Backstage at the Nutcracker with Wayne Ballet

Show Notes

Let's go backstage at Wayne Ballet's Nutcracker performances to talk with some of the dancers about pointe shoes, partnering and hairspray!

Listen as Emily Brunner shares and recites "'Twas Three Weeks Before Christmas (The Nutcracker Poem)"

Music: "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" by Kevin MacLeod

Transcript

Emily:
Everyone loves special access. Getting to take a peek behind the curtain to see what's going on behind the scenes to get the V I P access and to find out the secrets and magic that goes into creating something awesome. Today you're coming with me backstage at the Nutcracker with Wayne Ballet. I'm Emily and this is Philly Dances.

Emily:
All right guys. I am here backstage in the dressing room with Wayne Ballet level four, four X dancers. Hey everybody. Hey, how's it going? So you guys have already done one show today, right? Yeah. And you have one more tonight and then how many you have? You have another one tomorrow? Yeah. Yeah. All right. So you're one third of the way done. Did it go well? Awesome. So I'm excited that you guys are here to talk with me just a little bit. So we can tell people who might not know what it's like to be backstage for a performance, what it's like or maybe we can let people know how it's a little bit different and unique at Wayne Ballet compared to some other places. So I have a few things that I'm curious about and I was wondering if you guys would just talk with me a little bit and let me know some VIP behind the scenes information. 

Emily:
So I'm curious to start, I know you guys have all been in a lot of different Nutcrackers over the years. Ainsley how many years have you been dancing? 

Ainsley:
This is my third Nutcracker with Wayne. 

Emily:
Oh and Alice, how about you? 

Alice:
Uh, this is my fifth. Yeah, this is my fifth Nutcracker I guess. 

Emily:
You know, it's a lot when it's kinda hard to, to remember. Um, yeah. So I'd like to know what are some of your favorite roles, cause I'm sure that you guys have been in a lot of different roles over the years. Um, 

Ainsley:
My favorite roles were Soldier doll and probably Marzipan, 

Emily:
What did you like about them in particular? 

Ainsley:
Soldier Doll? I like the thrill of party scene and Marzipan, we had a good group. It was so fun. 

Emily:
Alice, how about you? What have been some of your favorite roles so far? 

Alice:
My favorite role is Spanish. Definitely. Yes. Cause I'm with Antonia and Anna, my best friends and uh, yeah, that's my favorite in the whole world. 

Emily:
And that's what you're doing this year, right? 

Alice:
Yeah. Yes. 

Ainsley:
Nice. So Natalie, how about sharing with us a little bit about what you do to prepare for a performance? Both maybe in like the week leading up to it and also maybe like when you wake up in the morning do you do to get to get ready for the day? 

Natalie:
So like I make sure I go to all of my classes and just try my best. Um, and I try to come early, get everything together, get all my quick changes set and then making sure I warm up well and just like, um, yeah. 

Emily:
Tell us a little bit more about the quick changes. I know for a lot of younger dancers that it's super exciting for them when they get their first, you know, like quick change that they have to do in a show. Um, but to me it sounds really stressful, so, so how do you actually do it? How do you change your costume quick enough that you can get on stage in time? 

Natalie:
So like a lot of help from other dancers. Um, you have to like set everything up and then, um, you can't have too many people help you because that's really stressful, but you have to have like set people to help you and like the idea of quick change is really exciting, but like once you're doing it, it's like really stressful. Yeah. 

Emily:
Have they always gone well for you, the quick changes or has there ever been sort of a problem that you had to solve really quickly? 

Natalie:
Um, actually for me I feel like it's gone mostly well. Um, I've definitely had some like problems, but they were able to be solved before I went on stage. 

Emily:
That's good to hear. Olivia I'm curious about what you have in your dance bag on the day of performance. Like what, what do you bring today that you might not have in your bag on other days just for class? 

Olivia:
Uh, definitely lots of hairspray, a lot of hairspray and extra hair ties. Also. Um, booties to put like over your point shoes when you're warming up, stuff like that. 

Emily:
So how many hair ties do you think you brought today? 

Olivia:
I've probably have like five or six cause I double up sometimes to make like a good ponytail. 

Emily:
And how many applications of hairspray do you put on your hair on performance day? 

Olivia:
A lot. Probably like four layers of hairspray, maybe more. 

Emily:
A lot of layers of hairspray. Antonia what do you think about when you're standing backstage in the wings when it's almost your time to go on stage? 

Antonia:
Um, well most of this I'm like really nervous before I go on stage, but I just like always go through the choreography so I don't like, like forget it while I'm on stage. 

Emily:
So does that, uh, here's a question. What do you think about when you're done dancing on stage when you're back in the wings? 

Antonia:
Well, if I did well then like I'm really happy, but then if I didn't do well then like I just like kinda shake it off because you can't like go back like what you did. You got to just like go forward from it. 

Emily:
Awesome. So let's talk a little bit about some Nutcracker roles that you guys would like to do in the future. 

Anna:
Um, well definitely sugar Palm and I would love to be Dewdrop about that. I would really love to be do job. 

Emily:
And um, and uh, tell us a little bit about your point shoes. What type of points, shoes do you wear right now? 

Anna:
Um, I wear a gainer Mindan and I actually have a very long process of putting stuff on my toes. They all know this. So first I put pain reliever on my big toe and then I put like these like moist burn pads they're called and I put them over top of my big toes and then put toe tape over top of that. And I put the tape on my pinky toes and then I have lambs will in my shoe so that it like, it covers, like it fills in the space where there aren't any toes, like pressing against the bottom of the box. And then I put a toe pad on and then I hope that my toes don't fall off. 

Emily:
Well I guess so far they haven't fallen off. So it's working out well for you. Yeah. All right. So I have one more question for you guys. Um, there's a lot of younger dancers in the Nutcracker with you every year. One of them is sitting here with us having a snack. Um, and I'm wondering what sort of advice do you have for younger dancers?

Maria:
I would probably say just like staying optimistic during shows and smiling and just having fun out there. 

Antonia:
Oh. Um, even if you don't get a part there that happy with just enjoy it and just be in the moment. Cause like you never know next year there's so many years to go. Yeah. 

Emily:
That's great advice Antonia. And along with like what Maria said, like you're dancing with your best friends and it's like so fun to just have fun with like all your dances. That's so great. I can tell that you guys do have fun when you're dancing and when you're backstage too. The whole weekend is super fun and I can't wait to watch your next show tonight and the show tomorrow as well. Thanks guys. 

Emily:
We're backstage now with Wayne Ballet's Dew Drop Sam, how's it going Sam? 

Sam:
It's going very well. Yes. 

Emily:
How was your first performance? 

Sam:
It went really well. Better than I thought it would because it was the first show, but it was very solid. 

Emily:
That's great. That's great. So is this your first time dancing Dewdrop?

Sam:
This is my first time doing the part, but I was the understudy last year even though the choreography is different, but I still knew the music and the tempo and stuff, so it was helpful. 

Emily:
Oh, okay. So being the understudy even with a different choreography is still helpful. 

Sam:
Yeah, it's still helpful because especially with the waltz of the flowers, the music changes a lot. So to know the different sections is always helpful. Even if the choreography is different. 

Emily:
And if I remember correctly, last year you were not dancing on pointe, is that right? 

Sam:
Yes. I have an extra navicular bone, which didn't come up for a long time, every portion of my life. But then like about two years ago, it started to cause me a lot of pain, so I decided to take a break from point, but this year I went back and even though it was hard at first, now I'm back in. It's becoming easier like it was before. 

Emily:
How long did it take you to kind of get back into the groove and to feeling strong in pointe shoes again? 

Sam:
It actually only took me about a week to kind of regain everything I did, but I wasn't as strong on point as I was a few years ago, but after about a month, that's is when I feel I gained back almost all of the strength. 

Emily:
That's really encouraging. It's nice to know that if we have to take breaks from things in life, it's okay and that we can come back to it later. Did you miss dancing on point during the time that you were off? 

Sam:
I missed it, but I also thought it was really nice because I needed the break and I was able to improve my other styles and just dancing on flat with ballet. It actually, it proved in that sense because I knew I wasn't dancing on point, which kind of almost gives an extra boost when you're performing in front of a stage. So I feel like I had to almost up my game when I was dancing on flat. 

Emily:
Oh, that's, I'm sure you did. I'm sure you use it a great job on flat. So you have two more performances now with Nutcracker this year. Um, do you, what are you looking forward to with your, your last two performances this year? 

Sam:
Um, I'm really looking forward to Snow specifically. Uh, cause I'm one of the Demi soloists this year and so I'm doing a lot and I also wasn't in Snow last year because I was on flat, but I'm just looking forward to the whole show and being able to spend time with my friends backstage too in addition to dancing. 

Emily:
Yup. That's, that's fun too. Well, thank you so much Sam for talking with me today and I hope you have a great show tonight. I can't wait to watch it. 

Sam:
Thank you. 

Emily:
All right. I am now in the Wayne Ballet level 3X dressing room here with this year's Clara, Sadie and last year's Clara, Kelly. So I have a few questions about what it's like to be Clara. So Kelly, you were Clara last year, so we'll start with you. Can you tell me what was your favorite part or what were some of your favorite parts? If there's more than one about being Claire being such a big role in the Nutcracker. 

Kelly:
Um, so I really liked doing the partnering. It was really cool, like all the lifts and stuff. And I also liked to like getting to act with all the other people and like watching all the dances in like act two and stuff. 

Emily:
That's a really good point because you get the best seat in the whole audience by being on stage and getting to watch. Um, how was it different watching it from behind instead? Like instead of watching it from out in the audience from the front? 

Kelly:
Well cause you get like more of like what the dancers on stage, like their perspective of like the audience and stuff and like you can see like their faces like much more close and it's like fun to see their emotions and like how they're feeling. 

Emily:
That sounds really cool. Sadie. So you just a couple of hours ago finished your first performances, Clara. Congratulations. Tell me was how did you find the pressure of dancing so many solo parts and being such a big part of the Nutcracker? 

Sadie:
Well it was really fun and it didn't really hit me to like Wednesday and then right before the show I got super nervous at dress rehearsal. 

Emily:
And then of course today, right before the performance, did you feel nervous even while you were dancing on stage or did the feeling change a little bit for you? 

Sadie:
It changed a little bit, but I was definitely still nervous. What once we got partway through partnering I felt a lot better and more confident. 

Emily:
So this was the first time that you've done partnering? Tell me what that was like dancing with somebody else and trusting them with the lifts. 

Sadie:
Well, I really like, partnering is so fun for me and it was fun to like learn how to do it and like learn how to do a new style of dancing and I'm not used to. 

Emily:
Kelly, how was your experience partnering last year? 

Kelly:
It was like the most fun of like ever had in the Nutcracker. It was so cool. Just like learning how to do partnering and it'll just like give me an idea of like other stuff that I can do. 

Emily:
That's so awesome. So Sadie, tell me when you're preparing to be Clara, do you need anything special in your dance bag that you might not have every day when you go to class? 

Sadie:
Yeah, a curling iron so I can do my hair and then like all this stuff for my hair. 

Emily:
How long did it take you to do your hair? 

Sadie:
Uh, well it took about like 20 minutes to do the French braids on top and about another 30 40 minutes to curl it. 

Emily:
I wish everybody could see your hair because it's really beautiful. I love that you put braids in with it too. Who helped you with your hair? 

Sadie:
Maria. 

Emily:
That's so great. Kelly, tell me what is in your dance bag? So what in this year you're dancing? What are your roles this year? 

Kelly:
Um, I'm a tall mouse and Chinese tea. 

Emily:
So what is in your dance bag today? Here for the performance. 

Kelly:
So like the only extra thing that I really need is like the chopsticks for the hair. They actually kind of really hurt, but I mean it's like, it's fine because I'll just get through it. 

Emily:
That's, that's, that's a good attitude to have. Yeah. Well thank you guys so much for talking with us for just a little bit about what it's like for you being in the Nutcracker and letting, letting us know what it's like to be Clara. Thank you. 

Emily:
I'm here now with Wayne Ballet's, Sugar Plum Fairy this year, Aidan, and I have been watching Aidan dance for many, many years here at Wayne Ballet and it's so wonderful to see you doing the role of Sugar Plum Fairy. We just finished the first show and from what I could see out in the audience, everything looked really, really great. How did it feel for you? 

Aidan:
It felt amazing. It went like way. It went so well. Way better than I expected. 

Emily:
That's, that's great. How long have you been dancing? When did you start dancing ballet? 

Aidan:
I started when I was five years old, so that was 12 years ago. 

Emily:
Oh wow. So you've been in a lot of Nutcrackers then. 

Aidan:
Yeah. 

Emily:
Have you always wanted to dance the role of Sugar Plum Fairy when you were younger? Did you ever even think about it or was it not or is it something that that came to mind when you get older? 

Aidan:
Um, it started to come to my mind when I was older. When I was younger, I actually almost quit to play softball, but then I decided to stick with it and then seeing, actually, um, I think it was Meredith play Sugar Palm Fairy like inspired me to want to become Sugar Plum Fairy. 

Emily:
That's great. So now you, you are Sugar Plum Fairy and I just learned in the dressing room that you sew your tiara into your hair. 

Aidan:
Yeah, we have to sew my diva crown into my head so it doesn't fall off during all those turns and lifts. 

Emily:
That's awesome. I, I never would've thought about that. That's just one of the many things that people don't think about when they're out there watching in the audience. There's a lot that goes into it. When did you start learning the part? 

Aidan:
This year we started in the middle of November. We actually rehearsed for three days straight and then he flew back to Indianapolis and then he flew back on Friday of dress rehearsal and we practiced all day. And then the next day was the show. 

Emily:
I see your Cavalier's from out of town. 

Aidan:
He's from Indianapolis Ballet. 

Emily:
Oh that's great. So what has it been like partnering with such an amazing dancer? 

Aidan:
He is just amazing and makes me feel like so much more confident and I doubted myself a lot but doing the first show today and it went so well. I'm just so excited to do the next one. 

Emily:
That's great. When, when did you add the tutu into the rehearsing cause that's, that's kind of a whole other beast in and of itself. 

Aidan:
So we use practice tutus to like feel it out cause it's definitely different partnering with a tutu and all the lifts and stuff, but using a practice tutu helps a lot. 

Emily:
Oh, that's good. That's good. Well I got to watch your first show and it was really, really great. Um, and I can't wait to see your show tonight and your show. You have one more tomorrow. So best of luck and enjoy it. 

Aidan:
Thank you so much. 

Emily:
Thank you Aidan. 

Emily:
Okay, that was so fun and a little bit crazy. I think the hairspray fumes are starting to get to me a little bit. You know, I feel so incredibly lucky to be able to see all of this, to see all of the joy here between all the dancers, the joy, it, it really is contagious. You can't be here and not have a giant grin on your face. These dancers work so hard and it's so inspiring to see how much they love doing it. Isn't this what the holidays are all about? Sharing the happiness and love with everyone around you. I'm happy that I could share my afternoon here at Wayne ballet's Nutcracker with you, and I hope that you have the happiest of holidays as we begin the new year.