Sue Talford, KPAS, and Lisa Bohnert, Director of the Fredericksburg Youth Ballet Ensemble, run local dancers through rehearsals in preparation to join the San Diego Ballet Company for a presentation of The Nutcracker at the Cailloux Theater on Nov 21 & 22.
BELOW: Eating up the experience, Paxten Keyser and Mackenzie Grumbles were two of 50 local dance students who took the stage with the San Diego Ballet last year. Photos by Phil Houseal
Details:
The 5th Annual Nutcracker in the Hills happens Saturday, November 21 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, November 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $10-$35 for adults; $5-$20 for students. For tickets, call 830-896-9393, or visit the Cailloux Theater Box Office, 910 Main Street, Kerrville. Information at www.kpas.org.
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The Nutcracker: Dancing with the pros
by Phil Houseal
Nov 18, 2009
Is there any little girl who hasn’t dreamt of dancing in the Nutcracker ballet?
This weekend, the Kerrville Performing Arts Society and the San Diego Ballet are making that dream come true for 50 local dance students.
For the fifth year, KPAS is hosting a professional ballet troupe that is incorporating local dancers in the production. It may be the only interaction these young dancers will ever have with a professional performance group.
Lisa Bohnert, Director of the Fredericksburg Youth Ballet Ensemble, is in charge of training the local dancers for the production. This is an opportunity for her students that no other studio experience can duplicate.
“This is the opportunity to participate in a national quality production,” she said. “It gives them the ability to interface with professionals that they wouldn’t otherwise get to do. When they can meet, dance, perform with and see a professional production, it broadens their concept of what professional theater is all about.”
Broadening the reach of the arts is what it is all about for Greg and Sue Talford, who are both associated with the KPAS board and are deeply involved in the group’s outreach to students. In five years they have watched requests for student tickets explode from one ticket to more than 6500 requests.
“It is fabulous that so many kids are getting to see live performances,” Greg Talford said. “And the Nutcracker takes it one step further, because the kids are actually participating.”
Integrating students into the performance is not only the goal of the San Diego Ballet, it is a personal mission for company dancer and auditioner Rachel Sebastian.
“I was one of those kids,” said Sebastian, who traveled to Texas in September to select the young cast. “I remember being 8, 9, 16... looking at these people. That was my goal - to be a professional dancer.”
Unlike some Nutcracker productions, where the local students are shuttled in for a scene, then leave, the San Diego Ballet integrates the students into the entire show.
“We need the kids for our show!” Sebastian said. “The public will see all the dancers as one cohesive unit. You can be any age, any level, and there is an opportunity and part you can play.”
Bohnert has been working the local cast every weekend leading up to the show. This week, the students are working Wednesday through Saturday, being fitted for costumes, taking master classes, and doing complete run-throughs with the company cast. They work the entire day on Saturday, from rehearsals at 10 in the morning, with a break for an afternoon reception, capped by the first show, followed by formal photo shoots past 10 in the evening.
It is an exhausting schedule for kids as young as 6 and 7 (not to mention the carpooling parents and backstage moms), and comes in the middle of the season of local performances and recitals. But the kids love it. This is my 13-year-old daughter’s third turn with the KPAS production, and she insisted early on that she was not going to miss it.
In the end, it is a spectacular performance. The San Diego Ballet travels to only two cities this season - Kerrville and Colorado Springs - before returning to their home base for 10 shows. They bring the complete production - sets, costumes, music, and of course, the entire professional cast.
“It is fantastic,” Rachel Sebastian said. “There is something about this production that I love. Each individual dancer as well as the artistic staff sees it as an honor and privilege to come into local cities. We love to perform - to be able to perform is such an honor. And to include kids is such an amazing opportunity!”