Spoiler alert: the following video contains Nutcracker secrets! With the help of our dancers and Pico, our wardrobe master, we’ve documented some of the behind-the-scenes secrets from our production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™.
We can’t reveal how all the magic happens — we have to keep some tricks up our sleeves!
This adorable two-part series comes to an end as Rebecca King talks to the Delgado sisters, Jennifer Lauren, and Tricia Albertson about their Nucracker memories!
Click here to see Our Nutcracker Memories – Part 1.
Post by Leigh-Ann Esty, Corps de Ballet
As a professional ballet dancer, my life is very busy. I am always learning new techniques, rehearsing five different ballets at a time, and traveling to different places every weekend. However, there is one thing about my crazy life that always stays the same…The Nutcracker. It comes once a year, EVERY year! When we begin to perform The Nutcracker, it means that the holiday season has begun. It is one of my favorite times of year! I began to photograph this ballet about three years ago. The colors are so vibrant in this production, which helps the photographs to be quite visually pleasing. There are five different parts of The Nutcracker that are my favorite to watch and photograph as well.
My first favorite part in The Nutcracker is the snow scene. This is such a magical moment in the ballet. Little pieces of white paper fall onto the stage, portraying the illusion of a blustery snow-covered forest. As the dancers jump around, “snow” is kicked into the air. Then, all of a sudden, the whole group of dancers run to the corner and stop abruptly, folding in half. Just when you think they are done, they start up again, shaking their pom poms that look like snow balls. I love the dramatics of this part! The music and choreography fit perfectly together.
In the second half of The Nutcracker, there are a number of divertissements. These act as entertainment in the Land of the Sweets. One of my favorites is the Candy Cane dance. The male lead in this has a very impressive part. He performs all of these tricks while jumping through a hoolahoop! It is quite exciting! I also love this music. It really gets me into the holiday spirit!
My all time favorite dance in The Nutcracker is the dance of the Dew Drop in Waltz of the Flowers. Her choreography is so musical and fluid. She gets to fly and spin across the stage. I get chills every time I watch this part, especially at the end when the music builds and explodes into a burst of energy. This is a dream role of mine!
Nutcracker would not be the same if it weren’t for the children. In this production, there are over 60 kids that get to participate. I love seeing their joy and excitement. It makes me remember when I was just starting out as a ballet dancer. My first role in The Nutcracker was a pollychenell. I will never forget feeling tears of joy every time I ran out from Mother Commedia’s skirt to bow. Now when I see the kids smile and beam on stage, I know exactly how they are feeling!
Click here to see Leigh’s Behind-the-Scenes of Nutcracker album on Facebook.
Click here to check out Leigh’s website.
Photos: Miami City Ballet dancers in George Balanchine’s The NutcrackerTM. Choreography by George Balanchine © The Balanchine Trust. Photo © Leigh-Ann Esty.
Principal dancers Patricia Delgado and Yann Trividic began their partnership not too long ago yet have amazing chemistry! This season the duo had the opportunity to learn and perform Christopher Wheeldon’s Liturgy. Watch as Patricia and Yann chat about how they prepared for the piece, and how they feel about this sensual and haunting pas de deux.
Liam Scarlett’s new ballet is about two months away from its world premiere on the Adrienne Arsht Center stage! Before he went home to The Royal Ballet, Liam chatted with us about naming the plotless ballet and finally voiced the name of the piece!
Liam Scarlett’s new ballet premieres in January 2012 at Adrienne Arsht Center, followed by performances at Broward Center and Kravis Center. Click here for more information.
Before Liam Scarlett returned to London, he filled us in on what’s been going on with the World Premiere since we last spoke. He dishes on finishing the piece in ten days, designing the costumes himself, and naming the ballet!
Liam Scarlett’s new ballet premieres in January 2012 at Adrienne Arsht Center, followed by performances at Broward Center and Kravis Center. Click here for more information.
Liam Scarlett of The Royal Ballet spent the last three weeks with MCB working on the World Premiere, which premieres in January 2012. Enthusiasm filled the building, and dancers and staff alike were thrilled with the developments coming from the studios. Sara Esty, newly-promoted soloist, collected some thoughts on what is was like to work with Britain’s hottest choreographer, Liam Scarlett.
Liam Scarlett, who choreographed his first piece at the tender age of 11 for his fellow students at The Royal Ballet School and is now The Royal Ballet’s most successful young choreographer at age 25, has accepted a commission from MCB to create his first work for an American company. Needless to say, we are ecstatic that he’s finally here! The still-to-be-named ballet, set to Lowell Liebermann’s “Piano Concerto No. 1,” will premiere in January 2012.
Liam recently chatted with us about how this opportunity presented itself to him, and some inside on the piece and the way he works. Stay tuned for more!
Post by Principal Dancer Jennifer Kronenberg
What a great honor it was to dance the role of ‘Juliet’ for MCB’s premiere of the historic ballet Romeo and Juliet, and for our silver anniversary – celebrating the company’s great accomplishments over the last twenty five years. I have not felt such excitement and sheer anticipation at the idea of a performance in a very long time. It seemed like the buzz was everywhere, not only between dancers and staff, but out on the street as well. The public was amazingly enthusiastic over us dancing Romeo and Juliet; anxious even, which of course only added to my own exhilaration!
For weeks I dreamt of opening night. My expectations were very high, and I couldn’t wait to get on stage and dance. When the moment finally arrived I was ridiculously emotional. I was nervous, giddy, excited, and so sad to think that in three short hours, before I even knew what hit me, it would all come to an end.
Would performing this iconic ballet be all that I had expected? Could I really do it justice? I had built it up so much in my mind, though I tried my hardest not to. Would the audience appreciate how much I love and respect the role of ‘Juliet’? Could they understand how much hard work went into preparing for it, how special this all was to me? Did that even really matter? I hadn’t thought so, but I suddenly found myself worrying about it. So many thoughts were going through my head and I wanted to run away from them.
My first couple of entrances went by like a whirlwind. I yearned to feel something magical, yet it was all moving so fast, and not as smoothly as I had hoped. There were traffic issues backstage, costume changes weren’t going smoothly, and I was sweating all of my makeup off… What happened to the fairytale that I had dreamed about? So far I was way too connected to harsh reality.
But before I could get too disappointed, things changed. In the ball scene, when Carlos’ eyes met mine for the first time, everything slowed down. Time stood still in just that instant, and I felt an overwhelming calm come over me. This was it! This was the feeling that I had been waiting for – the high that I feared would get drowned out by adrenaline and frenzy, and escape me in the performance. I felt overwhelmingly relieved at seeing my Romeo. In that moment, I knew that nothing else mattered. We were in the midst of achieving something great, and infinitely special. I knew it was a performance that I’d remember and treasure always, and one that never had to be, nor could be replicated. I decided in that instant to commit myself to enjoying the ride for as long as it would last.
We’ve danced a number of “R&J’s” since opening weekend, and no two have been exactly alike. I’ve been trying to appreciate how unique and distinctly different each one is from the last. I am so happy, and eternally grateful, to have been given the opportunity to dance ‘Juliet’, and I hope that I’ll be able to grow and evolve with each performance to come.
Photos © Kyle Froman
So much is going on at MCB these days! The final Open Barre of the season is this weekend, Romeo and Juliet closes next weekend at Broward Center, and the Company is rehearsing for the Paris tour!
In all this excitement, something big is happening to a young dancer. Adrienne Carter, a member of the corps de ballet, will be dancing an major role during this weekend’s Open Barre. We caught up with Adrienne for a quick Q&A before she ran off to rehearsal!
MCB: You’re dancing the role of ‘Choleric’ in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments this weekend during Open Barre — your first major role with the company! How do you feel?
Adrienne: I am so excited and honored to be given the opportunity!
MCB: What have you found to be the most enjoyable?
Adrienne: This part has always been one of my favorites. Just the fact that I have been given the chance to dance it is enjoyable!
MCB: You will be dancing this role in our intimate studio theater. Does that offer you more or less comfort than if you were dancing on a main stage?
Adrienne: I wouldn’t say it offers more or less comfort, but it is different than dancing in a bigger theater. Even though it is a smaller audience, they are a lot closer and much more visible than usual.
MCB: What do you hope to gain from this experience?
Adrienne: I hope that the experience of dancing this role, especially in the small studio theater, helps me grow as a dancer and develop more maturity on stage.
