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Dancing In The Land Of Sweets

December 8, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

by Samantha Hope Galler

This year marks my 16th Nutcracker season. I have had the privilege of performing seven of those seasons in George Balanchine’s version of the Nutcracker, which premiered in 1954 in New York City.

Samantha Hope Galler's first Nutcracker role, a Polichinelle for Northeast Youth Ballet. Photograph by Nordel Studios.
Samantha Hope Galler’s first Nutcracker role–a Polichinelle for Northeast Youth Ballet. Photograph by Nordel Studios.

It is common for The Nutcracker to be the first performing opportunity dancers have in their pre-professional career. Once training intensifies, the requirements for Nutcracker can become more demanding. My first Nutcracker experience was with the Northeast Youth Ballet under the direction of Denise Cecere. With the Northeast Youth Ballet, I spent six seasons performing most of the roles in the ballet including Clara and the Dew Drop Fairy. The last couple years of my training were spent performing in Boston Ballet’s Nutcracker under the direction of Mikko Nissinen. Performances with the Northeast Youth Ballet and Boston Ballet were crucial to my understanding of future professional life.

Samantha Hope Galler as Clara for Northeast Youth Ballet. Photograph by Nordel Studios.
Samantha Hope Galler as Clara for Northeast Youth Ballet. Photograph by Nordel Studios.

In 2009, I was first exposed to George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker with Alabama Ballet. During my five seasons with the company, I was given opportunities to perform many roles including the Sugar Plum Fairy, Arabian, and Lead Marzipan. One particular role I fell in love with was Coffee, also known as Arabian. I was chosen to perform Coffee for all five seasons. This repetition gave me time to refine this specific role while also exploring the other personalities that make the ballet unique.

Samantha Hope Galler as Coffee (Arabian) in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Alabama Ballet. Photograph by Melissa Dooley Photography
Samantha Hope Galler as Coffee (Arabian) in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker with Alabama Ballet. Photograph by Melissa Dooley Photography

At Miami City Ballet, rehearsals for George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker begin in September. It is a special time of year in which you hope to gain new experiences and bring something different to your audience. Performances span from the beginning of December until New Year’s Eve. This will be my fourth season performing as the Sugar Plum Fairy and my second with Miami City Ballet. Along with performing the Sugar Plum Fairy, I will performing the roles of Lead Spanish, Demi-Soloist Flower, Marzipan, Flower, Snow, and Party Parent.

As a little girl I had always dreamed of dancing as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Last season, when I saw my name on the casting list to dance the iconic role, I couldn’t wait to get to work. It was a new opportunity to perform a very rewarding and challenging role in a new home. On top of that, I was paired with a partner, Ariel Rose, who I had spent time dancing with in Balanchine’s Who Cares? at Boston Ballet. It has been really special to work with Lourdes Lopez on this principal role. The time Ariel and I have spent with Lourdes and Arnold and Joan Quintane this season has allowed us to bring our own interpretation to the dance.

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker: The Sugarplum Fairy 2014: Miami City Ballet. Partnered with Ariel Rose. Photograph by Daniel Azoulay.
Samantha Hope Galler as the Sugar Plum Fairy in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker with Miami City Ballet, 2014. Partnered with Ariel Rose. Photograph by Daniel Azoulay.

In George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, the Sugar Plum Fairy holds a large amount of responsibility. She is the first and last Sweet to perform in Act II and is responsible for showing Marie and the Prince their way. When I revisit classic roles like the Sugar Plum Fairy I hope to show audiences what I’ve been working during the rest of the season.

Personal and professional lives are usually combined during Nutcracker season. It can be difficult to spend time with family and friends because of performances and rehearsals. We perform five to six times a week while also preparing for our second repertory program. Fortunately, my family usually comes to visit and see some of the performances. During my time off I like to read, write, or watch old TV shows like Friends on Netflix. Having an outlet allows me to reset and rest my brain from ballet.


Miami City Ballet will be performing George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker December 5-7 in Naples, FL, December 11-13 in Fort Lauderdale, December 17-24 in Miami, and December 27-29 in West Palm Beach.


Samantha Hope Galler. Photograph by Daniel Azoulay.
Samantha Hope Galler. Photograph by Daniel Azoulay.

Contributor Samantha Hope Galler, a Bedford, Mass. native, spent 13 years training with The Ballet Academy, Inc., under the direction of Frances Kotelly in the Cecchetti Method. She performed six seasons with The Northeast Youth Ballet under the direction of Denise Cecere. She continued training, on scholarship, with Boston Ballet School and received the PAO Merit Trainee Scholarship. She received the NFAA Honorable Mention Award in Ballet. Galler spent summers training at Boston Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Boston Conservatory. She danced with Cincinnati Ballet in their 2008-2009 season under the direction of Victoria Morgan.

Samantha spent five seasons with Alabama Ballet under the direction of Tracey Alvey and Roger Van Fleteren. During her tenure there, she was promoted to principal dancer. She had the honor of performing some of her dream roles including Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, The Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, The Sylph and Effie in La Sylphide, Myrtha and Moyna in Giselle, Dryad Queen and Mercedes in Don Quixote, the Rancher’s Daughter in Agnes De Mille’s Rodeo. Her Balanchine roles included Dark Angel in Serenade; The Sugarplum Fairy, Arabian and Lead Marzipan in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™; and the principal roles in Allegro Brillante and Tarantella. She has also performed in Jiří Kylian’s Sechs Tanze, and Van Fleteren’s Shostakovich and Romancing Rachmaninov, both world premieres.

Samantha joined Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2014. Since joining Miami City Ballet, Samantha has performed in various roles including as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and as the Harp Soloist in Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations.

Follow Samantha on her website and blog.

Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: Alabama Ballet, boston ballet, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Miami City Ballet, Northeast Youth Ballet, professional dancer, Samantha Hope Galler, the nutcracker

The Stages Of A Swan

October 20, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

By Samantha Hope Galler

Before I could even understand the true meaning of ballet, I dreamed about dancing in Swan Lake. I would even fall asleep listening to the music of Tchaikovsky. In 2001, my mom took me to see a performance of American Ballet Theatre’s Swan Lake. Paloma Herrera danced the principal roles of Odette and Odile. I was so completely entranced. That performance solidified my love for dance.

Five-year-old Samantha (on the right) in dance class.
Five-year-old Samantha Hope Galler at the barre.

Years later, while I was dancing with Alabama Ballet, I had the opportunity to perform as Odette and Odile in the four-act Petipa/Ivanov version of Swan Lake.

Swan Lake was first was created by Julius Reisinger in 1877, but redeveloped by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in 1895. The Petipa/Ivanov version stands as a base for many versions today.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: 4dancers, Career Tagged With: Alabama Ballet, Balanchine's Swan Lake, ballerina, Ballet, ballet performance, george balanchine, Julius Reisinger, Lev Ivanov, Lourdes Lopez, marius petipa, Miami City Ballet, performing, professional dancer, Roger Van Fleteren, Roma Sosenko, Samantha Hope Galler, swan lake, Tracey Alvey

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

My “Last” Nutcracker

November 26, 2014 by 4dancers

Pacific Northwest Ballet dancers
Pacific Northwest Ballet corps de ballet dancer Jessika Anspach (center) with company dancers in Kent Stowell and Maurice Sendak’s Nutcracker. Photo © Angela Sterling.

by Jessika Anspach McEliece

The brisk fall air accosts my face as I push through the Phelps Center doors, home of Pacific Northwest Ballet. I scurry down the steps toward Mercer Street. I only have an hour. I only have a month, and some change…

An hour for lunch; a month till I have to say goodbye. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Editorial, Uncategorized Tagged With: ballet dancer, Jessica Anspach, pacific northwest ballet, pacific northwest ballet school, phelps center, professional dancer, stowell and sendak, the nutcracker

18 Things I’ve Learned About Being A Professional Dancer

November 4, 2014 by 4dancers

Alessa Rogers, photo by Rick McCullough
Alessa Rogers, photo by Rick McCullough

Dance, like any other career, has a learning curve. With time and experience, you find ways to navigate your daily life in this art form–and piece by piece you learn what works best for you in terms of a career path. It isn’t always easy–especially in the beginning–but over time, most dancers find their own way.

Our new series features posts from professional dancers from companies across the nation. They’ll be writing about a variety of different topics, sharing a behind-the-scenes look at what this career looks like up close…each from their own individual perspective.

Today we’ll be hearing from our new contributing writer Alessa Rogers. A dancer at Atlanta Ballet, she has graciously pulled together some of the most valuable things she has learned over the course of her career to share with you here–including a piece of advice from Twyla Tharp! Look for more posts from Alessa and other professional dancers in the coming months.

We hope you are enjoying this new series!        –Catherine


dancer doing a grand jete
Alessa Rogers rehearsing Possokhov’s Classical Symphony, photo by Charlie McCullers

 by Alessa Rogers

There is no formula for being a professional ballet dancer. There are some obvious requirements like having a good work ethic, a good teacher, a fair amount of luck–and a lot of Advil. But there are some other tips that I’ve picked up over the course of the past couple decades that I have found useful in my career.

1) Don’t quit. This may seem like a no-brainer but sometimes I feel like the reason that I managed to become a professional dancer over some of the girls I trained with is simply that I stuck with it and they didn’t.

2) Be nice. By criticizing others you take energy away from improving yourself. Gossip will not make you a better dancer and it will definitely make you a less desirable person to be around. Remember that the dance world is incredibly small. You will run into the same people again. Make it so that when you do run into those people they are happy to see you. You never know when it will pay off to have been kind.

Even when you are doing a solo, don’t forget about the countless people who helped you get to where you are today–your parents, teachers, the artistic staff, even the production crew. These people don’t get a curtain call or spotlight. Be grateful to those people in your life and when you get a chance, pass it on.

3) Love your body, worship it, treat it well. As a dancer, your body is the only instrument you have. Listen to it when it hurts and needs special care. Kiss your feet before a show. Say thank you to your body after a long week. Ballet gives us nothing to hold, so care for your body like a museum would care for a masterpiece.

4) Learn from others. Watch dance voraciously. Watching the people in your class is the easiest way to do that but these days you can watch almost anything online. If possible go see professional dance live. Ask professional dancers questions. Learn from them. But learn from your friends too. A correction for them is also a correction for you. Which brings us to:

5) Corrections are good things. Don’t feel ashamed or take it too personally if you get a correction. Feel grateful that you have a chance to improve. Strive to hear a correction only once.

As soon as I am given a correction I repeat it in my head a few times to help it stick. Later I might write it down. Be patient with yourself if it does take some time to apply. Bodies respond differently everyday and habits are hard to change but make no excuses when something doesn’t work. Mistakes happen, even when you are a professional dancer. Learn from them and then let them go.

Alessa Rogers, photo by Rick McCullough
Alessa Rogers, photo by Rick McCullough

6) There will always be someone better than you. The sooner you realize this the sooner you will be able to be proud of where you are right now and how far you’ve come. Having people who are better than you should give you inspiration–not depression. Be gentle with yourself. A dancer has to work hard enough, don’t put yourself down while you are doing it. Trust me, other people will do that for you. Be patient with yourself and ignore the naysayers, especially if the naysayer is you. You are almost certainly better than you think you are.

7) You have to find the right company for you. It might take a few before you find a good fit. Having a dream company is good for motivation, but realize there are so many factors that go into hiring dancers. If that dream company passes you up because they need a brunette this season that shouldn’t crush your dreams of being a dancer in general.

Find a company that will appreciate you and also push you to be the best dancer you can be. When you do get a job don’t be afraid to have respectful conversations with your director about issues that concern you. Also, cattle call auditions are rarely the best way to be seen.

8) Work smart. A ballet career is so short. You have to work hard to make use of the time you have. This does not always mean physically (but do that too). You can save a lot of time and energy if you use your brain as well.

Instead of throwing yourself into doing something poorly over and over again pause and think about how you could approach it differently. You’ll find you have more control over your body and improve more rapidly. Decide before each combination what you are going to focus on in that combination. It might be your port de bras or playing with the musicality or spotting a different place. Thinking about an intention before each combination or visualizing the choreography in your head before you actually take a single step will help enormously.

Also, do your homework at night. Go over your part, research your roles and take care of your body so you are prepared for the next day. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Editorial Tagged With: advice for dancers, alessa rogers, atlanta ballet, ballet company, dance company, professional ballet dancer, professional dancer

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