The Nutcracker Ballet has become a holiday tradition

  • By Kyle Valentini
  • November 20, 2011
  • 265
                        
Summary: Part one of a two part series about The Nutcracker Ballet produced by the Tuscarawas Dance Arts Center at Dover under the direction of Shelly Beitzel, now in its 19th year. Participants describe a family-like atmosphere as they prepare for another year of bringing this classic holiday production to the Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas at New Philadelphia Dec. 15-18. The Nutcracker Ballet was written by the well known Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky in 1891. Having been commissioned by choreographer Marius Petipa, the score was based on Alexandre Dumas’s adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffman’s story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The year the ballet debuted it was a flop. Funny to think today it is one of the most endearing productions, especially this time of year, with production companies all over the world staging the holiday classic. Over the years the ballet has been fine-tuned by various choreographers with George Balanchine’s 1954 adaptation remaining the standard we see when the ballet is performed today, the story of a young German girl who dreams of a Nutcracker Prince and a fierce battle against a Mouse King with seven heads. The Tuscarawas Dance Arts Center at Dover under the direction of Shelly Beitzel will present the Nutcracker Ballet, now in its 19th year at the Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas at New Philadelphia Dec.15-18. B. Todd Bradshaw has been helping Beitzel since the production’s second year. “At first I was a grunt. I did set design and building and the stuff you don’t see backstage. I was involved with the theatrical part. Shelly and I met when I was involved with the Little Theater. I kind of got recruited to help her when they did the show there,” said Bradshaw. Bradshaw has played various on stage and off stage roles in the 18 years spent helping Beitzel. He will play the role of godfather Drosselmeyer in this year’s production. No one knew the ballet would still be produced so many years later. “When we first got started we thought we’d see how things were in five years and then after that we thought we see how things were going in ten years and then all of a sudden we passed the 15 year mark and here we are approaching the 20th year,” said Bradshaw. Bradshaw is not the only member of the crew that has withstood the test of time. Taylor Price, a senior at New Philadelphia High will be performing for her 12th consecutive year. “I do it year after year for Shelly and because it is fun. I’ve been an elf and have done a big solo as the Sugar Plum Fairy throughout the years,” said Price. This year she will dance the Arabian scene in the ballet, a role she will share with Rachael Litty of New Philadelphia. Price’s younger sister, Tessa, a junior at New Philadelphia High School, will perform in the production for her tenth consecutive year. “The ballet puts me in the Christmas Spirit. I love warming up to Christmas music,” said the younger Price. Katie Krocker, a senior at Indian Valley High School was a bit more descriptive about her experience with the ballet. “I actually throw up every opening night. After that I am alright for the rest of the performances,” said Krocker who is performing for her 9th consecutive year. Krocker will share the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy with Dover High School senior Katie Casimir. “This is my 10th year in The Nutcracker,” said Casimir. “I love being on stage.” “I have seen kids grow up here. They are now bringing their kids to see the ballet and in some cases their kids are in the ballet,” said Bradshaw. “Some of these kids started out when we were at the Little Theater. All our sets were designed for that space. We moved over to the auditorium at Kent State and now they get to perform in a state of the art facility here at the Performing Arts Center.” Beitzel and Bradshaw both described the move from one facility to another challenging. “When we brought our sets to the auditorium at KSU we had to downsize in order to fit everything on the stage. But here at the Performing Arts Center our sets are so small. We got everything here and said, ok, where’s our stuff? We are updating them as we can and hope to begin building new sets for next year’s 20th anniversary,” said Bradshaw. “This show is like a family reunion,” said Bradshaw. “We have become a big family and for some of us this is the only time we get to see each other.” The Tuscarawas Dance Arts Center’s production of The Nutcracker Ballet will be performed at the Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas at New Philadelphia with shows scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15, 16 and 17 and 2 p.m. Dec. 18. Tickets are available online at www.tuscarawasdanceartscenter.com or at the Performing Arts Center box office.


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