A performance to remember: Local dancers share the stage with San Diego Ballet

HANNAH SHIELDS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 hours, 18 minutes AGO

Dancers with Northwest Ballet Company and San Diego Ballet perform a dress rehearsal of The Nutcracker at Flathead Valley Community College's Wachholz College Center on Friday, Dec. 12. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

A group of young dancers dash out onto the floor during a rehearsal of party scene on Dec. 6 at Northwest Ballet Company and School for "The Nutcracker" performance with San Diego Ballet. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)

Marisa Roth, owner and director of Northwest Ballet Company and School, conducts a rehearsal for party scene on Dec. 6, ahead of "The Nutcracker" performance with San Diego Ballet. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)

Dancer Miki Flint strikes a pose during the snow scene rehearsal on Dec. 5 at Northwest Ballet Company and Studio for the San Diego Ballet's performance of "The Nutcracker." (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)

Barbara Otey, a faculty member of Northwest Ballet Company and School, assists in directing rehearsals for "The Nutcracker" performance with San Diego Ballet. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)

Local ballet dancers rehearse Snow scene at the Northwest Ballet Company and School on Dec. 5, ahead of "The Nutcracker" performance with San Diego Ballet. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)

A dancer ran up to her ballet teacher, sweat trickling down her face, as a mix of professional and local ballet dancers finished warming up on stage.

“Miss Marisa, I hit a triple [pirouette] in warm up class!” she squealed.

Marisa Roth beamed at her with pride.

Once a year, ballet students from her studio, Northwest Ballet Company and School, have a rare opportunity to dance alongside professional ballet dancers from Southern California.

This is the fourth year the San Diego Ballet has visited Northwest Montana to perform the timeless Christmas classic, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” with live music from the Glacier Symphony Orchestra. Nearly 60 ballet dancers from 10 local ballet studios leaped at the opportunity to dance alongside the professional ballerinas.

“For me personally, it is a wonderful experience to see our dancers on stage — many of whom we have trained since they were as young as three years old,” said Shoni Jaegar, owner of the Academy of the Performing Arts. “The joy and excitement they bring to the stage during show time is truly magical.”

A group of young ballet dancers, ages 9 through 13, excitedly shared their dream roles in “The Nutcracker,” as they prepped for a rehearsal of the party scene.

A few girls said they wanted to be Spanish, a role in the second act that represents chocolate in the Land of Sweets, while others wished to dance Arabian, a character who represents coffee and is known for her extreme flexibility.

Many of them dreamed of being Clara, a starring role, while others were happy to be a party girl. One boy who joined the conversation said he wants to be the Nutcracker.

Their excitement to dance with San Diego Ballet, however, was unanimous.

“I think it’s going to be really fun,” one girl said. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

Dancers recruited in the performance, some as young as 6 years old, came from local studios including Northwest Ballet Company and School, Academy of the Performing Arts, Noble Dance, En Pointe, Turning Pointe Dance, Bigfork Dance, Lakeside Dance Studio, The Whitefish School of Ballet, Head Over Heels Montana and Dance Elements.

Twelve dancers from Jaegar’s Academy of Performing Arts studio landed roles in the performance, including 13-year-old Blayde Wehr, who was cast as the Nutcracker prince, and his 16-year-old sister, Arrayah Wehr, who was cast in Snow and Waltz of the Flowers.

For Blayde and Arrayah, the best part of ballet is performing on stage.

“It’s fun to share what you do with other people,” Blayde said.

NUTCRACKER MUSIC floated out of Roth’s ballet studio long before most people picked out their Halloween costumes. Auditions were held in mid-September, months in advance of the December performances at the Wachholz College Center.

“Pretty much everyone that auditions gets a role,” said Barbara Otey, a faculty member of Northwest Ballet who assists Roth during rehearsal.

The first rehearsal of the season starts with a story telling of “The Nutcracker,” Roth said, since new ballet dancers are often unfamiliar with Clara’s journey to the Land of Sweets.

“We honestly sit and talk about what their characters are and what part of the show they're in,” Roth said. “Kind of a little cliff note version of what ‘The Nutcracker’ might be.”

Starting in early October, dancers rehearse Monday through Friday for Northwest Ballet’s own performance of “The Nutcracker,” which is showcased at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts over the Thanksgiving weekend, before rehearsing for the San Diego Ballet’s Nutcracker on the weekend.

The weeks leading up to the performances are a whirlwind of pointe shoes, props and choreography. To help keep track of where each child goes on stage — the party scene is particularly chaotic — Otey mapped out the spots for each dancer, like a football coach planning plays.

Roth remembers the first time she saw Otey’s special dance map.

“The first year, I'll never forget,” Roth said. “I was running rehearsals with the kids, and she went downstairs, and she literally mapped out the patterns that the kids do on stage ... I was like, ‘Okay, first of all, this is insanity, but cool.’”

It’s not easy juggling two Nutcracker performances at once. The first year the San Diego Ballet reached out to recruit local dancers, Roth was excited, but stressed. A few training videos were emailed to her, and she called up another studio owner in Billings, who had experience sending dancers to perform with the San Diego Ballet, for advice.

“The hardest thing is knowing what they wanted,” she said. “Like, what was their vision?”

Roth developed a rhythm over the years, and now it’s nearly routine. When she closes her eyes and listens to the music, she envisions two variations of choreography.

“It's all just in there,” Roth said. “Who I am and what I do is so God given, I can't take credit for any of it.”

LATE ON a Friday night, one week before the show at the Wachholz College Center, high-school-aged dancers donned pointe shoes and had hair twisted into tight buns. It was hot and humid, despite the falling snow and freezing temperatures outside.

“When you do that going down, this arm is lovely and this arm is stuck,” Roth instructed from the middle of the room, surrounded by six dancers.

It was one of the final rehearsals for Snow and Waltz of the Flowers before rehearsal with the California ballet company. The girls warmed up downstairs ahead of the one hour and 15-minute practice.

Miki Flint, 14, has danced ballet since age 2 and said this is her fourth time joining the San Diego Ballet’s Nutcracker performance.

“The hardest part about ballet is probably the vulnerability to show my dance to other people,” she said. “That’s a scary thing.”

But the professional ballet dancers are nothing but supportive and kind during the combined practices and stage performances. They remember the children they’ve danced with in past seasons and give them big hugs backstage.

“The company is great with them,” Roth said. “They're learning and discovering and being shown a good example of what you can do.”

Reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at 758-4439 or [email protected].

Barbara Otey, a faculty member of Northwest Ballet Company and School, assists in directing rehearsals for "The Nutcracker" performance with San Diego Ballet. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)

Local ballet dancers rehearse Snow scene at the Northwest Ballet Company and School on Dec. 5, ahead of "The Nutcracker" performance with San Diego Ballet. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)