The Nutcracker

Holiday Season- The Nutcracker

For the past 14 years, the HSHS Dance Program has been showcasing their annual holiday performance, The Nutcracker. All dancers in the fall semester of dance are included in the performance. In addition, there are a number of dance ensembles that dancers can audition for, which represent different countries. The preparation for The Nutcracker began in the first week of school back in August, and rehearsals began the following week. Due to COVID concerns, the casting was doubled in case there was a dancer who could not perform and someone needed to perform in their place.

I got the opportunity to speak to multiple students who were involved in the production:

I first interviewed one of the Clara’s, senior Riley Harris. I asked her, ``What has it been like being Clara?'' She responded, “Getting to dance as Clara has been a dream come true.” Many of the dancers who went to Holly Grove or Holly Ridge Middle were able to go see the production as a field trip, including Riley, who has “wanted to be a part of the show” for years. Riley says, “I have loved being double cast for the role [as Clara] because I can still perform my favorite ensemble pieces from my underclassmen years and learn new choreography.” She hopes that our young audience can be inspired to “join the dance program just as she was inspired in middle school.” After two years being a part of this production, I asked her about her favorite part of being a part of this production: “Working as Clara involves interacting with all of the cast and tech members in the show, not just the dancers in my class period.” She has enjoyed “connecting and collaborating with many of the new dancers” that she has gotten to meet by involved in not just her ensemble casts, but the whole production.

I spoke to Ben Mandhardt, senior, who played the role of Riley's prince. I asked him, “What was it like to be a part of Nutcracker this year?” He responded that his favorite part of Nutcracker was seeing all of the hard work everyone contributed. In addition, for his own rehearsal commitment, he spent most of his time during lunches practicing, “which paid off in a spectacular fashion!”

I spoke to freshman Kyra Lewis and asked her, “What was it like to be a part of your first Nutcracker?” She said, “It was so fun… [she] loved being in the different ensembles.” She believed she “grew a lot in [her] dancing… and got closer with people.” I also asked her, “What was your favorite ensemble to perform?” She emphasized that it was “Spanish because [she] loved the concept of the costumes and getting to use fans.”

Last, I spoke to senior Riya Singh, who came to see The Nutcracker production and asked her, “What was her favorite piece and why?” She responded that her favorite piece was “Snow because of the snow throwing being on time with the beat” and it “looked really pretty”. In addition, she thought the simplicity of the dresses with the “hair clip added elegance.” Her perspective of the performance included the “chaos with the dancers weaving in between each other, yet it was visually beautiful”.

After four long and working months, it was an amazing opportunity to bring back the annual production of The Nutcracker. With lots of sacrifices and time, all the dancers had a wonderful time performing and were glad they were able to perform in front of a live audience again. For our seniors, they all got the experience to perform their favorite ensembles one last time.