• Contributors
    • Catherine L. Tully, Owner/Editor
    • Dance Writers
      • Rachel Hellwig, Assistant Editor — Dance
      • Jessika Anspach McEliece, Contributor — Dance
      • Janice Barringer, Contributor – Dance
      • José Pablo Castro Cuevas, Contributor — Dance
      • Katie C. Sopoci Drake, Contributor – Dance
      • Ashley Ellis, Contributor — Dance
      • Samantha Hope Galler, Contributor – Dance
      • Cara Marie Gary, Contributor – Dance
      • Luis Eduardo Gonzalez, Contributor — Dance
      • Karen Musey, Contributor – Dance
      • Janet Rothwell (Neidhardt), Contributor — Dance
      • Matt de la Peña, Contributor – Dance
      • Lucy Vurusic Riner, Contributor – Dance
      • Alessa Rogers, Contributor — Dance
      • Emma Love Suddarth, Contributor — Dance
      • Andrea Thompson, Contributor – Dance
      • Sally Turkel, Contributor — Dance
      • Lauren Warnecke, Contributor – Dance
      • Sharon Wehner, Contributor – Dance
      • Ashley Werhun, Contributor — Dance
      • Dr. Frank Sinkoe, Contributor – Podiatry
      • Jessica Wilson, Assistant Editor – Dance
    • Dance Wellness Panel
      • Jan Dunn, MS, Editor
      • Gigi Berardi, PhD
      • James Garrick, MD
      • Robin Kish, MS, MFA
      • Moira McCormack, MS
      • Janice G. Plastino, PhD
      • Emma Redding, PhD
      • Erin Sanchez, MS
      • Selina Shah, MD, FACP
      • Nancy Wozny
      • Matthew Wyon, PhD
    • Music & Dance Writers
      • Scott Speck, Contributor – Music
    • Interns
      • Intern Wanted For 4dancers
    • Contact
  • About
    • About 4dancers
    • Advertise With 4dancers
    • Product Reviews on 4dancers
    • Disclosure
  • Contact

4dancers.org

A website for dancers, dance teachers and others interested in dance

Follow Us on Social!

Visit Us On YoutubeVisit Us On TwitterVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On FacebookVisit Us On Instagram
  • 4dancers
    • Adult Ballet
    • Career
    • Auditions
    • Competition
    • Summer Intensives
    • Pointe Shoes & Footwear
      • Breaking In Shoes
      • Freed
      • Pointe Shoe Products
      • Vegan Ballet Slippers
      • Other Footwear
  • 4teachers
    • Teaching Tips
    • Dance History
    • Dance In The US
    • Studios
  • Choreography
  • Dance Wellness
    • Conditioning And Training
    • Foot Care
    • Injuries
    • Nutrition
      • Recipes/Snacks
  • Dance Resources
    • Dance Conferences
    • Dance Products
      • Books & Magazines
      • DVDs
      • Dance Clothing & Shoes
      • Dance Gifts
      • Flamenco & Spanish Dance
      • Product Reviews
    • Social Media
  • Editorial
    • Interviews
      • 10 Questions With…
      • Dance Blog Spotlight
      • Post Curtain Chat
      • Student Spotlight
    • Dance in the UK
    • Finding Balance
    • Musings
    • One Dancer’s Journey
    • Pas de Trois
    • SYTYCD
    • The Business Of Dance
    • Finis
  • Music & Dance
    • CD/Music Reviews

The Nutcracker – From Student To Professional

December 20, 2014 by 4dancers

Cara Marie Gary backstage before Nutcracker
Cara Marie Gary backstage before Nutcracker

by Cara Marie Gary

Over the past twenty-three years I have gathered many memories around Christmas time, but the one that stands out amongst the others starts with a magical event that has forever made an impact on my life and has left me with new found feelings of eagerness and desire.

The time had finally come, the chilly December air made the girls run quickly through the green backstage door of the Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina. It was the night of The Nutcracker performance and I, along with other aspiring young dancers, were waiting for the curtain to go up.

After anxiously skipping up and down the long hallway filled with dressing rooms, the moment had finally arrived where the burgundy curtain was lifted and Tchaikovsky’s music filled the theater. I wore a red and black solider costume adorned with strings of gold and stood backstage between two tall curtains. The joy of the holidays filled the air and crept back to the small spot where I was standing. I experienced a feeling of awe as I observed the older girls dancing before me. The tall girl with a radiant smile and a blue dress, who had the role of Clara, stood out to me. She moved with elegance as she danced across the stage; I longed to dance just like her one day.

As I executed my role during the battle scene I attempted to keep the graceful vision of Clara in mind. Staring out at the anonymous silhouettes of the strangers in the audience, I felt as if everything was perfect. The feeling of wonder bubbled inside of me as I took that final bow. I knew from this December night that I wanted to pursue dance, and learn how to leap and twirl like the tall girl in the blue dress. For me this memory combines the joy of Christmas and the motivation I had discovered to pursue a new found passion. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Editorial Tagged With: cara marie gary, christmas, clara, professional dancer, snow queen, sugar plum fairy, the joffrey ballet, the nutcracker

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Or, Why I Still Love Nutcracker)

December 1, 2014 by 4dancers

atlanta ballet's nutcracker
Alessa Rogers as Marya in The Nutcracker, 2012. Photo by C. McCullers

by Alessa Rogers

For most ballet dancers, the holiday season means Nutcracker as much as it does Santa and presents under the tree. It’s a tradition- something that we know will be there, that we can count on every December. But we can also count on that dreaded moment of walking into any coffee shop, bookstore or mall from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day and hearing the Waltz of the Flowers playing on repeat. It’s enough to drive many dancers absolutely crazy. Nutcracker is not without its flaws and the first Nutcracker rehearsals of the year- some as early as September- are always the scene of good-natured grumbling. Dancers love to hate Nutcracker. But despite the endless repetition, the strain on our bodies after many consecutive shows, being away from our families for the holidays and the music that we can’t get seem to get away from, maybe this year we should have a different perspective on Nutcracker, one that’s a little less Scroogey.

Benefits Of Nutcracker For Dance Companies

After all, ballet companies depend on Nutcracker to keep them afloat. 72% of total tickets sales for the entire 2013-2014 season at Atlanta Ballet came from Nutcracker tickets. That’s over two million dollars in revenue that can go towards putting on financially risky but perhaps more inspiring (to dancers) repertoire later in the season. While we might wish that audiences would crave those expensive mixed rep shows and cutting-edge choreographers as much as we do, maybe we should try to be more grateful that Nutcracker, at the very least, fills the seats.

Atlanta Ballet
Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker. Photo by C. McCullers.

Last year, almost 50,000 people came to see Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker. In an economy where support of the arts can be sluggish that is incredibly gratifying. People want to come to this ballet! So while I might groan when I hear the Sugarplum music on every other commercial on TV, when the curtain goes up I have to remember that the people in the audience chose to be there and it is my job to make it memorable. It should be an honor to the dancers that the audience chose to spend their holiday at the ballet. This might be the only ballet they see the whole year and it might very well be the first time they have ever seen ballet at all. So regardless of if this is my 30th and last Nutcracker of the season, it is something that I remind myself before every single show- that for somebody out there, it is their first time. You never know how one performance might affect and inspire someone. Think of how many of us dancers got our first exposure to ballet by seeing the magic of Nutcracker!

Benefits Of Nutcracker For Dancers

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Editorial Tagged With: alessa rogers, atlanta ballet, benefits of nutcracker for dancers, christmas, dance companies, fox theater, sugarplum, the nutcracker

Dance In The UK: NYCB’s Nutcracker Production

December 10, 2011 by 4dancers

by Jessica Wilson

The Nutcracker

There’s an extremely Christmassy privilege heading to the UK on 22nd December, in the form of New York City Ballet’s brand new production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, with tickets priced at just ten pounds. This multi-million dollar production includes a forty foot Christmas tree which weighs a staggering one tonne, seventy ballet dancers, fifty children from the School of American Ballet – the official school of NYCB – and a sixty-two piece orchestra. It is ultimately described by the New York Post as “the Christmas show of all Christmas shows”.

NYCB has an unparalleled active repertory of more than 150 works, many of which are considered modern masterpieces. The Company was established in 1948 by choreographer Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, joined by Jerome Robbins in 1949 as associate artistic director.  Now under the artistic direction of Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins, the company performs an impressive annual 21-week season in New York, the longest home season of any dance company in the world.

The production’s defining feature is its vast scale, described as a ‘virtually live performance’ to be screened in cinemas all over the UK. This will ultimately provide mass audiences with the chance to view such an iconic and prestigious work by Balanchine, who is generally argued to be the father of modern ballet. This great accessibility is proved unhindered by the extremely limited run, due to the fact it is the ‘golden ticket’ of ballets for all dance lovers, available nationally. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 4dancers, 4teachers, Dance in the UK Tagged With: balanchine, christmas, jerome robbins, lincoln kirstein, new york city ballet, nutcracker, nycb, peter martins

Dance Artwork

Get Your Dance Career Info Here!

Dance ebook cover

Podcast

Disclosure – Affiliate & Ad Info

This site sometimes features advertising, affiliate marketing, or affiliate links, such as Amazon Associate links and others. When you click on these links, we get a small sum that helps to support the website operations. Thank you! There’s more detailed information on ads and our disclosure policy under the About tab in our navigation at the top of the site. We clearly mark any and all posts that contain these features.

Copyright Notice

Please note that all of the content on 4dancers.org is copyrighted. Do not copy, utilize, or distribute without express permission. We take cases of infringement seriously. All rights reserved ©2022.

Copyright © 2025 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in