Nutcracker- My Son's Roles

My son began performing
in Nutcracker in 2002.

The requirement for participation
was that one had to be
eight years old.

Sometimes, due to the fact
that there are few boys
in ballet, boys were allowed
to perform at seven years old.

The previous year,
my son had asked if he could perform
since he would be turning seven
during the performance weekend,
but was told that he could understudy.

So, he began as a seven year old
and turned eight
on the last day of performances.

The first year,
he was a
Small Mouse
and got to steal a prop-
the Nutcracker.

One of my favorite memories
of that year
was one of the older boys,
who was playing the Nutcracker,
took my son under his wing
and
I managed to get a picture
from behind
of the Nutcracker
with his arm around
a Small Mouse.

[As soon as the photo
is located and scanned,
it will appear in this post!]

My son played a
Party Boy
from 2003 - 2006.

The first couple of years,
he really loved it.

The next couple of years,
he liked it,
but was ready to move on
to other parts.

In 2006,
he was finally able to get
a part in the Second Act
as a (French) Mirliton
with the Junior Company dancers
and
had the role for two years.

He began partnering
with a couple of the girls
within the piece.

In 2007,
he was a little reluctant to play
Fritz,
due to being tired
of the Party Scene,
but did a great job.

Also in 2007,
he loved his role of
Nutcracker
because he got to
sword fight.

In 2008,
Ms Meg
(who has a feature
in a January post,
but I cannot figure out
how to link)
choreographed
Chinese
and
my son performed
with two girls
with rhythmic ribbons
while he carried
a dragon head that blew smoke
(that Ms Meg created).

Another highlight
of the piece was the
Chinese stage make-up
(that Ms Meg researched
and applied).

From 2008 - 2010,
my son was an
Animated Toy Soldier.

His performance in 2009
earned him a local
performance award.

In 2009,
my son was in
Spanish
with two girls.

This was the year
that I really started
helping with costumes,
especially the details
on the Spanish tops
for both the female
and the male costumes.

Another first in 2009,
my son was asked to perform
as a guest artist
in a town about thirty miles
from us
in the role of
Nutcracker Prince.

This added extra rehearsals,
extra driving,
and
an extended Nutcracker season
by a week.

Still, our family loved it
because
we made more ballet contacts,
got more ideas for Nutcracker
props and costumes,
and
enjoyed the family time together.

In 2010,
my son got his first role as a
Cavalier
(Orchid Cavalier).

He got to partner
and
have a small solo
within the piece
(meaning-
he did not have
the stage to himself,
but was the only one dancing
for a few minutes).

When watching him
in one of the final dress rehearsals,
I realized how far my son had come
in his dancing abilities
and
I had to cry
on Ms Meg's shoulder;
She remembered his first year
of class
and trying to refuse
to rehearse
because he
"knew the dance."

He was also nominated
for a local
performance award
in this role.

In 2011,
my son was
Sugar Plum Cavalier!

One of my favorite things
was hearing the compliments
about how far he had come
as a dancer
and
how professional he looked
in his dance;
especially since he plans
to become a professional
ballet dancer.

[There will be photos posted
as soon as snapshots are
found, scanned, uploaded, etc.
and permission is obtained
from the professional photographer.]

Ms Meg

Ms Meg is my hero.

She has the patience of a saint when it comes to toddlers and very young children.

Her talents include gymnastics, ballet, choreography, wonderful stage make-up, props, and friendship.

Both my children started gymnastics as toddlers with Ms Meg and then took Creative Ballet (pre-pre ballet) with her for about three to four years each.

Ms Meg's daughter, her daughter's best friend, and my son were all the same age and took ballet class together with Ms Meg.

After class, the three of them and my daughter would color, play games, or figure out some way to stick around the ballet studio for an extra hour or so.

When my daughter tagged along to ballet class, Ms Meg would allow her to sit quietly in the studio and then participate for some of the exercises.

Due to the strict rule about being four years old to begin ballet, my daughter's January birthday prohibited her from beginning her own ballet class in the fall.

After many tears, I reluctantly agreed to let my daughter take dance at another dance studio where she took a combination class of ballet, tap, gymnastics, and singing.

Between the class being at my daughter's natural evening slow down time, my daughter only liking the ballet and gymnastics (which she was also taking somewhere else), and the studio wanting recital money in December for an "unknown" costume for May, I begged Ms Meg to please let my daughter take ballet classes with her the day after she turned four in January.
Ms Meg, thankfully, agreed!

When my son had his first Cavalier role during Nutcracker 2010, I cried on Ms Meg's shoulder and she recalled my son's attempt to quit rehearsing for his first ballet performance.

Apparently, he thought because he knew the dance, that practice was over; Ms Meg said that he could refuse to participate, but he would not be going on stage- my son promptly got up and joined the class.

While practicing on stage before their first performance, Ms Meg explained that they would not be able to see their parents during the performance due to the bright lights.

When asked after the performance if he could see the audience, my son's matter-of-fact reply, "Mom, you know Ms Meg said we wouldn't be able to see the audience because of the bright lights."

Ms Meg had also told the parents to get a base make-up that was a shade darker than their children's skin tone so that they would not be washed out by the stage lights.
And, yes, boys had to wear it too.

My son decided that he was not wearing make-up; Ms Meg suggested putting it on him at the last minute.

So, at the last minute before leaving the green room, my son allowed me to apply some base; and, as he was standing in line to go on stage, some blush was sneakily applied.

And, Ms Meg had a wipe to remove the make-up afterward.

Of course, the number of flower head pieces made for her budding ballerinas, extra details put on costumes and special costumes created for my son, and her handmade props- including a fire-breathing Chinese dragon that my son used for one of Ms Meg's beautiful choreographed "Chinese" pieces for Nutcracker- makes Ms Meg an artist extraordinaire.