Bakersfield Life

Classic collaboration

larger view larger view larger view

     The Christmas decor started appearing right before Halloween, but some people have been preparing for the season since August.      They’ve been toiling away in the dance studio or refining the music they will play when the curtain goes up on the 32nd anniversary of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet, a collaboration of the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra and the Civic Dance Center that is among one of Bakersfield’s finest holiday traditions.     This year’s performances begin Dec. 11 at the Rabobank Theater, with showings at various schools. Local children and young dance students auditioned months ago to play the roles of Clara, the Mouse King, Sugar Plum Fairy, Drosselmeyer, Snow Queen, Flowers and Candy among others immortalized in the classic ballet.      What makes Bakersfield’s annual performance special is that it is choreographed locally and restaged to bring a fresh perspective to the traditional ballet, says Cindy Trueblood, Civic Dance Center Artistic Director.     “Most of our students take ballet classes here with the goal of performing in the Nutcracker,” Trueblood said. The 120 to 150 dancers, ranging in ages from 4 years to young adult, are selected based on their expressiveness, ballet technique, work ethic, willingness to commit time to practice and their love of the art. Some parts come with understudies; others are double cast.     Training is intense, with some practicing three to four times a week. Older children dance on pointe, or on their toes. Once dancers are chosen, “they will work every nuance to make it look effortless,” Trueblood said. “We change the order of the ballet depending on the kind of dancers we have on hand. The first act stays the same while there are some changes in the second act. We keep it close to the tradition.”      On the other side of town, the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra musicians review the body of familiar music and fine-tune it with the anticipated changes to the order of the performances.     “When we first started playing the music, it was so hard, it’s like a violin concerto and every instrument is challenged,” said Rebecca Brooks, first violin. “Tchaikovsky’s music is so intricate it challenges everybody. It took us years to get comfortable with the music. Now we’re so familiar with it, it’s not so difficult.”     By collaborating so long with the Civic Dance Center, musicians witness the growth of the young dancers who often grow up from playing corps de ballet roles as bonbons to the major roles like Sugar Plum Fairy. “It’s like a family,” she said. “Everyone looks forward to playing it. I think the dancers do an incredible job. They are so young, but when they are on the stage they are so professional — they never make a mistake,” Brooks said.     Trueblood agrees. “To perform with the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra is the most amazing thing. To see how lucky they are to perform with a live orchestra and to have a relationship for so long — it’s an inspiration to the dancers. Amazingly, I don’t get tired of the music — it energizes me and it inspires the kids to jump higher and bigger. Tchaikovsky was a genius.”     For the dancers and choreographers, the music, the costumes, the ubiquitous rosin on the ballet slippers and toe shoes never gets old. Trueblood and her choreographers wear many hats: They work on lighting, help with the costumes — some of which are older than the little girls wearing them — and coach the dancers to appreciate the art, the musicians and the technical aspects of making a story come to life.       “We always try to highlight the dancers and every year, dancers play different parts,” says choreographer Alicia Angelini, 27, who began her dance career at the age of 3. She won her first part at 13 and since has played the roles of Dream Clara, Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, Rose and Arabian Queen. “You are always training your body in the technique,” she said, even though many of the dancers are familiar with the choreography. “You’re working with a live orchestra and audience — it’s not a recital by any means. It’s an experience. The music is so powerful even when you’re not on stage, you feel like you are a part of the entire production.”      Practice makes perfect for this year’s Sugar Plum Fairy, 18-year-old Victoria Ornelaz, who’s another Nutcracker veteran, having played Dream Clara at age 13 and many other roles as a young child. “When you get the role, it’s your role — you have to take care of it. I’m no longer myself when I step out on stage. I become the role — it’s a fun experience,” she said. “My Christmas would almost be incomplete without the Nutcracker.”       “People don’t realize that it’s different,” said choreographer, dance director and former Nutcracker performer Kristen Doolittle. “If you think you’ve seen it, maybe you haven’t,” urging people to come out and experience the magic of the music and the dance this year.