St. Albert dancers get 'Nutcracking'

The Nutcracker is a traditional sugarplum delight that every young ballerina dreams of dancing. In an unspoken way, it’s even considered a marker of their abilities.

Four St. Albert teenage ballerinas have landed roles in Alberta Ballet’s 19th century Russian classic. Alyssa Bokenfohr will play a Cossack rat, Bryna Lindstrom will be a page boy, while Tianna Leung, McKenzie Witter and Cameron Wolf will play Nutcracker soldiers as part of the children’s corps in the sentimental production arriving a the Jubilee Auditorium from Dec. 14 to 16.

Leung, 13, a student at the Academy of Performing Arts in Edmonton, is the flag bearer for the Nutcracker’s forces in the great battle with the Cossack Rats.

“It’s cool. Everybody’s backstage and I’m able to be the first soldier seen on stage and I’ll be able to lead them off and show the victory,” says Leung, who also participated in the 2009 production as a mouse.

Alberta Ballet revamped its traditional Nutcracker in 2008 with a lavish $1.5 million production that enchanted critics and audiences alike. Choreographer Edmund Stripe, at the behest of award-winning production designer Zack Brown, set the scene in Imperial Russia instead of traditional Germany.

The result was a complete immersion in Russian culture from Piotr Illyich Tchaikovsky’s ethereal score and Brown’s stunning costumes to a set that conjures up a glittering FabergĂ© egg-like opulence.

The two-hour-plus production has it all, from a dazzling array of snowy outdoor scenes, luxurious palaces, glistening snowscapes and even a regal Czarina on a giant white sleigh while two Arctic wolves slink around the stage.

But transporting audiences to a breathtaking magical world demands hours of rehearsal time to learn the movement sequence and develop perfect synchronization.

Francoise Chevennement, artistic director of Citie Ballet and chief children’s wrangler, has been working with 48 children since the Thanksgiving weekend to complement the 31 professionals arriving from their Calgary home base.

This year about half the children are new to The Nutcracker.

“It’s a little bit harder when you have so many who don’t know the choreography. But rehearsals go pretty well,” says Chevennement. “We crack the whip in rehearsal so their steps will be polished. We treat them hard during rehearsals but they need to be polished.”

Interestingly enough, in past productions most glitches have not arisen from a lack of technical ability, but from children getting sick at the last minute.

“One year we had six kids sick for each show. It was a nightmare,” laughs Chevennement, who spends the entire evening backstage guiding his platoon through makeup and costume changes.

For Art of Dance student Cameron Wolf, the hand-to-hand combat between the soldiers and rats is the highlight for her.

“But getting to work with a new teacher with a different style who challenges me in a different way has been a really good experience,” she added.

Wolf is a strong booster of The Nutcracker and urges everyone to check it out.

“It’s a great performance and it’s amazing to watch. All the different dancers, props, sets, the music, and even lighting are all such a big part of it. It’s really fun meeting all these different people and watching the professionals do what they do best.”

In addition, the popular Sugar Plum Parties return starting one hour before each performance. The entire family is welcome to attend Klara’s Costume Closet, The Nutcracker Craft Workshop and The Rat King’s Colouring Nook. New this year is the Jubilee Story Book Corner starting 30 minutes prior to each performance. All events are free.