DANCERS
“Coppelia” last season, with Chris Gray as my partner. It was my first full-length leading role, with hard dances in all three acts. I had to learn to preserve energy because I like to put it all out there. Role model: The Royal Ballet’s Marianela Nuñez. She’s the total package, everything I want to be.
But in the studio, you can learn something from everybody.
Performance ritual: I follow a routine. I do my hair first, then makeup. And the dresser always gives me a wintergreen Lifesaver.
Fun break: Shopping at Highland Village and Rice Village or going to a park in my neighborhood near Boulevard Oaks. I love swings, and the trees there are amazing.
Pets: Two parakeets, Lemon and Blueberry. I got Lemon my first year in the corps and got him a friend this year. I grew up with birds; they were the only animals my mother let us have. I had a lovebird 12 years.
CHANDLER DALTON Nutcracker Prince
From: Richmond, Va. Joined the company: 2016
Other “Nutcracker” roles he’ll perform: I love doing the Lead Russian. The music is great, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser.
A defining moment: I really enjoyed John Neumeier’s “Yondering,”
the last ballet I performed as a student. It’s one of the times I went, ‘Wow, did that really just happen?’ And I won’t get to do it again because it’s strictly a student piece. Sometimes those one-time chances are the ones you savor the most. Biggest challenge: Pushing myself to do things I have to do, like waking up early every day and making sure I warm up for class.
Role model: Mikhail Baryshnikov, when I was younger. Now I also take inspiration from musical artists like Freddy Mercury, who was an incredible performer.
Performance ritual: I listen to live performances of my favorite ’70s musicians. Hearing Queen play a crowd gets me ready to go.
Pet: Layla, a cat. She’s named after an Eric Clapton song.
Fun break: Top Golf, although I’m not really a golfer; and burgers at Shake Shack. And I play guitar. I have three — electric, acoustic and classical. But I do not sing at all.
Surprise: I’m named after Chandler Bing in “Friends.”
McKHAYLA PETTINGILL Snow Flurry
From: Phoenix
Joined the company: 2017
Other “Nutcracker” roles this season: A total of 12. This role and Lead Flower are both new for me this year.
Best stage experience: When we went to Dubai to perform “Swan Lake,” I was just coming back after breaking my foot in a rehearsal and had been out four months. I did the one of the four little swans in the Cygnets variation. Doing that with the other girls, and being so together, moving as one unit, felt so powerful. You could hear us breathing together. The audience was so appreciative, and the city was beautiful. I just felt so grateful to be dancing there.
Biggest challenge: Trusting my technique and training, just letting go a little bit to have fun and focus on the artistry. Role model: As an artist, Marianela Nuñez. She’s such a beautiful dancer, with a great stage presence. But in life, my parents. They’re both teachers with an incredible work ethic. They inspire me to really work hard for things, and I try to put that into my everyday life. I came here when I was 15 and stayed in the dorms. The next year they came here with my sister, who also was studying in the academy, and got teaching jobs in the Heights.
Performance ritual: A long, secret handshake I used to do across the wings with my best friend at our home studio, made of jokes our teacher said. I still do it by myself because it’s a good-luck thing for me. It’s really weird. It involves fast hand movements and goes, “I heart you times two oh snap fishies gobble gobble rock fountain of love pharoah pharoah peace very very good very very good.”
Hobbies: I play the piano, just for myself. I like to cook and read. I’m reading “The Unbearable
Lightness of Being,” by Milan Kundera.
Fun break: The Japanese Gardens at Hermann Park. I like to bring a book and sit there for hours. I’m pretty nerdy. I like “Lord of the Rings” and the Marvel stuff.
GRETEL BATISTA Snowflake
From: Havana, Cuba Joined the company:
July 2019
Other “Nutcracker” roles this season: 8, including the Mom, a royal guard, a butterfly, a court lady, a flower and Lead Flower. I love doing the flowers. It’s my favorite music in the whole score. Best stage experience: Most recently, I got to go home to Cuba and perform at the International Ballet Festival. I performed “La Bayadère” pas de deux with Sergii Sydorskyi. My family got to travel with me and see me perform in this huge theater that I had seen as a little girl. Biggest challenge: I have been a professional six years. I have always worked hard. But leaving Dance Alive National Florida after five years and coming to a much bigger company was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone to really dive into my career. It’s been all I expected and more. A journey, for sure.
Role model: Since childhood, Alicia Alonso. And also now, Marianela Nuñez.
Performance ritual: I talk to my mom on the phone. She sends me good vibes. I also like listening to Latin music and being in my own world, to zone out and focus on what I have to do.
Fun break: I’m still exploring Houston. I get lost every day. I’m reading “The Master’s Muse,” Varley O’Connor’s novel about George Balanchine and Tanaquil Le Clercq, for the second time. I also love cooking Cuban dishes with rice, beans and veggies. I don’t eat meat. Surprise: My brother’s name is Hansel, so we are Hansel and Gretel. He is not a dancer though; he’s a technical engineer.