Nutcracker 2019

[AmyMary]

How exciting for your DD to wear a tutu and pointe shoes. I remember for years telling my DD that with hard work and patience she would eventually get bigger and better roles.

[momof5dancers]

AmyMary, I am another one that travels an hour each way (or more in traffic) for the dance school 6 or 7 days a week.  I am trying to be there less too  It would be easier if you lived close, but can you run errands, library, sit in your car (not if you live anywhere cold over the winter), go for a walk,  join a class, or just walk laps in a mall?

Well I can finally plan my life for the next few months and that is so exciting to me. I now have a schedule in hand.  My oldest 3 are so happy with new parts this year, which is going to be awesome for them.  My youngest is excited because it is her first year in.   Let the craziness begin.   

[AmyMary]

Yeah, we do a lot of that stuff but there are limited options in a rural area. We don't have a mall or very many stores, things for kids to do, so it gets tricky.

Congrats to your three kids! Gosh, one is hard enough. My almost 3 yo is begging to take class since we are there all the time but I'm in no hurry.

Edited October 6, 2019 by dancemaven
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[momof5dancers]

Oh that stinks AmyMary.   We are from a more rural area and go to bigger city for class, so there are more options.  Actually all 5 of my kids are in the show this year, along with my husband.   All 5 of them dance at the school.  My youngest is around the same age, that is hard.  Does your little one have to come everyday?   

[AnastasiaBeav]

DD started rehearsing with the professional company last weekend. She was so nervous she wanted to get there an hour early! It ended up being a typical rehearsal with lots of standing around waiting but it was a neat milestone.

[AmyMary]

How exciting! Oh, I can imagine how nervous she would be. I don't know if you use essential oils at all but my DD carries a doTERRA rollerball in her bag called "brave" specifically for kids. In fact, she used it yesterday because we had a very prominent former NYCB soloist teaching class and she was pretty nervous. Even a rollerball of lavender has helped a lot in the past.

Edited October 15, 2019 by dancemaven
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[AnastasiaBeav]

35 minutes ago, AmyMary said:

Even a rollerball of lavender has helped a lot in the past.

That is a good idea. She has lavender that she uses when she can't sleep. It makes sense it would help when she is nervous as well! 

[DanceMumNYC]

Our Nut rehearsals have been underway for about a month now. DD11 is very excited this year. The past 2 years, she had the same role & performed in 1 scene. This year, she's old enough to dance in the full first act! 😄

[AmyMary]

Tell her to enjoy it! This is DD's third year and party scene (most of the first act) is her least favorite because it is so long.

Edited October 15, 2019 by dancemaven
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[Mom de deux]

20 hours ago, AmyMary said:

.....party scene (most of the first act) is her least favorite because it is so long.

Too funny. My DD15 just got her casting and she while is beyond thrilled with some very good parts, she's a little bit miffed that her younger sister will probably spend WAY more time on stage than her between party, battle and polichinelles.

I will say, party scene does feel long in the years I don't have a dancer in it. Probably just because I've seen it so many times though.

[DanceMumNYC]

Haha I go to almost all of the shows every year & never get tired of it! 

[Corismom07]

My 12 yr old daughter was cast as: Clara (yay), party girl (same as last year), Snow, Russian, and Chinese. The company does 14 performances and the children cast go to those rehearsals. Final casting is the week before the show starts. It makes it hard to tell people which shows to go to. 🙁 But as a first year company member I think she will play a role in every show. (Snow requires almost the entire company)

[AnastasiaBeav]

Corismom07, So does that mean she rehearses all of those roles but then they decide the cast for each performance? It seems very complicated. Is there a chance she could rehearse for a role but then not ever perform the role?

[Corismom07]

AnastasiaBeav, It is rather complicated. It is my DD's first year in the company. But from my understanding you could rehearse a role then not make the cut in final casting.  They do attend rehearsals for all the roles they were preliminarily cast in.  The explanation was that artistic director thinks you have the technical ability to dance these roles. 

[AmyMary]

Very interesting ...we live in a small town with one cast and one weekend of shows so all of that is foreign to me.

In fact, DD is a bit frustrated with rehearsals because we have a professional guest artist playing the prince ( no boys at present) and he isn't here yet so she is rehearsing all of Clara without having him here to rehearse with. I think that makes battle scene especially a struggle.