nutcracker confusion

[gabb]

Hi Iam very confused, my DD auditioned and was chosen along with two other girls to play Clara on the Nutcracker, they were rehearsed 45min twice a week, that involved the dance at the party and almost none of the acting part, this took around 6 weeks then finally came the first rehearsal with all the members of the company, the director (who was a principal dancer for ABT) just told my DD to do all the acting but she didn't know what to do, nobody took the time to guide her, the director knew this girls are not from a professional school, but he said he couldn't risk it and told the girls they were outand one of the ballerinas of the company took their place while they just sat and watched,no explanation given, after 6 weeks of his assisstance calling them Clara, two days later they told us that since the girls had not been previously taught their part they should give them the benefit of the doubt and they gave them one performance each, and started trainig them. my DD teacher who is a member of the company was very upset since she witnessed how my DD was not helped and and panic not knowing even the way to wave hello in a ballet, she is not a pro, ok but they knew it...

today she came out crying because she was not given a chance to perform in rehearsal, and another girl did it and the director told her that he liked it very much, My DD showed some jealousy,but she feels defeated that she cannot save the mistake she made,I told her her friend took the test having studied and my DD took it knowing nothing, they have to see her again and my russian teacher is rehearsing(nobody nows this since the company didn't want this to happen) her and she is doing pretty good, but shouldn't all Claras be rehearsing every time, they just meet twice a week and the first show goes in 10 days! They told us Claras weren't taught their parts cause they got a little disorganized. Do you think my DD can change her impression on the director, she is so worried. dancing had always made her happy and I don't want her to loose this feeling. i am the mother so I cannot judge her artistry but public love her, her teachers praise her so much and this summer a woman approached her after a performance and told her "you don't now me, but i saw you dance last year and I came just to watch you . I am a fan" do all pro companies work like this? mothers are not allowed even to breath in there, which I do understand but they give no information and get mad if we ask. They are so Diva like!! any voice of wisdom here?

[Mel Johnson]

Reminds me of the first time Vicente Minelli directed a stage play. At the first rehearsal, he called all the actors together onstage, then took a seat in the house and called out, "Action!"

 

This doesn't sound like "a LITTLE disorganized", this sounds like one step ahead of chaos.

[Victoria Leigh]

Hi gabb, and welcome!

 

It does sound like a very confusing and frustrating situation. I don't quite understand who was teaching these two girls their parts for 6 weeks without coaching them in the whole ballet, not just the steps. And where was the children's teacher? Did she not see that they were not being taught? Could she not have coached them? Have they ever seen the ballet before, or danced in the ballet? Most children ready for Clara have been in other roles and seen the ballet a lot and kind of know who Clara is and what she does. But still, they MUST be coached in the specifics of the pantomime for the production, as it is all timed to the music.

 

If this was the fault of the school they attend, I would strongly suggest finding a new school!

[balletbooster]

As for all of the Claras getting to rehearse at every rehearsal, this is not the norm in many company productions. Often, the director will call the Clara he wants to work with first (usually whoever has been given first cast status) and the other Clara(s) will stand to the side and do the same thing on the sidelines or in the back. Sometimes, there will be time for each Clara to do a scene, but very often there is not. So, one rehearsal will involve one Clara dancing and the other marking it on the sidelines and then the next rehearsal it is usually reversed. This does mean that neither Clara gets to rehearse at all the rehearsals and usually the first cast Clara gets far more rehearsal time than the others.

 

For most companies, when they get to the theater, a specific cast will rehearse each night. So, your daughter might only get to rehearse one time on stage, even though they may have 3-4 rehearsals in the theater before opening night.

 

One of the things that is rather difficult when dealing with children's parts in company productions is the lack of rehearsal time. My daughter came from a company affiliated school and they rehearsed the students for a relatively short period of time before productions. Usually, rehearsals for Nuts begin the first weekend in November and run for 5 Saturdays. No other rehearsals until the final week, when they rehearse each night. So, the students must learn to pick up their parts quickly, must take the cues given by the AD, often not made specifically to them and develop their roles with little or no outside coaching. It is challenging and often not really enough time for children to properly work into a role. But, those who are able to rise to the occasion are the students who are asked again and again to participate. This is not unlike company life, where rehearsals for Nuts do not begin until the Fall production is over, usually at the end of October/early NOvember. Of course, these are adults, with years of training and performing under their belts. But, often the expectations for children in these productions is not much different.

 

If possible, schedule some time with your daughter's teacher one on one for some coaching and make sure she is clear on what she should be doing and when, so that when it comes her turn to rehearse, she will be ready. Also, remind her to watch carefully when the other Claras are rehearsing. Have her ask if it is OK if she marks it on the side, before she does this, as a courtesy to the AD. After each rehearsal, have her show you what she did (or the other Clara did) and if it helps her to write it down or dictate it to you, do so. If she has not seen a pro production of Nutcracker, go to your video store and get one to view. Balanchine's Nuts is on video and there are many others. Seeing how the role is interpreted by others will help her develop the part for herself.

 

Good luck to you. It does sound like this AD has done a real disservice in the way he has rehearsed the Claras and his associated expectations, but I hope that you can help your daughter make the most of the opportunity and enjoy the experience.

[gabb]

the girls were being taught by an assisstance of the director there at the company. My daughter goes to two different schools, with a russian teacher ( I attend her class in the morning) who is coaching her now but she is not involved with this production at all , and her other teacher is the prima ballerina who is juggling her career and her ballet studio, she says that she told the director several times to give her permission to teach the girls but he said no. She was very angry saying the girls were not at fault.

My DD had never been on the Nutcracker before this is the first year they invited girls that are not from our local professional school, and she did watched a couple of videos but we always thought that the company was interested in getting them ready, although I was worried since the second week of rehearsals, but I thought that me being an amateur dancer we have to rehearse soooo much, but then so are this girls. My DD has danced a lot on stage , she just won a gold medal on a national contest BUT she had never ever done any part that required pantomime.

 

At least she has one performance as Clara ( out of 20) and hopefully she'll be ready (thanks to her lovely russian teacher) she will also dance every performance as snowflake with members of the company and with girls from advanced levels way olders than her so she is very proud of that. (for snowflakes they rehearse 5times a week) But please tell me in a professional production what is the norm on the amount of rehearsing involved? do they meet everyday? and do each girl playing Clara gets to rehearse everytime? thanks, I just love this forum I am going to tell my DD about it!!

[Victoria Leigh]

gabb, in balletbooster's post she explains how a lot of productions work, in terms of rehearsals for the different casts. Not every cast gets rehearsed at every rehearsal. However, when a role like Clara is being taught, the whole role should be taught, including the pantomime, the timing, and everything about the role. Whoever was working with these children was obviously completely unqualified. How old is your daughter?

[gabb]

thanks Victoria, my daughter is 12 years old, turning 13 next january.

Do you think if she does it right can she erase her first bad impression, I can see she is very much worried about this.

[gabb]

As for all of the Claras getting to rehearse at every rehearsal, this is not the norm in many company productions.  Often, the director will call the Clara he wants to work with first (usually whoever has been given first cast status) and the other Clara(s) will stand to the side and do the same thing on the sidelines or in the back.  Sometimes, there will be time for each Clara to do a scene, but very often there is not.  So, one rehearsal will involve one Clara dancing and the other marking it on the sidelines and then the next rehearsal it is usually reversed.  This does mean that neither Clara gets to rehearse at all the rehearsals and usually the first cast Clara gets far more rehearsal time than the others.

 

For most companies, when they get to the theater, a specific cast will rehearse each night.  So, your daughter might only get to rehearse one time on stage, even though they may have 3-4 rehearsals in the theater before opening night. 

 

One of the things that is rather difficult when dealing with children's parts in company productions is the lack of rehearsal time.  My daughter came from a company affiliated school and they rehearsed the students for a relatively short period of time before productions.  Usually, rehearsals for Nuts begin the first weekend in November and run for 5 Saturdays.  No other rehearsals until the final week, when they rehearse each night.  So, the students must learn to pick up their parts quickly, must take the cues given by the AD, often not made specifically to them and develop their roles with little or no outside coaching.  It is challenging and often not really enough time for children to properly work into a role.  But, those who are able to rise to the occasion are the students who are asked again and again to participate.  This is not unlike company life, where rehearsals for Nuts do not begin until the Fall production is over, usually at the end of October/early NOvember.  Of course, these are adults, with years of training and performing under their belts.  But, often the expectations for children in these productions is not much different. 

 

If possible, schedule some time with your daughter's teacher one on one for some coaching and make sure she is clear on what she should be doing and when, so that when it comes her turn to rehearse, she will be ready.  Also, remind her to watch carefully when the other Claras are rehearsing.  Have her ask if it is OK if she marks it on the side, before she does this, as a courtesy to the AD.  After each rehearsal, have her show you what she did (or the other Clara did) and if it helps her to write it down or dictate it to you, do so.  If she has not seen a pro production of Nutcracker, go to your video store and get one to view.  Balanchine's Nuts is on video and there are many others.  Seeing how the role is interpreted by others will help her develop the part for herself.

 

Good luck to you.  It does sound like this AD has done a real disservice in the way he has rehearsed the Claras and his associated expectations, but I hope that you can help your daughter make the most of the opportunity and enjoy the experience.   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thanks so much Balletbooster, I wish I could have had this information before but maybe its not to late,yes she has to get up and do her best. I am sure she will learn a lot out of this bad experience but it seems so odd. thanks again

[gabb]

IT'S AGAIN THAT TIME OF THE YEAR!!!...DEJA VU?

I was gone for a whole year...first I 'd like to thak you for the tips you gave us, my DD had her Clara's night and she was pretty good, along with the curtains closing the AD step on stage and congratulate her big smile, his assistance hug her saying good good when she came running out of stage after the battle...two months ago the girls were asked to play Clara again this year, they had been rehearsing, like last year just the dance never the pantomime, when the girls asked for a rehearsal of the acting they were told no need since they did it last year, they have had just one rehearsal with the company and season starts in 10 days, the AD has been in the States all this time, yesterday my DD noticed something that made her believe they were thinking of placing a company member as Clara, when commenting this with her teacher she told her someone inside the company told her two weeks ago the AD called and said he wanted new Claras. but since they keep rehearsing the girls she kept quiet... My DD knows best from experience not to take anything for granted, so she is cool about it , and since she might be getting in a pre-prof school next year and considering a career in dancing , she better be able to handle all forms of disappointments...but I still wonder is this the way to do things, I mean, ballet is so competitive for sure, i guess with each performance depends the next one, but in this case they knew what the girls could do and He hasn't even seen them again. I have a friend in this company, she is a splendid dancer who is quitting after this season cause she cant stand the AD changing moods. In this company all dancers have to learn all parts, most which they never get to dance...Is this the world of a prof company?Are all AD like this? is it the way they have to be?

[Victoria Leigh]

No, gabb, every company and every director, ballet master, teacher, etc., is different. There are good ones, bad ones, and everything in between. It's never going to be "perfect" or "ideal", however, it can be very positive as opposed to negative. Take each experience and learn from it, and then move on!

[dressage]

I would suggest if there is a DVD of last years performance to watch it and have her practice it. My daughter is Clara this year and she has last year's DVD and learned the whole part before rehearsals began.