LET IT SNOW
Youth Ballet Company of Saskatchewan celebrates the season with Winter Wonderland
The first time Michelle Mcmillan experienced a Regina winter 12 years ago, her eyelashes froze — not an everyday occurrence for a woman from Orange County, Calif.
In spite of the cold, Mcmillan fell in love with Prairie winters, after falling in love with a man from Regina and moving here.
She recalls the first time she saw “fresh snow covering all of the evergreens,” and a “beautiful blanket of diamonds sparkling all over the snow. I’ve never seen anything like it. And the sky was so light blue. The sun was shining.”
This beauty, in part, inspired Winter Wonderland, the Youth Ballet Company of Saskatchewan’s upcoming production.
“The show is a celebration of winter, the best parts of winter,” said Mcmillan, artistic director for the 36-year-old dance company.
“It is a season of giving, it is a season of celebrating, it is a season for dancing, it is a season for singing.”
For Addison Green, a 13-yearold dancer who has attended the youth ballet school since she was two, the opening number is a favourite.
Set to Michael Buble’s version of Winter Wonderland, it’s a “welcoming ” beginning to the production.
“It starts off everybody’s just floating around, and then everyone comes together in the middle and it gets very jazzy and happy. And it’s like the beginning of winter and everyone’s celebrating,” said Green, one of 21 dancers in the pre-professional company.
Other parts of the performance are inspired by weather — “dances that reflect snow, sleet,” Mcmillan said.
A couple songs are from classic ballet The Nutcracker. One is Les patineurs (The Skaters), which is “a Victorian skating party, so all the dancers look like they’re ice-skating.”
In addition to classical ballet and modern dance, Winter Wonderland also incorporates elements of Flamenco and Kathak Indian classical dance.
“Of course outside of Canada, winter looks so different,” said Mcmillan.
“So we do have other dances that are just reflecting the traditions of the season and not necessarily how it is celebrated here in Canada. But we have such a lovely diverse culture here.
“I feel like the whole show is very magical; it should get everyone in the holiday spirit,” she added.
That wasn’t exactly the case in the summer, when the young dancers began rehearsals.
“I think it was interesting for the girls to have to listen to Christmas songs in August for sure, when it was hot,” Mcmillan said.
A former dancer with Disney and the Radio City Rockettes, Mcmillan began work as a guest teacher with the youth ballet in 2008. She became artistic director in 2013.
Her students in this performance range in age from 13 to 18, and many of them spend six days a week at the school, rehearsing and taking dance classes.
“It’s a big commitment that these dancers make. And they’re all very dedicated to their school work as well,” said Mcmillan.
For Green, it’s not a sacrifice. “Youth ballet is like the best. I love it here,” she said.
“I’m here almost every day. … If you love dancing, it’s not even hard. You just get to do what you love. And you see all of your friends, too.”
When the company tours to rural communities, or does school performances, Mcmillan said the audience is often awed that the performers are children like them.
Mcmillan said community outreach is one of her favourite parts about the company.
In a similar vein, the school offers dance classes for people of varying ages and abilities.
“We really want to offer dance for the community, and have people realize that dance is for everyone,” said Mcmillan.
“It’s such a gift to be able to dance; it makes you feel so good.”