

Kit shook her head. "Not usually wise to share most of those details. However, I can tell you that Josette Wheeler still lights stages and theaters with her very presence."

"The others?"

"Most of them are all well and ... reasonably happy."

Hortense's curiosity rose. "And the others?"

"One should read Dickens' Christmas Carol more closely." She gave Hortense a wink as the conversation continued, but in quieter tones.