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SEAT MAY HAVE CAUSED DEATH DURING WRECK
With 'hope for something normal,' local 'Nutcracker' performance brings holiday cheer with dancers in costume-matching masks
By Maggie More
Virginia Gazette |
SI Dance's 2020 production of the Nutcracker - made safe for COVID-19 - is the dance studio's second annual performance of the famous ballet.
Gillian Grossman, 17, and Maggie Feurer, 18, are both students at Warhill High School in Williamsburg and ballet students and dancers at Williamsburg studio SI Dance. With the pandemic raging across the country and classes taking place mostly online, they've both had a tough year.
"They're making it the best they can for us, I think," Feurer said of her senior year during a phone interview. "It's definitely been a little bit of a letdown."
Grossman, a junior, said she's also missed the normalcy of previous school years. "It's been very boring, I guess," and she's missed the chance for "actual social interaction."
But for them, rehearsals for SI Dance's second annual production of "The Nutcracker" have provided an escape. When she's dancing, Grossman said, "I forget it's happening, besides the masks. It's like an escape."
Rehearsals for SI Dance's second annual production of "The Nutcracker" have provided its performers with an escape from a tough year full of pandemic woes. Courtesy of Heather Booysen (HANDOUT)
The masks are part of the safety restrictions that SI Dance has put in place to protect the roughly 50 performers taking part in the production, which will follow all of the governor's pandemic mandates for theaters. With those measures Noelle Schatzel, dance instructor and artistic director for the production, hopes she can keep the holiday magic going in a year when the children she teaches desperately need it.
"Despite all the changes… they persevered. And I think partly it's because they really love the art form," Schatzel said of the performers.
According to Schatzel, who has been an instructor at the studio for six years and five seasons, the process of going ahead with this year's "The Nutcracker" began in early September. At that point, COVID-19 safety measures and a slew of canceled performances nationwide made a holiday performance anything but certain. But the families at SI Dance knew how much the students cared about the show, Schatzel said, and wanted to give them a lifeline during a difficult time.
"We're in the middle of this global pandemic. Kids have lost their sense of normalcy," Schatzel said. About 50 families decided they would put time and money into the show, with the attitude that "even if it doesn't happen, let's start it. At least give our kids hope for something normal this year," Schatzel said.
Since then, knowing even as close to the show as mid-November that the performance was not guaranteed, performers have showed up, with masks in place, every weekend.
They'll keep those masks in place during the performance, as well. Schatzel said she designed the costumes to carefully incorporate masks without jarring the audience out of the performance. The Russian dancers during the "Trepak" number, for example, have masks with beards, while the Arabian dancers during the "Coffee" number have veils.
"I think that the people who are making the masks are doing a really great job at making the masks look like they're a part of the character, like the character has always worn them," Grossman said.
Ranging in age from 6 to adult, the performers wash their hands, stagger their breaks to avoid crowding each other, and carefully social distance during rehearsals, so the show can go on and everyone can stay safe.
"I'm already seeing it start to come to life," Schatzel said before the performances, "despite the limitations of COVID."
Dancers will wear masks as part of the safety restrictions that SI Dance has put in place to protect the roughly 50 performers taking part in the production. With those measures, dance instructor and artistic director for the production Noelle Schatzel hopes she can keep the holiday magic going in a year when the kids she teaches desperately need it. Courtesy of Heather Booysen (HANDOUT)
Rehearsals on the weekend begin at 10 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. or later some days. On a regular rehearsal day each weekend, Grossman said she practices for six or seven hours.
"I do about an hour and a half of ballet Monday through Thursday, if not more," Grossman said in a phone interview. "And that's just practices, that's not actual 'Nutcracker' rehearsal."
This year, after ballet classes since she was 7, Grossman is playing Clara, the lead character whisked away to the Land of Sweets by the Nutcracker Prince.
"I'm so excited. It makes me feel very special to have this role, and I'm very excited that we get to do it," Grossman said.
The size of the Clara role in "The Nutcracker" varies depending on the production, but usually she's played by a young girl and stays seated in a throne in the Land of Sweets during Act II. But for SI Dance's production, Noelle Schatzel said that she wanted to make Clara a little older, and more active during the second half of the show, for one of the more advanced dancers -- Warhill High School junior Gillian Grossman. Courtesy of Heather Booysen (HANDOUT)
The size of the Clara role in "The Nutcracker" varies depending on the production, but usually she's played by a young girl and stays seated in a throne in the Land of Sweets during Act II. But for SI Dance's production, Schatzel said she wanted to make Clara a little older, for one of the more advanced dancers.
"There's pretty much two versions, one where Clara does sit, and one where Clara plays this active role in her own story," Schatzel said. "I felt like (aging Clara up) would keep the story being told the whole time… it makes you more connected to Clara. You're invested in her journey."
Another change Schatzel made this year, after her role as artistic director of the production in 2019, was to the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Previously, SI Dance has hired two professional ballet dancers to play the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, who perform a partnered dance at the end of the show. This year, they still hired a professional male dancer to play the Cavalier, but the Sugar Plum Fairy role went to Feurer.
"I'm very excited," Feurer said of her leading role. She's been rehearsing daily from 4-9 p.m. to keep her technique sharp this year, and reserves both days of her weekends for "Nutcracker" rehearsals.
Previously, SI Dance has hired two professional ballet dancers to play the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. This year, they still hired a professional male dancer from VBI to play the Cavalier, but the Sugar Plum Fairy role went to Warhill High School senior Maggie Feurer. Courtesy of Heather Booysen (HANDOUT)
Though she's been dancing ballet since she was 5, Feurer said that this is the first time she's had the chance to try dancing with a professional partner.
"It's like a totally different experience, being able to work with someone who does work professionally, and knows how to partner," Feurer said. She's learned a lot of new techniques, but her favorite part of her role is the opening of Act II, when the Sugar Plum Fairy dances with the angels.
"Getting to see all my friends dancing around me, it's like an extra comfort," Feurer said. She's also been looking forward to wearing her Sugar Plum Fairy costume, with its pink tutu.
"I started ballet so I could wear a pink tutu," Feurer said. "I love our costumes. ... I think the costumes bring like a whole extra level of magic to the production."
With the help of some talented parents and volunteers, Schatzel has put a lot of time and money into those costumes, and the scenery that will decorate Crosswalk Church in Norge, where live performances will take place 7 p.m. Dec. 11 and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 12.
"It's as pre-professional as I can make it, down to the details," Schatzel said. "It's not just ballet talent you're going to see in this show."
"The Nutcracker" will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 and 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 12 at Crosswalk Church in Norge. The church also is offering a virtual streaming of the performance, beginning Dec. 19. Courtesy of Heather Booysen (HANDOUT)
SI Dance will be operating in compliance with the governor's orders for entertainment venues during those live performances, including limiting the audience to 30% capacity and requiring social distancing and masks for patrons and dancers, Schatzel said. The number of dancers onstage at one time will also be lower than in last year's performance.
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"We're also offering a virtual streaming of the performance" so that people can watch from the comfort of their own home if they're uncomfortable in person or tickets sell out, Schatzel said. That edited version of the show will be released Dec. 19 and will be available until New Year's.
Schatzel said in a Thursday email that there were roughly 30-40 tickets left for each live performance. Those tickets cost $25 per adult, and $20 per child. The taped performance costs $40.
"I'm really proud of all of these kids, and obviously I hope that we get to do it on the stage, but I'm really proud of them coming to work despite all of the things we've had to deal with this year," Schatzel said.
"It's just something so special that everyone could use right now," Feurer said.
Maggie More, 757-446-2305, mmore@virginiamedia.com
SI Dance
Maggie More
Maggie More is a former intern with The Virginia Gazette.
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