After three and a half months worth of practice, the annual holiday nutcracker performances are finally here. Ballet Chelsea performs their annual Nutcracker show the third week of December. They bring not only the holiday spirit to the town but also to the community, as they perform four times on the weekend of the show and also reach out locally, sending select dancers to go and perform around the community.
“We do four overall shows over one weekend, so one Friday, two Saturdays, and one Sunday, but we also do outreaches, which are community outreaches where a few select dancers will be chosen to go and perform at the senior center and around town,” Junior Naomi Ratliff said. “It’s also to advertise for the Nutcracker, but we mostly do it to spread the holiday cheer.”
As the dancers spread the holiday cheer to others every year, they have developed their own rituals and traditions throughout the years.
“Every year we have nearly the same schedule for all of the Nutcracker week, and so that means on Saturday morning right before the show, we take a warm-up class that is done on the stage, and that’s my favorite thing that we do every year,” Ratliff said.
As the dancers have the exact same schedule every year, the seniors in the program have made their own traditions in the spirit of the holiday season.
“We always have senior pajamas, so they all have matching pajamas for warm-up classes,” Ratliff said. “Then we do senior gifts in between the shows on Saturdays, while all the dancers watch them open their gifts on stage, as a thoughtful way to end the Nutcracker.”
Along with their traditions, the girls have rituals that they perform before stepping on stage. Being dancers and performing in large crowds, their nerves can catch up to them quite quickly, but these girls have found their own way to calm themselves before going out and performing in front of tons of people.
“We all stand in a circle and go 1234 as we shake all of our nerves out, just like in the TV show Dance Moms, and sit with each other backstage until it’s time to perform,” Ratliff said.
Although the Nutcracker requires loads of time and practice that consumes the dancers’ lives for about three and a half months, it’s always a memorable and enjoyable experience for not only the dancers but the community as well.
“Being in the community and having wonderful people from the community is sort of like watching the magic unfold from the stage, where it’s a mess at first and then everything comes together. The costumes and makeup all come together, making it a magical process,” Ratliff said.
