This year I had the opportunity to audition and play the part of a servant in Ballet West's Nutcracker production. I auditioned with some dancers from my studio, and we all got the part of Oriental Servant. There are 4 casts in the Nutcracker (A, B, C, D) and each cast performs one week of December, a total of 6 or 7 performances per cast. However, D cast had the privilege of performing the weekend after Thanksgiving in Ogden as well as their scheduled week at the Capitol Theater.
Another special thing about D cast was that it was the only cast that did not perform on a Sunday. We were told we could suggest what cast we wanted to be on, and our reasons for it, but in the end, Ballet West got to choose where you were cast. It worked out best for my studio to either be on C or D cast, so that is what my friends and I requested, but because of the commitment I made to myself a long time ago to not dance on Sundays, I requested to only be on D cast. Luckily (with many prayers and tender mercies), Ballet West accepted my request, and I was put on D cast, but all of my studio friends were placed on C cast. I still got to carpool with them to most practices and even got to practice with them all the way until December, but I didn't get to perform with them.
I had months of practice downtown and it took a lot of time to get down and back, but it was worth it! Ballet West has tight security. You need a code to enter the parking area, then dancers need a code to enter the building. Parents are NOT ALLOWED anywhere beyond the parking lot, and that is legit. When we walked around Downtown downtown before or after performances wearing our cast jackets, lots of people would congratulate or compliment us. It was kinda weird, but cool.
Many changes were made to the well-known ballet this year, including the costumes, props, sets, and even some characters. After making it into the production, we were told that our part had changed. We would be Oriental Servants in the Ogden productions and Monkey Servants in the Salt Lake productions. That meant we had multiple costume fittings and assignments. We were told with the new changes, the Monkey Servant would have a full-face mask and a tail. This was quite a surprise, and led to a lot of anticipation because we weren't allowed to see the masks until we performed.
Pre-performance Olive Garden with the fam.
I'm glad all 7 of them could come watch the production.
Waiting for the show to start. At this point in the show, I am still backstage waiting in my leo and tights. There is a lot of waiting. Everything having to do with Ballet West is very strict and professional. Our costumes are kept under lock and key and are numbered. We had several costume fittings are were assigned a costume #. We could not access our costumes until after the cannon scene near the end of Act 1.
My fam fans
The monkey masks were just as they promised, and absolutely 0% of our skin was showing with our full costume on (including a long-sleeve leotard, pants, a vest, socks, gloves, and a full-head Velcro mask, fur and all). I enjoyed the costumes and, although it did get hard to breathe at times, they were quite flexible. The Ballet West Nutcracker is copyrighted and because of that, it is illegal to have photographs of the costumes or dancers in the costumes. The Ballet hires one professional photographer who pays the copyright fees and can take pictures of us on stage, but there are no other camera's or cell phones allowed ANYWHERE in the dressing rooms, stage area, or studios.
This is the infamous run of the Servants (now Monkeys), which is the only way we travel from place to place across the stage. As you can guess, we got plenty of laughs. My family loves my 'Monkey Walk'
The Nutcracker was fun to be apart of, and being surrounded by professional ballerinas and getting a taste of their lifestyle was an unforgettable experience. Performing in the Capitol Theater was something really special that I will always remember this as my Nutcracker Christmas.
