‘NUTCRACKER’
GETS A MAKEOVER WITH STORYBOOK ADAPTATION
When the pandemic caused many ballet schools and companies to cancel their shows or provide virtual offerings of past productions, the Connecticut Dance School (CDS) saw it as a challenge to do something different.
Michele Purcell, board president at CDS, said the staff at the nonprofit dance school “felt like we couldn’t cancel on the kids again” after 2020 had proved to be such a difficult year.
While 2020 hasn’t been particularly kind to the performing arts community at large, the Fairfield-based dance school has been forced to celebrate their 50th anniversary with fewer performances and less panache than they would have liked.
“The year was really thrown off course. Our gala was canceled as well as our June concert and artistically and financially it’s been very difficult. We’re really fortunate that we have a wonderful landlord who believes in the arts and our school and without his help and the support from our community and alumni we certainly wouldn’t still be here,” she said. “We’re just hoping that by presenting our ‘Nutcracker: A Tale Retold’ we can bring a little bit of light and magic to everybody’s home this holiday season.”
Purcell said CDS transformed their studio into a black box theater and adapted their show so it could be condensed into a half-hour performance.
“The Nutcracker: A Tale Retold” functions as a virtual storybook, featuring narrations by Broadway actor James Naughton over the adapted dances, still photos and a few old videos from performances that couldn’t be recreated due to social distancing guidelines.
Purcell noted that CDS founder Elizabeth Gaynor is still involved with the school at age 92. Earlier in the year Gaynor had received an ACE award for Educator of the Year from the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County and met Naughton when he emceed the awards show.
“He’s a philanthropist and a huge supporter of the arts.
“WE’RE JUST HOPING THAT BY PRESENTING OUR ‘NUTCRACKER: A TALE RETOLD’ WE CAN BRING A LITTLE BIT OF LIGHT AND MAGIC TO EVERYBODY’S HOME THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.”
I think once he got to know Elizabeth and our dance school he stepped in to lend a hand,” Purcell said. “We’re beyond grateful.”
When asked why it was important for the school to offer a production at all this year, Purcell said it was for the students.
“So much was cancelled this year. ... I think they immediately assumed that there would be no ‘Nutcracker’ so I do think they were excited once the devastation that it wouldn’t be what they thought it would be passed,” she said. “You know this is such a milestone, especially for the seniors who were in the school since they were 6 years old, some of them started out even younger. They start as an angel and move to a mouse and go up through the roles and senior year they have the opportunity to perform the Sugar Plum fairy variation, which is huge, and to think that they wouldn’t be able to do that would be devastating. I do think that now that rehearsals are underway and they’re running the choreography I think that they are really excited. It’s not the same but nothing is.”
Purcell added that she thinks giving the students an opportunity to perform “instills a sense of normalcy and discipline and accomplishment” for the students.
Typically CDS performs its rendition of “The Nutcracker” at Fairefield University’s Quick Center for the Arts and for the students in Bridgeport as well as offering a sensory sensitive performance. Purcell said she has been in contact with 32 Bridgeport schools that will give their teachers access to the video to share with their students.
When asked what makes “The Nutcracker” such a popular ballet, Purcell quickly pointed out that Tchaikovsky’s score is “amazing.”
“It’s recognizable by almost everyone. Act I is a wonderful introduction to dance. It’s engaging, it’s a party scene, kids are there, there’s presents, it’s a holiday party and you know there’s young and old alike. When you come to Act II you’re introduced to the Land of Sweets and I think every child would like to travel to a land of candy. It’s a nice way to introduce audiences to classical ballet because it’s very entertaining, the costumes are beautiful, the scenery is gorgeous and it’s very magical,” she said.
Safety was at the forefront of the school’s focus while creating the virtual storybook. Purcell said some dances that required more dancers than social distancing would allow, like “Waltz of the Flowers,” were eliminated from the show and noted that the dancers are performing in masks in the film. She noted that a parent of one of the dancers volunteered to sew the 90 face masks needed for the production.
“We feel that their safety is most important and we’ve gone through all of our costumes and fabric bits and trims and have coordinated all of the masks to match the costumes, which was pretty exciting to find out that our costume mistress has always kept all these bits and bobbles to embellish so the masks will be beautiful,” she said.
While CDS isn’t performing the show they traditionally would offer to their audiences, Purcell is confident in the storybook.
“We’re pulling off something very different but we felt like we had to do something so we got creative,” she said.
“The Nutcracker: A Tale Retold” will be available for viewing on Dec. 20 at ctdanceschool.org.