[00:00] Christmas isn't Christmas without the Nutcracker.
[00:03] Every year I would get very excited to perform it again.
[00:07] It's kind of nice for people to just have this one hour or two hours to just be
[00:12] really like enchanted and like swept up in the magic of it.
[00:16] Yeah, even as a grown-up, like you go back in time and you're like, "Oh, this
[00:19] is what Christmas feels like."
[00:22] I mean, I've been doing it every year since I was 12, so it just doesn't really
[00:26] feel like December without it.
[00:30] I started ballet lessons when I was six years old, and I have been in the Nutcr
[00:36] acker every December since then.
[00:40] I'm from Japan, but my family never came here, so they get to see me dance
[00:47] finally after like so many years.
[00:51] This is very exciting for me.
[00:56] And when they see a sugar plum and the beautiful costumes and the sets and the
[00:59] snow falling, and everyone just like loves it.
[01:02] I think this is his best music in some ways.
[01:08] Chekovsky's genius is in portraying the child, me and us.
[01:13] It's great music, and it's also got something to look at while you're listening
[01:21] to this great music.
[01:23] That's the wonder of ballet.
[01:27] Nutcracker holds a special place in many people's hearts because it's tradition
[01:31] . It's part of their holiday.
[01:35] That's my favorite part about the Nutcracker. It's a tradition, and COVID will
[01:40] not stop that tradition.
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[05:13] You know, it takes more than the dancers to bring this production to life.
[05:19] It takes a huge effort from the entire organization.
[05:22] Let's take a look behind the scenes to see how things are a little bit
[05:25] different this year.
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[05:39] The first time I got in, like, my eye on a dance career was because I wanted to
[05:44] do the Britney Spears dance.
[05:46] [LAUGHTER]
[05:47] After that, I got involved with all of it, and I love it.
[05:50] [LAUGHTER]
[05:51] When I was younger, I always stopped watching dancers that touch your heart.
[05:57] So I always wanted to do that.
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[06:01] [LAUGHTER]
[06:02] I had a lot of energy, and so that's the classic story of how do we get the kid
[06:07] to put their energy into something productive.
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[06:10] The first time I watched from that cracker was, like, very, like, leaps and
[06:13] jumps and turns and things.
[06:15] I was like, "Oh, that's cool. I never get to do that, but I like to do that."
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[06:20] That's better, yes, good.
[06:22] You can come around the corner a little bit more.
[06:24] So it has a--
[06:25] The Nutcracker is one of our largest productions of the year.
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[06:28] We have over 12,000 people who see it annually.
[06:31] Take a little breath into that P.K.R. best for him.
[06:35] Nutcracker is, for many companies, most companies, is what keeps the company
[06:39] alive.
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[06:41] Good.
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[06:43] So it's the Nutcracker is in the world that really, really helps.
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[06:47] We were unsure if we were going to be able to produce the Nutcracker at all.
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[06:56] When COVID first came out and we kind of have to shut that season off, it was a
[07:01] bra.
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[07:06] You're very unsure of how long it will last.
[07:10] I had no doubt that the season to come would be affected.
[07:18] Guys, things kept getting pushed further and further.
[07:21] We started inching closer to Nutcracker.
[07:23] We started getting a little more nervous about what are we going to do.
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[07:27] That time of reflection has given me new thoughts about ballet.
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[07:35] I need this thing in my life because I love to do it every day.
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[07:40] As dancers, we're going to find a way to dance.
[07:43] Whether it's inside the house, whether it's outside the house, film, live.
[07:48] We're going to find a way to dance.
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[07:52] We really were desperate to produce the Nutcracker in any way we could.
[07:57] And we do have a responsibility to continue the tradition of ballet and to
[08:01] continue this tradition of Nutcracker.
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[08:06] The Nutcracker this year is a whole different game.
[08:09] We are doing the filming thing, which is a new experience for all of us.
[08:13] Oh, it's great.
[08:14] Sweet.
[08:15] Yeah.
[08:16] I didn't think it looked that great, and it looks great.
[08:18] I knew that the ballet was going to pull through and pull something together.
[08:21] You know, we felt like we had to do it.
[08:23] That's actually a happy turn a little more this way.
[08:25] Our love of dance goes so deep.
[08:27] So any chance to do it, again, we have to be grateful for it.
[08:31] Take six.
[08:32] So I'm really thankful that we get to do something for the Nutcracker this year
[08:36] , especially
[08:37] because it just brings back some sense of normalcy into everything that's going
[08:42] on.
[08:43] Yeah.
[08:44] This is the last Airbus when you come through to it.
[08:48] And I feel lucky to be a small part of it.
[08:51] And, you know, it gives them hope, it gives them something to hold on to.
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[08:56] And what the dancers are capable of doing now.
[09:01] So I mean, technique has gotten better and better and better.
[09:06] It's almost as shocking what a lot of these dancers can do.
[09:10] It's amazing.
[09:12] Yeah.
[09:13] It's a lot of work, but we're all so excited, like the dancers and the artistic
[09:17] staff.
[09:18] Double toward the end of this.
[09:20] So together.
[09:21] I mean, I think it's important to be doing this right now and to be giving this
[09:24] to the world
[09:25] and certainly healing for us.
[09:27] I know.
[09:28] Like, I feel so grateful to be able to do this.
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[09:35] You got it.
[09:36] I came two seasons ago and Sarah came this last season.
[09:38] So this is our second season together.
[09:40] And I feel like we're the same level of silly.
[09:42] Yeah, that's true.
[09:44] We get along.
[09:45] [LAUGHTER]
[09:46] Go!
[09:47] It's such an insular world.
[09:49] Really.
[09:50] It's this group of people who love to do this thing and we often breathe, eat,
[09:55] sleep, ballet.
[09:57] This is a full-time commitment.
[10:01] We train very hard from a very young age.
[10:05] And doing things like this, we condition our bodies so that when we can perform
[10:10] for the
[10:10] general public, it looks as seamless and easy and as entertaining as possible.
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[10:16] Oh, so sorry.
[10:17] When you go from quarantining to all of the jumping, all of the relevés, the
[10:23] wear and tear
[10:25] gets to you much faster.
[10:27] [LAUGHTER]
[10:28] In a little bit of pain, but this helps.
[10:31] It's worth it, labor of love, right?
[10:34] That's my letter.
[10:35] It's this constant process of pushing and self-improvement.
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[10:43] There's a reason we go to school for eight years to train our bodies and our
[10:48] minds to be able to
[10:50] perform at such a high level and at the same time look effortless to one.
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[10:59] We are folding up the drop.
[11:01] Yeah, if we have just a middle, we will.
[11:03] I tell anyone, it's probably the most difficult ballet you could ever imagine
[11:08] creating.
[11:09] That was a little bit.
[11:11] So, we currently have all this confetti.
[11:14] In order to make it snow, you move one line set and snow comes up whole.
[11:19] [MUSIC PLAYING]
[11:20] Nutcracker, snow magic.
[11:22] There is a tremendous amount of work that goes in to this production.
[11:27] Happy snow, people.
[11:28] That all leads up to this one moment of performance, and we're all just hoping
[11:33] for magic.
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[11:36] What I'm looking forward to most about doing the Nutcracker this year is the
[11:40] fact that
[11:41] everyone that watches it is going to have that front row seat.
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[11:48] Now, creating a film in like a movie experience is a whole other level of, you
[11:52] know, doing
[11:54] the Nutcracker and creating this art for people.
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[11:58] So, 1230 to 230.
[12:01] This is a very fast moving train.
[12:03] Because then we can do haze and we can do the lighting look faster than we are
[12:08] used to.
[12:09] So, we're not doing any tint shifting like we do in the actual show.
[12:12] Zero tint shifting would happen.
[12:14] Correct.
[12:15] Because of restrictions that we've had with our shooting schedule, we're having
[12:19] to reshoe
[12:20] on days that we did not originally intend to shoot on.
[12:24] And things keep changing.
[12:26] We have different dancers that have been out, so then that had to shift
[12:30] everything.
[12:32] It's like every time you have something arranged, you have to rearrange it.
[12:37] Like, it's Tuesday, and I feel like the second day of the shoot schedule, and
[12:41] we're already
[12:41] on version 14 of our schedule.
[12:44] We have been very safe in our working in pods with our dancers.
[12:48] So, there are no more than four dancers on stage at a time.
[12:53] I'm grateful that this is an option that I can be on Zoom and still be kind of
[12:59] a part
[13:00] of this rehearsal.
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[13:06] So, it's really interesting with the filming.
[13:08] We're having to film it separately, but then make it look like everybody's on
[13:12] stage together.
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[13:16] But the thing that has been the biggest challenge as filmmakers is to safely
[13:20] get all those dancers
[13:20] on stage.
[13:21] And we have been able to achieve this through compositing and what we like to
[13:25] call movie magic.
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[13:29] And so, one of the coolest ones here is this flower, the blooming flower.
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[13:39] We're having to be very careful about spacing.
[13:41] You know, you can't cross the center line because the other pod will be on that
[13:45] side of center
[13:46] and you don't want to, you know, have a hand cut off or anything like that.
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[13:57] And with our production, we have so many fantastic elements, choreography, set
[14:02] design.
[14:03] The music is spectacular, our dancers are amazing.
[14:05] It really is a great package of what a grand ballet can be.
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[14:13] I think I'm most enthused and passionate about costuming for dance, especially
[14:16] for ballet,
[14:17] because I love the visual effect that it has.
[14:20] I think it's very important that the dancer feel good.
[14:24] I'm very excited about this question because if you can see a bunch of sparkles
[14:31] in the back, too.
[14:33] The dancer has to be able to do any range of motion that's asked of them.
[14:36] Yeah, just to add a little stretch to that.
[14:39] Adaptation.
[14:40] It has to be functioned first.
[14:42] And having been a dancer, I understand what it's like to wear the costumes they
[14:46] do.
[14:46] So that helps a great deal. It helps me and it makes them feel a little more
[14:49] comfortable
[14:50] that, you know, I understand their needs.
[14:53] It's a great story with lots of characters and wonderful music.
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[15:01] The most famous excerpt, of course, is the Chinese dance.
[15:05] And we're all sort of prone to mess that one up occasionally.
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[15:17] It's hard-wearing to know that we can, even in the most dire circumstances,
[15:22] keep this family tradition alive.
[15:25] I think that we're all discovering how important the arts are
[15:29] and how important the nurturing element of art is to our lives.
[15:35] I think it's just really, really important during these very times.
[15:39] I mean, I'm excited that we're able to do this.
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[15:44] I mean, this is what we need to hold on to. Art is what lifts you up.
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[15:53] Everyone who works here, who believes in the power of art and the beauty of
[15:59] ballet and dance,
[16:01] has no doubt that what we're doing is the right thing to do
[16:05] and continuing to present our craft.
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[20:04] I remember growing up on a very small island, St. Croix,
[20:08] and we had to fly in our professional dancers from Puerto Rico,
[20:12] and it was a huge deal.
[20:14] When the sugar plum fairy came, she would give old-point shoes to the aspiring
[20:20] dancers.
[20:21] I was one of them, but she would only give one because dangerous.
[20:24] You have to build up the strength to wear your point shoes,
[20:27] but what our parents didn't know is my friends and I would get together,
[20:31] and we would put our single point shoes together, signed by her,
[20:34] and we would take turns dancing around.
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[20:45] So I'm putting some rosin.
[20:47] I think it's literally just tree rosin that we use because this dance has a lot
[20:52] of running in it,
[20:53] and it's easy to slip and fall if you're running a lot,
[20:56] so I want to make sure that doesn't happen.
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[21:00] I do a special thing for my shoes, because we go through it so much.
[21:06] Once I wear it for the night, it's all done.
[21:09] Especially the sugar plum part of it is so hard.
[21:13] I'm on point like almost basically 15 to 20 minutes,
[21:17] so we keep sewing, sewing every day.
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[21:26] Now there's all those fears and fears of your shoes on stage.
[21:29] It's kind of funny.
[21:30] It's something that I'm sure people don't think about,
[21:32] but we sew our shoes ourselves.
[21:34] We sew the elastic and the ribbon on, so did I do a good enough job?
[21:37] Is something going to pop off?
[21:38] Is my ribbon going to come out on stage?
[21:40] I've seen people lose a shoe, lose a ribbon.
[21:43] Every story has happened.
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[26:10] To say goodbye to Clara and the Nutcracker Prince,
[26:13] everyone returns for one last farewell.
[26:16] As alas, all dreams must come to an end.
[26:20] Or was it only a dream?
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