When the curtain goes up on George Balanchine鈥檚 The Nutcracker, audiences will see the beloved holiday ballet much as its creator, New York City Ballet Co-Founder George Balanchine, envisioned it. The Christmas tree will soar to an eye-popping height of 41 feet. Candy Canes, Marzipan, and Hot
Chocolate will spring to life to Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky鈥檚 lilting score. And young children in the cast will frolic at a 19th-century house party, glide across the stage as tiny angels, and scamper out from under Mother Ginger鈥檚 capacious skirt as high-spirited Polichinelles.
But this year, of the 126 children who comprise the ballet鈥檚 two alternating casts, just 18 have performed in The Nutcracker in previous years. Among the 108 newcomers are the ballet鈥檚 three main characters, the Prince, Marie, and Fritz. Contrast that with The Nutcracker鈥檚 pre-pandemic production in 2019, in which 72 young dancers were Nutcracker veterans, including all of the children in leading roles.
The abundance of newcomers is, of course, due to the pandemic. Nutcracker performances were canceled completely in 2020, and in 2021, children鈥檚 roles were limited to students aged 12 and up, the cutoff vaccination age for children at the time. 鈥淚t was a gift of an extra year for the 12-year-olds, but
there鈥檚 a huge group of younger dancers who missed two years of opportunity to perform in The Nutcracker,鈥� says Children鈥檚 Repertory Director Dena Abergel who, together with Associate Children鈥檚 Repertory Director Arch Higgins, prepares the children, all of them students at the School of American
Ballet, for their Nutcracker roles.
The production is designed for children to gain age-appropriate performance experience as they grow up in it. The youngest girls, aged 8 to 9, typically start as Angels, learning stage directions, rehearsal deportment, and how to count to music. Between ages 9 and 10, they progress to the Party Scene,
adding pantomime and social dancing to their skill set. By the time they鈥檙e cast as Polichinelles and Candy Canes, aged 11 to 12, they鈥檙e at home on the big stage and ready for more challenging choreography.
Making up for two years of lost experience doesn鈥檛 happen in an instant, as Abergel quickly discovered. It took twice as many rehearsals this year to teach the Grandfather鈥檚 Dance, the Party Scene鈥檚 intricate finale.
But after a decade as Children鈥檚 Repertory Director and 19 years dancing in The Nutcracker with the Company, Abergel knows every facet of the ballet, as well as how to get the most out of young dancers who are balancing the demands of ballet with full-time academic school. She teaches the more formidable choreography, like the Grandfather鈥檚 Dance, first, so the children have weeks to master it. She even harnesses technology, recording herself counting steps to the music so students can listen to her when they practice at home.
鈥淚鈥檝e listened to the Grandfather鈥檚 Dance every single day because I need to get this down,鈥� says Judah Horenfeldt, an 11-year-old fifth grader from Tenafly, New Jersey, who is dancing in the Party Scene in his first Nutcracker. 鈥淚 also have a notebook where I write everything down so I can practice when I get home. I鈥檓 so excited to be doing this!鈥�
He鈥檚 not the only one. Tess Vogel, an 11-year-old sixth grader from Brooklyn, is thrilled to be a Polichinelle, particularly after sitting out the past two seasons following her Nutcracker debut as an Angel when she was 8. 鈥淲hen I was an Angel, we were always looking up to the Polichinelles. Now that I鈥檓 a Polichinelle, it feels great when the younger kids ask me what it鈥檚 like,鈥� she says.
One of this year鈥檚 most daunting tasks for Abergel and Higgins was casting the leading roles of Marie, The Prince, and Fritz, parts normally danced by Nutcracker veterans. 鈥淯sually when The Nutcracker is over, there鈥檚 someone who stood out in the Party Scene who I鈥檒l continue to watch, but that couldn鈥檛
happen in the last two years,鈥� Abergel says. For the role of Marie, she assembled a large group of students who met the height and age requirements, and made up an impromptu Nutcracker-style acting scene for them to perform as part of the audition process. 鈥淭hey had to be able to catch the choreography so I knew they could learn, display emotion, and show me a character,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was definitely a very different process for us, but it worked.鈥�
It certainly worked for 10-year-old Zofia Mendez, a fifth grader from the Bronx鈥攁nd an SAB student since she was 6鈥攚hose first role ever in The Nutcracker will be Marie. The tryout was nerve wracking, Mendez says. 鈥淚 was shaking, but when I really focused, I actually got the instructions and corrections and was able to do it. Dancing in The Nutcracker was one of my dreams.鈥�
As rehearsals wind down, Abergel looks forward to the magic moment when everything comes together. 鈥淚t always does,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut this will be an extraordinary year鈥攆or the audience, for the parents, and for the kids themselves most of all.鈥�
