Nutcracker

Congratulations to this years Nutcracker Cast!
We are proud to partner with our resident ballet company, Fisher Ballet Productions, to produce an annual full length community Nutcracker.

MISSION

Our Nutcracker is a full-length ballet performance for the whole community.  The aim of our productions is to give dance students the opportunity to experience performing in a ballet and to inspire their interest in the art-form.  At the same time, we hope to give the community the opportunity to see a full-length ballet.

OPEN AUDITIONS

Students from all studios are invited to audition for the production.  Students represent their studio and their studio will be listed as a participating school in the program. Dance students who participate do NOT need to be ballet dancers as there are roles for students that do not require a lot of ballet technique.  

If you are interested in being in the Nutcracker please contact Liane Fisher by the beginning of September.  If you missed auditions and would like to be in the Nutcracker, please contact her anyway, she can often fit you in somewhere!

REHEARSALS

(Please click here to see the Rehearsal Schedule)
Rehearsals are extremely important! Students wishing to be in the Nutcracker must be aware that they are making a commitment to make rehearsals a priority.   Rehearsals generally take place on Sunday afternoon.   We do understand however that people may have scheduling conflicts and we do our best to have a flexible rehearsal schedule that can work around most difficulties.  We also will work out something for more advanced dancers who are further away to be able to work on their own and attend only occasional group rehearsals.  If you would like to be in the Nutcracker but have some conflicts, please reach out to us and let’s see if we can work around them.  Tech & Dress Rehearsals will take place during the week before the performance and are mandatory.

FEES

Participation fee for the Nutcracker is a non-refundable $140 per student dancer including beginner adult students.  Participation is free for advanced adult dancers and adult actors.     The participation fee covers participation in the 10-12 weeks of rehearsals, choreography, space rental, staff costs, costume costs, props and sets, etc.   Students attend a casting audition to determine role(s) in the show.  

BENEFITS

Being in the Nutcracker teaches students about part of the Classical Ballet Repertoire, about team work, about performance, about the art of ballet, and about perseverance.  Many of our students have reported an increased interest in learning ballet after participating in the Nutcracker and all loved being in the show!   All costumes for the Nutcracker are provided.  Students need only supply make-up, leotards, tights/leggings and shoes.  

 

F.A.Q.s

What is the time commitment for rehearsals?

Allow about 1 hour per week per role.  Most dancers like to have three roles in the production.  Some have more, and some have less.  All rehearsals take place Sunday afternoon.

My child has soccer practice (or some other event) Sunday afternoon, can they be in Nutcracker?

We ask parents to fill in time conflicts on the audition form and when we schedule rehearsals we will try our best to schedule around everyone’s conflicts so that they can make it to rehearsal.

My child received an understudy role in addition to her other roles.  What does this mean?

We assign an understudy role to a dancer whom we believe is close to being able to do the role in question and who we would like to learn the role.  Frequently, an understudy will end up performing the role because sometimes other dancers are unable to perform for one reason or another.  It happens more often than you might think!  Even if your dancer does not perform the role this year, it usually means they will get the role the following year because we know that they have learned it and have seen that they can do it.  Your dancer should come to all rehearsals that they are understudy for and should practice the dance full-out in the back or at the side of the studio.  They will also be sometimes subbed in for another dancer so that they get the chance to practice it with the group.