By Alexa
After performing the Nutcracker for 12 years straight at my old studio, I thought I would be prepared for my first professional performance; I was wrong! After some time to reflect on that experience, I feel like I am now equipped to talk about my chaotic life between the months of November and December.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I was cast in the corps de ballet roles of Waltz of the Flowers and Waltz of the Snowflakes. When I got the casting at the end of October, I was so surprised because I was first cast for both! (The first cast means that you will likely get more/slightly more prestigious shows, or it can also mean that you are the first group for rehearsals). But as a first-year trainee and freshly out of high school, I was shocked to be cast alongside company members and 2-3 second year trainees in the first group. But I was also just so grateful for the opportunity!
My first big test came when we started rehearsing Waltz of the Snowflakes. Our rehearsal director, Anne, put together a group of all company members to be the first group because they already mostly knew/remembered the choreography, and we would be able to move quicker. But in my spot, only a fellow trainee and I were learning it, so I stayed in alongside the company dancers. It was so stressful! Afterwards, I told people that I didn’t know if my brain had ever been on such high alert; I had to learn the choreography so quickly and try to match everybody around me who already knew it!
This year, unlike other years, we only had 3 weeks of preparation before our first show, which was part of our series out in a small town outside Boise. We had 5 shows in a smaller auditorium in Caldwell, and then 2 weeks after that, we started our run of 2 weekends and 12 shows in the prestigious Morrison Center in downtown Boise.
Caldwell ended up being very chaotic, but otherwise went okay until the last day. I woke up that day feeling horrible! I definitely caught the sickness that had been going around, but I still had to perform. By the end of each dance, I was so tired, especially Flowers which is the more physically taxing of the two. But I got through it, and relatively unscathed.
Then it was time for the Morrison Center shows. That experience was absolutely insane to think about. The theater was humongous (I think it seats 2000 people), the dressing rooms were so spacious and professionally run, and the sets were so elaborate and beautiful. I walked into the dressing room the first day to my own personal station, with a mirror and a list of my roles and everything I needed for each. I was so shocked and impressed by the organization and professionalism!
Those two weeks of shows were very taxing, especially since my second cast of Flowers was dealing with an injury, and I had to perform most of her shows, but it was so rewarding! I learned so much about performing in general and as a group. I had to be hyper-aware of everyone’s timing and spacing around me, which I never really had to do at my old studio. Every time I got to perform on that beautiful stage, I tried to smile bigger, to point my toes more, and to really perform. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything, and it was really eye-opening to the world of professional ballet.
