With finals right around the corner and a foot of snow covering the ground, finishing out the semester can seem unbearable. In Madison, there is no better way to combat end-of-semester woes than to attend the long-time annual production of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker."" Madison Ballet, originally known as the Wisconsin Dance Ensemble, has been performing a seasonal production of ""The Nutcracker"" since 1981. Over the years, it has embedded itself in the Madison holiday spirit, providing young local dancers with the opportunity to perform a theatrical classic for a mass audience.
Devoted ""Nutcracker"" attendees are in for a new treat this year. In his ninth season directing ""The Nutcracker"" at Madison Ballet, arts director W. Earle Smith has incorporated a full professional company into the show. In past years, Madison Ballet has typically hired four guest professional dancers from New York Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre to fill principle roles, with the selected dancers arriving in time for dress rehearsals and performances. In contrast, Smith held auditions in Chicago to cast 14 dancers in the show this year, all on weekly contracts for the entire rehearsal and performance schedule.
The community focus of Madison Ballet's ""The Nutcracker"" has consistently given the production a unique aspect: the integration of adult and children community members, amateurs and professionals. While the addition of a professional cast could be interpreted as a threat to the show's emphasis on community, Smith points out that no children's parts have been cut out of the show. Additionally, the opening party scene still features parents of local dancers as party guests, giving the production ""realistic flavor,"" according to Smith
By maintaining the community feel of Madison's ""The Nutcracker,"" Smith is confident the production can only improve with the addition of the professional cast. According to Smith, professional dancers add an ""artistic maturity"" to the show and also encourage local dancers to improve their own performances. Smith asserts that the professional dancers are ""bringing out the best in the rest of the cast.""
Madison Ballet's emphasis on community has long captivated local audiences and now seems to have affected the professional dancers as well. These performers, who originate from as far as Texas and California, have been staying with host families in the Madison area, giving them an opportunity to become familiar with the local community. Dancer Katrina Oeffling insists that ""Madison has been the most welcoming and family-oriented"" community she has stayed in.
While their prolonged stay has introduced them to a new community, it seems that it has also introduced aspiring young dancers to the idea that a career in dance is an ambitious but achievable goal. Dancer Betsy Sterling said, ""It's cool for kids to see that doing this professionally is attainable."" By hiring a full-time professional company, W. Earle Smith has heightened not only the quality of production but also community ties with the cast itself.
With significant changes occurring this year, a natural question arises: Why this year? According to Smith, the answer is two-fold. The first reason for the addition of the professional cast involves financial matters. Smith states that Madison Ballet is ""in a solid place,"" allowing the organization to make more flexible artistic decisions. The second reason for the change pertains to the evolving local community. With the recent addition of the Overture Center for the Arts to downtown Madison, Smith states that the ballet's ""audience has grown and so the artistic quality must grow as well."" With this promise, it seems the Madison community can look forward to more changes like these in future years.
The Nutcracker runs Friday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Dec.16 at the Overture Center for the Arts. Tickets are available at the Overture Box Office or online at www.madisonballet.org.
