During the Show

THINGS TO WATCH FOR DURING THE PERFORMANCE

Pas de Deux

A pas de deux is a dance for two people. It is an exciting partnership between dancers, physically, musically, and artistically. Usually the two lead characters of a production perform it. During a pas de deux with a man and a woman, the man will lift the woman and sweep her into the air. Look for a pas de deux with Clara and the Nutcracker and the Sugar plum Fairy and her Cavalier!

Pantomime

A small but important part of the ballet tradition is the use of pantomime to express ideas, feelings and plots with gestures rather than words. Look for pantomime in the living room scene with Clara and her mother and father, and also in the opening scene, after snow, when the Nutcracker retells the story of the Rat Queen and Clara. The characters will tell stories using gestures.

Corps de Ballet versus Soloists

Ballet companies call their best dancers principals or soloists. These few dancers have featured roles in the ballet and often will dance all alone. The rest of the company called the corps de ballet supports them. See if you can distinguish who is in the corps de ballet and who is a soloist. In the snow scene you will see a soloist and a corps dancing together. In our school, dancers work very hard and audition for these roles.

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