At least one of them openly acknowledged that tears will fall with the final curtain for Dancers Studio Inc.’s “The Nutcracker” Saturday evening.
And such emotion seems more than understandable.
Some of the senior student performers will complete their 12th or 13th year of the local production of the Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ballet — one featuring a storyline of a little girl falling asleep on Christmas Eve near the Christmas tree and dreaming of a fanciful battle between an evil Rat King and a savior Nutcracker.
Their dedication has included as many as four five-hour nights per week at the studio since age of 4 or 5. So this week, a number of them are dancing amid sentiment as deep as a blizzard’s seasonal snowfall.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“All of the biggest ‘aha’ moments of my life have happened here in the (dance) studio,” said senior Anna Kelley, cast in her biggest role as the Snow Queen in the shows slated for 1 and 6:30 p.m. at Judson Erne Auditorium, 1400 25th St. in Columbus. “This is about all the blisters and everything else. It’s all coming full circle.”
Kelley has one of the strongest links to the studio because her mother danced there. The studio boasts a long history with “The Nutcracker,” including a performance with live music years ago with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Seymour. The Columbus shows have become among the more popular holiday offerings locally, including separate performances each year for some 1,300 area students.
Plus, the public audience normally totals about 800 people, according to organizers.
Senior Hallie Schwartzkopf, now cast as the Dewdrop Fairy, portrayed a soldier in her first performance at age 5. She became fascinated by ballet when she saw the “Barbie of Swan Lake” movie at age 4.
“I think everyone who starts (doing the show) eventually wants to be a soloist,” Schwartzkopf said. “They think to themselves, ‘I want to wear that tutu when I’m older.’”
But the sacrifice can be substantial. Dancers have given up everything from school soccer to art classes to time with non-dancer friends and groups. But they also clearly mention that the trade-off has been well worth it through the years. Salome Cloteaux, who is sharing the ballet’s flowing Arabian dance with friend and fellow senior Addie Watts and others, has grown incredibly close to Watts amid dance rehearsals.
“Addie’s become my sister, basically,” Cloteaux said with affection, smiling at her seated nearby.
Watts acknowledged that she feels the same way. Plus, she loves the grand sense of “The Nutcracker,” including Susannah Lipinski’s highly-praised costuming, often thought to be done by paid professionals.
“I love all the sparkle and glitter and glam,” Watts said.
Kim Lingeman, executive director of Dancers Studio Inc. and one who danced in about a dozen years’ worth of Nutcrackers, understands her senior dancers’ emotional attachment to the show — and the fact that one segment of their dance life is ending.
“It really is a big deal,” Lingeman said. “Because it means they’re getting ready to move to a different stage of their life.”
Through the years of the show, tradition has dictated that the senior performers gather in a circle just after taking their final bows, and just after the curtain drops. Performers say the scene, and the bonding at that moment, is powerful.
But director Kaylin Hogan, also an alumnus of a dozen or so years’ worth of local Nutcrackers, gets emotional even today at the close of nearly four months of work.
“I always cry a little bit at the end of last show,” Hogan said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Dancers Studio Inc.’s annual presentation of the classic holiday show "The Nutcracker."
When: 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Judson Erne Auditorium, 1400 25th St. in Columbus.
Storyline: From a story written in 1816 by E.T.A. Hoffmann in which young Marie Stahlbaum’s favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive in a dream on Christmas Eve and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.
Tickets: $15 and $20, available at the door and online at dancers-studio.org
Information: 812-376-8080 or dancers-studio.org
[sc:pullout-text-end]
