The Nutcracker is a classic Christmas staple for dancers across the country. It follows a story of a young girl, Clara, who receives a nutcracker doll and is led through a journey filled with battles, celebrations, and lots of Christmas themed dances. Ran by dozens of studios around the country every year, it takes hundreds of hours in the studio. Learning, fundraising, and preparing for the upcoming performance takes time and dedication from dancers and teachers.
“We have rehearsals every Saturday, basically all day, and in the next couple of weeks we will be rehearsing on stage. We also get to work on it in classes throughout the week,” Emmy Nieman, Arts & Comm. Senior, said.
Steps Dance School runs it every three years, making it a memorable event to look forward to.
“Every time we do it, all of the songs are so nostalgic, and I love how long it is. There are so many different parts that you get to be in, and that’s what makes it such a fun production,” Nieman said.
The studio-wide production allows all members of Steps Dance School to have a part or role in The Nutcracker, allowing for all ages to work together.
“We have a really good community at steps, and it’s always fun to work with everyone no matter what age they are. Everyone is so nice and welcoming,” Paige Sanders, Arts & Comm. sophomore, said.
In November, Steps Dance School put on a “tea party” to fundraise not only for The Nutcracker production, but also for costumes and props. This not only allows for parents, friends, and family to watch what their dancers have been working on the past couple months, but also allows for a tasty and amusing way for Steps to make the money they need for productions and competitions. During the tea party, there were various foods, desserts, and drinks for the audience to enjoy while dancers performed a couple of the dances from The Nutcracker. On Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6, the production was run on stage.
“In the studio there’s a lot less stress on being perfect, but when you get to the stage it all becomes very real because all your hard work is going into one night, and you want to make it amazing,” Emilia Barr, freshman, said.
Although performing on stage is a nerve-racking process and event, dancers felt confident in their performances.
“The performance went really well in my opinion, there weren’t many mistakes and the whole show has improved overall. My favorite part is feeling the crowd, there’s nothing like that rush when a big audience reacts. It makes the whole performance even more exciting and reminds me why I love dancing,” Maddison Wasinger, freshman, said.
Next, the Steps Dance Studio will be preparing for their upcoming competition in Alberquerque, New Mexico to showcase their skills and productions they have been preparing for.
