Nutcracker already!

[dancingjet]

Anyone's DKs know yet what they'll be dancing in the Nutcracker this year (if they'll be doing Nut)?

 

DD hasn't found out her part yet. I'm assuming it will be something small in terms of complexity and time on stage, but who knows?

[3-D]

I have a Dew Drop Fairy/SnowCrystal for my graduating senior daughter as well as a Flower Soloist/SnowFlake for my younger daughter in my household this year. We are excited, bring on the Nut!

[dcns]

Auditions are this Saturday. DD figures she'll be a party kid again and is hoping for Chinese. Although she's a good dancer, she's small and just won't fit some of the costumes they have for snow and other roles.

 

DS is auditioning for the first time. It's a long shot for him, but if they are short on boys for the party scene I can see him getting a part. He wants to be a "naughty boy" and a rat!

[slhogan]

My son is auditioning this Saturday. He has been in small local productions as a party-scene boy, but this production is quite a big deal (something like 30 performances!). I don't know if he'll get a part-- He has a hard time remembering to smile, and I know they will be looking for good stage presence. But, I figure it doesn't hurt to go to the audition and give it a shot!

[Trish]

My daughter got Dew Drop, a solo in Spanish, a Snowflake, a mouse and a life-size doll in the party scene. I think we're in for several very busy months!!!! Give me strength!

[hippiechicken]

My dd is a doll, soldier or rat, snowflake understudy, an angel, and chinese. She is so excited about her parts!!

[cowgrrl]

DD should be a mouse a/o an angel. This is our first year at this level so I'm not sure if she can do both as a first year or will have to choose 1 or another. She's very excited about either role.

We haven't heard much of anything yet about the rehearsal schedule & such so I'm curious to see how busy the next few months are going to be. I've already started telling people 'I don't know when Nut rehearsals are going to start but when they do, our weekends are gone until after Christmas'.

[dancingjet]

DD finds out this week. She's in both acts, so she has at least two parts. She's excited!

[trythis]

How do you help your child (and your self for that matter) when they don't get the part of their dreams?

[Victoria Leigh]

If it had to do with size and costumes, then there is nothing that can be done about that and she just has to realize that she was not the right size. If it has to do with simply not getting cast, or not cast in what she wanted, then it would help to find out why so that she can know what she has to work on for next year.

[LauraR]

Our auditions are this weekend. My dd's possibilities are bon-bon or Chinese. She really wants to dance Chinese, but I'm not sure she's tall enough. The Chinese roll requires a particular 90 degree extension that the girls at this level can perform now, so she really wants the part. Plus, she's been a bon-bon before.

 

Trythis, you asked about managing disappointment? It's a fact of life in the dance world. It builds character as there are many times in life that we don't get what we truly want. Last year the girls in Levels 2 and 3 were given the opportunity to audition for a part in the company's professional ballet with a guest choreographer. Apparently he was looking for a few fairies. There was a height limit of 4'8", but all of the girls were encouraged to audition for the experience of having their first true professional audition. Sure enough, all the girls were lined up and those over a certain height were immediately dismissed. Then the others were grouped and asked to perform a few combinations. My daughter was excused in the next cut and the remaining girls were cast (about 10). By looking at the girls who were chosen, it was obvious that a particular body size and type was selected, like a mini corps. I don't mean that in an offensive way, but in the way of art, a similar looking group of dancers was what fit the bill. A few of the dancers were close friends of my dd's and she was bitterly disappointed that she could not join them.

 

My dd held her composure in the studio, but cried in the car on the way home. I felt for her, but there was nothing to be done. She congratulated her friends, watched some of the rehearsals through the doorway before her class, and we had tickets to the performance. She was happy for them, and her friends aren't the type to rub things in. As time passed, disappointment passes and another role pops up.

 

Another time her best friend was one of a few chosen to perform in a traveling Nutcracker show. Many parents were jealous and the mom avoided the studio for the whole season. Such is life. I have taught my daughter that sometimes you just don't get the part, but you do get to choose your attitude and actions toward others. I don't allow her to cut down another student "who shouldn't have gotten that part." I have heard other moms and kids say those types of things. I have been very proud of the way she handles her disappointments and maintains her friendships at the studio. By the same token, she gravitates toward the girls who also have a positive attitude.

 

I'll post about our auditions next week!

 

Laura

[trythis]

LauraR,

You should be very proud of your daughter and the way she is genuinely happy for her friends and takes her dissappointment with character.

We posted our cast list today. I volunteer and one of the things I do is build the spreadsheet with all the phone numbers and emails, etc. Then the director gives me the casting and I add that info and sort the list into casts to give to the parents. So basically I get the cast list 24 hours before everyone else. So when I posted the above I knew my daughter didn't get to be Fritz, which she was hoping for. I was dreading her finding out. I am not allowed to tell her, she has to see the posting at the studio like everyone else. She was given a part she has done before, and another she has not done before so something is new to be excited about. She was happy for her friends that did get Fritz and Clara. But there were others who clearly had the hopes my daughter did and they sat and cried through the whole meeting. One mother left. I was seeking volunteers and she replied "I'm not in the mood to volunteer this year." Then one mother who is a board member her child cried and she as well refused to volunteer. So all in all my worries were for nothing. Watching other children (and adults) behave so badly reminded me there are worse things in life than not getting a part you want. I was really pleased with how DD took it.

[Momof3darlings]

trythis-congrats on your daughter handling disappointment like a champion. It is a lesson in maturity. Hopefully the parents will calm down after having a day or two to realize that casting should not determine their support.

[Pasdetrois]

It's all about the size of the costumes for us. It's a professional companies production! After being Clara twice and the next year dancing a former company role, all in grade school, my DD is now too tall for anything. Even for the costume carrying parts. She is truly very disappointed but is happy for her shorter friends who got plum roles. Sometimes, you just have to be a grown-up long before your really old enough, especially when you are tall. Congratulations to all the Clara's, partygirls, soldiers and mice out there. Have a wonderful season!

 

LauraR, you are raising a lovely young woman and if she does not get to dance this year, just look at her and see the true beauty you have helped develop. What a star she truly is! Not all of lifes/ballets successes are on stage!

[LauraR]

pasdetrois, she will dance in the Nutcracker, it's just a matter of which part. Everyone who auditions for our Nutcracker is cast somewhere, depending on height. My original post didn't come out clearly written, but there was an additional fall company production that the girls had an opportunity to audition for...that was the tough one! Our Nut auditions aren't real auditions in my non-ballet world. They just size everyone up and according to height and class level, you are slated into a role. We pay a costume fee for the kids to participate, and I'm sure having the kids cast is an additional ticket fundraiser for the company. We have hundreds of students dance in the nut, so they usually have one role.

 

The only true auditions in our school are for the right size boy who will play Fritz, Clara (who may be a company member), and Clara's friends.

 

Thanks to everyone for the kind words regarding my dd . I am very proud of her and I see a lot of life lessons from ballet that carry over to the outside world. Trythis, sounds like you are seeing this, too!