Behind the Scenes of Shannon Carney Dance Academy’s “Variations of a Nutcracker Performance”

As we get closer to December 25th, more and more people are looking for ways to fill their weekends with holiday cheer. On Saturday, December 11th at 1:00 in the afternoon, Shannon Carney Dance Academy held their very own take on a Christmas classic. Their performance was titled “Variation of a Nutcracker,” and consisted of dances inspired by the original nutcracker ballet, and more! Including a cute hip hop number to the song ‘Hot Chocolate’ from the movie “The Polar Express.” Shannon Carney Dance Academy’s “Variation of a Nutcracker” was only about an hour long and had a ten-minute intermission. The dancers, storyteller, and stage crew all made the performance look easy, but many do not know how much work was put into the event prior to show day.

Auditions, rehearsals, costumes, and stage props are just the tip of the iceberg when preparing for a performance. First thing’s first, auditions! Auditions were held in late June and early July of this past summer. Then preparations began in August, when dancers participated in Saturday rehearsals for four months prior to December 11. Meredith Detwiler, who played the Nutcracker, explained that “rehearsals for [her] didn’t actually start until October because she was not learning any dances.” Her part consisted more of acting and less of dancing. Others, however, were at the studio every Saturday for at least an hour. Meredith also told us that as show day grew closer and closer, rehearsals grew longer and longer. The absolute longest being the night before the show.

Dress rehearsal, the night before the show, was four hours long and a little stressful! Emily Detwiler, assistant backstage director, outlined some of the inconveniences that occurred. She said, “We had a dress rehearsal, and everything was a mess. The lights and music were not working, and one of the younger girls peed herself on stage!” The poor young girl who had the accident was not only a major inconvenience for the stage crew, but also for the costumes. For this performance Shannon Carney Dance Academy gets their costumes from En Arabesque, a costume store owned by Ms. Kelli, a teacher at Shannon Carney Dance Academy. The costumes were to be returned to the store immediately after the show, looking brand new. The dancers could not even bring them home. All costumes were kept neatly on a clothing rack. Dancers arrived in full hair and makeup and changed into them once at the venue. The only part of the costumes not from En Arabesque were the Nutcracker and Mouse King heads, which were made of a mesh, paper mâché material. This was a brand-new addition to the costume rack, as Meredith Detwiler and Elizabeth Scavuzzo were the first people to ever wear them!  The Nutcracker, Meredith, stated, “The head was not heavy whatsoever. During practices it was not hard to see either. On stage with the lights, however, it was very hard to see, and I felt half blind!” Despite not being able to see, many felt Meredith did a great job, and children approached her after the show for pictures!

Not only were lights, sounds, and costumes an issue this year, but so were injuries. Two of the studio’s senior dancers were injured in recent months, causing an array of changes to roles and scenes in the show. Emily Detwiler, playing Drosselmeyer, and Kayli Sassman, playing the Sugar Plum Fairy, both suffered major injuries. Emily and Kayli got hurt in October.  Both girls were told by their doctors that they would not be dancing in time for the Nutcracker. Because of this, the teachers of Shannon Carney Dance Academy had to find a new Drosselmeyer, and a new Sugar Plum Fairy. For Drosselmeyer, they chose Jami Bruecks, and the new Sugar Plum Fairy was Emily Bucher. These changes also meant changes to some of the scenes. One scene in particular, involved Meredith. At one point in the show the Sugar Plum Fairy was supposed to walk Clara onto the stage. Instead, we saw the Nutcracker guide Clara onto the stage. There was a reason behind why Meredith was thrown in at the last minute.  She explains, “I was not aware of how many times I had to be onstage at first. I wasn’t supposed to go on that much, but because Kayli Sassman (the sugar plum) broke her foot. I had to fill in as the nutcracker for the part of walking Clara on stage because the fill in sugar plum (Emily Bucher) had a dance immediately after that part, so was not able to.”

Despite all of the craziness that happened beforehand, everything on show day went just as planned! Emily and Meredith both agree that the show ran smoothly and was one of the better “Variations of a Nutcracker” Shannon Carney Dance Academy has ever put on! Be sure to check out the next nutcracker performance this time next year!