The Audition
Today was the first day of
The Nutcracker auditions. It’s my fifth year auditioning. I wonder what part I’ll get!
I got a red callback slip at the end of the audition so I will come back tomorrow morning at 8:30. I won’t know for sure what part I have until the letter arrives in a few days.
Finally the letter arrives and I am BOTH Party Girl and Clara! I will be Clara in half of my performances and a party girl in the other half. I was super surprised, thrilled and SO, SO happy!
It was exciting to find out who the other Claras would be because we will be spending lots of time together in the coming weeks! The Claras this season are Alexandra Heier, Lauren Herfindahl, Bronwyn Wada-Gil, and me! Because there are 36 performances of The Nutcracker, Boston Ballet needs to cast more than one girl in the role of Clara, so we take turns.
The letter included my rehearsal schedule. I will be at the ballet studio 7 days a week! I’m in 7th grade this year and I have more homework than ever, so it will be a challenge to juggle my schoolwork with my ballet schedule, but somehow it will all get done.
The First Rehearsals
We began rehearsing The Nutcracker March, which was an amazing feeling because I got to dance to the music that I always hear in my head when I think of The Nutcracker. Rehearsal ended at 8:30pm, and it was Halloween, so some of my friends and I quickly put on Halloween costumes and went trick or treating on Beacon Hill.
I love the battle scene but learning Clara’s battle scene choreography was a little confusing because many of the dancers in the scene weren’t at tonight’s rehearsal, like Drosselmeyer, The Nutcracker, and the big mice. The props weren’t there, either, like the chaise, the candle, and the toy nutcracker, so we had to pantomime. Learning Clara’s choreography and the musical cues in all the scenes takes time.
The first polichinelle rehearsal that the Clara’s attended was great! The polichinelles are the dancers who come out from underneath Mother Ginger’s skirt. Bronwyn told me last year that she found the poli scene to be the most challenging. I agree with her because the fast pace makes it difficult to be in the right place at the right time.
Clara's Downtime
One night after rehearsals, the four Claras got together for a special rehearsal at my house. We practiced some of the things that we may not focus on during regular rehearsals, like throwing our ballet slippers at the Mouse King during the battle scene and crying when the Nutcracker breaks.
Another day, a few party girls and moms practiced our hair curling technique using foam rollers because a professional photographer was going to take our pictures!
While we were waiting for our photo to be taken, Alex Heier and I hung out with the adorable young girls who play the roles of dolls in The Nutcracker. They treated us like celebrities, which is a strange feeling because it was just a few years ago that I was a doll!
Dancing with the Company
This week we are rehearsing with Boston Ballet company dancers. It will be a thrill to dance with them on stage at the Opera House.
Now that ALL the dancers – children and adults – are rehearsing together, The Nutcracker experience is beginning to feel more real to me. The only pieces missing from our rehearsals are the costumes, the props, and the audience.
In the Nutcracker’s battle scene, Clara is supposed to be angry at the Mouse King and throw her ballet slipper at him, but in the rehearsal, I didn’t look angry enough. That’s because the scene is so wild and fun that I couldn’t help but smile a little bit! Plus, it felt funny to take off my ballet slipper and throw it at a dancer standing right in front of me. When we’re on stage, the dancer who plays the Mouse King will be in full costume so it won’t feel so strange to be throwing my ballet slipper at him. I can’t wait!
Into the Opera House and on to the stage
Dress rehearsals were held at the Opera House this week so we could become familiar with dancing on stage. I rehearsed twice, and it was amazing. Dancing on stage at the Opera House made me realize that my dream of being Clara really has come true! I really felt like Clara.
I was very nervous for the first on-stage dress rehearsal, but once I got on stage, I forgot about everything in the world around me and I felt like Clara Silberhaus at a Christmas party and I just danced. Now that I have experienced the role of Clara on stage, I won’t be so nervous for my first performance.
When I wasn’t on stage rehearsing, I was watching my Clara-friends take their turns rehearsing on stage. I learned a lot by watching them. Each of the four Claras has their own twist on the Clara role, although we all follow the same choreography.
It was fun to be interviewed by a reporter for NECN (New England Cable News), a channel that is doing a feature story about the children of The Nutcracker. Sometimes it’s hard for me to express in words the way I feel about Nutcracker and dancing. It’s more natural for me to just get up there and dance than it is for me to talk about it.
THE BIG DAY
Finally, after all these months of auditions, studio rehearsals, costume fittings, on-stage dress rehearsals, interviews. . . THE DAY finally came! The feeling of performing as Clara in Boston Ballet's Nutcracker for the first time was beyond amazing. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It was my magnum opus. (That’s a phrase that I learned in Latin class today, and it means “life’s achievement”.)
Usually when I perform on stage, it’s very exciting, but it’s over in a flash, because most children’s roles are no more than a couple of minutes in length. When I performed as Clara for the first time, it was a totally different experience, because the on-stage excitement lasted for nearly two hours! My favorite moment of the performance was running onto stage at the very beginning of the party scene with all the other party children. The magical night had begun!
The most thrilling moment for me was riding in the hot air balloon with the Nutcracker Cavalier at the beginning of Act 2. The perspective from above is breathtaking. I looked down to see the smiling angels gliding through clouds of fog. The scenery and the dancers look so colorful and beautiful from above, as if they’re in a faraway land. I felt like I was in another world. I can’t wait for my second performance as Clara!
LET IT SNOW!
Two HUGE snowstorms hit Boston this week, which added a new twist to The Nutcracker experience. The falling snow reminded me of the beautiful snow scene in the Nutcracker, but it took me a few hours to get to The Opera House for my performance on Thursday night instead of the usual 20 minutes. Some of the dancers didn’t make it to the theatre in time, and several of the kids who did make it were asked to play multiple roles. It was VERY HECTIC backstage as people arrived late and figured out which roles they were going to play, but it was very exciting! Even when dancers are missing, the show must go on! I will never forget the fun of dancing on the night of a big snowstorm.
The end is near...
I have two more Nutcracker performances left, and lots of friends and family are coming to see me in the last two. I can’t wait but I’m sad that the Nutcracker season is almost over. I want these last two to be my best performances ever, and I don’t want Nutcracker to end!
Part of the fun of Nutcracker is the time I spend back stage with the other party girls and party boys. We hang out, exchange Secret Santa gifts, and get ready for the stage. During Nutcracker season, I always make great friends. One of my best ballet friends today is someone that I met when we were both dolls in The Nutcracker five years ago!
NEW!
See you next year!
Being Clara in the Boston Ballet Nutcracker has been the experience of a lifetime. I loved every minute of it, and I’m disappointed that Nutcracker is over now. I have some wonderful memories to look back on, like running onto the stage for the first time as Clara, taking a bow at the end of my performances, flying in the balloon with Drosselmeier and The Nutcracker, dancing on stage with Boston Ballet company dancers, and sitting on Drosselmeier’s shoulder during the polichinelle scene. There were a thousand thrills and joys in every magical performance of The Nutcracker.
I would like to thank my teachers for working hard to help me prepare for The Nutcracker. I’d also like to thank all the party kids and the Claras for making the experience more fun. And a special thank you to my friends and family who came to see me perform. It’s the people who made this experience unforgettable!
Thank you for reading my diary. I hope to see you next year at The Nutcracker!
Read Boston Ballet dancer Sarah Wroth's Company Diary which shares her experience with The Nutcracker as a professional dancer.