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Show ENTERTAINMENT `THE NUTCRACKER:' BALANCHINE'S MUST-SEE HOLIDAY TREAT BY LINDSEY NELSON PHOTOGRAPHY UTAH REGIONAL BALLET RANDOM FACTS & FIGURES: It was dark backstage. The blue, yellow and red lights flooded the stage from the wings and reflected a multi-hued rainbow on the backstage full-length mirror. My heart was racing and I thought I might choke on the flurry of butterflies in my stomach, but I had practiced long and hard for this role. I secured the hooks on my tutu for the ninth time. I rolled up onto the tips of my pointe shoes and they felt perfect. Many of us used model airplane glue on the inside of the toe shoe to prevent it from going soft. I had sewed the satin ribbons on myself and they, too, were substantially tied with a little knot hidden beneath the satin wrapped around my ankle. My long brown hair was wound into a tight bun with a glittering headpiece that looked like autumn leaves. Somewhere deep inside of me there was a quiet confidence and a fierce determination to dance my very best. Performing in "The Nutcracker" ballet, composed by Tchaikovsky in 1892, is usually the biggest event in a ballerina's year. The entire second half of the production, after the story is established and intermission has passed, is dedicated to what we called the variations. Chinese, Arabian, The Waltz of the Flowers . . . the names vary among productions, but I was about to dance the demi-solo role in Waltz of the Flowers. I stood in the wings while the four Woodnymph dancers entered the stage. I waited for my musical cue from the live orchestra at the De Jong Concert Hall at BYU, every muscle taut and ready. When it came, I whirled onto stage in a series of chaines turns, and suddenly, I was home. The 1500 audience members ceased to exist. It was me, the dance and the music. "The Nutcracker" ballet suite is a holiday staple for many. I rehearsed and performed relentlessly with the Utah Regional Ballet, directed by Jacqueline Colledge, every holiday season for 12 years of my life. The Nutcracker has become tradition for my family. Holiday plans revolved around which role I was dancing on a certain night. If it was a new or challenging role, like the Woodnymph solo or the Arabian Princess, my family would drop everything to attend. Their unyielding support never failed to inspire me to dance my best - to have my legs in a perfect split in a leap called a grande jete and to execute every turn flawlessly. In my opinion, Utah Regional Ballet is the best of the best in Utah County. You can catch "The Nutcracker" at The Covey Center for Arts Dec. 10-17. 6 I THE V MAGAZINE • Childrens' roles are auditioned and three casts from the community are selected. This year, there are over 150 children participating. • Hair Facts: 48 mothers have to set their daughters hair in sponge rollers each evening; children sleep on the rollers so that their hair can be combed in the perfect ringlets for each show. • Parents in party scenes have to change their children's hair during the battle scene for their ballet buns for snowflakes every show. • Every bun takes 30 bobby pins and is covered with a hairnet, and there are 80 buns per show! • Each costume has multiple pieces. such Party children as dress, petticoat, pantaloons, hair ribbon per child • There are 134 individual costumes and each one has a minimum of three pieces. • It takes six dressers each show and six stage back stage to run the show. They begin one hour prior to curtain and never sit or rest through the show, always changing someone in and out of costumes or getting the children to and from the stage for their performances. DECEMBER 10, 19, 20,15-17 7:30 p.m. $26, main floor, $22 mezzanine, $18 balcony: with orchestra MATINEES, DECEMBER 10, 17 2:00 p.m. and special Family Night performance (December 19) 7:30 p.m. $20, main floor, $18 mezzanine, $16 balcony: without orchestra WWW.COVEYCENTER.ORG |