The Ballet Theatre of Carmel Academy (BTCA) will once again offer four performances of the beloved holiday classic ballet, “The Nutcracker” at Zionsville’s STAR Bank Performing Arts Center this December.
The cast of more than 80 dancing artists include pre-professional dancers, 24 “Be an Angel” program youth, and several professional guest artists.
The Land of Sweets Bake Sale will return with the Sugar Plum Boutique during intermission and a meet and greet after the show allows fans to get autographs and photos with their favorite characters.
For high school senior Aija Tuttle, this will be her eighth and final “Nutcracker” performance.
She’s been with BTCA since 2016 and has performed several roles. This year, she will appear as a Guardian Angel, Dew Drop Fairy, Spanish Soloist, Clara’s mother, a snowflake and in the Waltz of the Flowers.
“I’m excited to have a lot of new roles I’ve never done before,” Tuttle said. “They are very different characters, so I get to portray a loving, kind angel and I’m a bit sassier as the Spanish Soloist and then a leader in the garden. I love the diversity of the roles, the costumes and the performances.”
She began dancing as a toddler and can’t pinpoint the moment she chose dancing as her art form but remembers the first time she took the stage in the fifth grade.
“I had done recitals at the end of the year, but there’s really nothing like having multiple roles, costume changes, long nights in the theater and performing on stage,” Tuttle said. “Right before you go on, it’s a feeling I don’t know how to describe. It’s like an excitement and nerves and a love for what you’re doing.”
The role of a dancer, like many art forms, teaches time management, perseverance, flexibility and much more, she said.
It’s something Artistic Director Jane Hachiya-Weiner hopes to instill in her young dancers today and into their future endeavors.
“I think when we’re younger, it doesn’t really click yet,” Hachiya-Weiner said, “but today, in my life, I can see the value of this art form that’s developed over 400 years. These masters who have really thought about the human body; it really refines our body to its greatest potential.”
Hachiya-Weiner said humans generally have a love for movement and music. For artists like Tuttle, it becomes a part of them.
“It taps into something in the human spirit and soul. We all crave movement and music in our lives and in ballet, it’s all there in one place. I think for many young dancers, there’s a subconscious draw to the art form,” Hachiya-Weiner said.
In dancing, those who strive to star on the stage have to make sacrifices at a young age, skipping that movie with friends or turning down other opportunities.
Tuttle is homeschooled and spends nearly 25 hours per week in the studio. That’s in addition to school work, family time and other responsibilities.
“It’s harder for the younger ones but when you’ve found something you love, you have to love it enough that you won’t go to every school dance, or you’ll give up certain social events,” Hachiya-Weiner said. “Some kids really struggle with that. We always allow for personal choices but then they learn that the girl that has three times more practice in the studio, gets this particular role. It’s life lessons that we all have to face eventually.”
At BTCA, the philosophy is not to place dancers in the roles but rather, create roles for each of the dancers, making every performance, even for the annual “Nutcracker,” slightly different from year to year.
“Some years we have a 15-year-old proficient in the Chinese dance. This year we have a group of younger dancers doing the Chinese dance,” Hachiya-Weiner said. “Clara’s family has been seven advanced dancers and in other years, there are 15 younger dancers.”
In addition, directors divide the roles, giving more dancers a chance to perform.
For example, Anastasia Hobbs will play Clara in two performances and Sophie Seifert will play Clara in the other two performances.
With what Hachiya-Weiner calls “amazing coaches and mentors” in her own professional career, she hopes to pass on what she’s learned to younger artists.
“I have to tell them what I was told,” she said. “It’s the only way this [art form] moves forward. So, while I have them captive in the classroom, I share the meaning behind the costumes and each particular role. I want to hand down that legacy.”
“The Nutcracker” performance has created a legacy all its own with recognizable music and families making it a holiday tradition year after year.
“I think it’s magical,” Tuttle said. “It’s a story that takes place on Christmas Eve. It’s heartwarming and the audience can take this adventure with us. It’s up to us, as dancers, to make people want to come back every year, leave their everyday lives behind and come into the theater to be fully immersed in the story.”
Just as Hachiya-Weiner has inspired her, Tuttle hopes to inspire others through her dancing.
“I can’t imagine ever not dancing,” she said. “It might not be 25 hours per week, but it’s definitely something I hope to keep doing for a long time. It’s been a big part of my life and who I am.”
“The Nutcracker” will be on stage at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15 and 16 with matinee performances at 2 p.m. Dec. 16 and 17. The STAR Bank Performing Arts Center is at 1000 Mulberry St., Zionsville. Tickets are on sale now at https://ballettheatreofcarmel.org/.