Hope floats

Moments ago, the 10- and 11-year-old dancers were taking turns impressing each other with their splits, engaged in happy chatter in scattered areas of the Ballet Arts studio in downtown Spokane. Now they stand quietly in formation, waiting for their music to start.

One little girl wears a small, pink T-shirt over her leotard and tights that reads: “I have an attitude, and I’m not afraid to use it.” But as the music begins, she beams the brightest, most angelic smile you’ve ever seen.

It’s fitting. These children are, after all, dancing the role of angels in the Spokane Symphony’s production of “The Nutcracker” this weekend at the Opera House. More than 50 local student dancers will join 37 professionals from Alberta Ballet and Ballet British Columbia onstage.

“What are we going to do today?” asks Peggy Goodner-Tan, who has rehearsed local “Nutcracker” children for nearly a quarter of a century.

“Straight lines!” pipes up a girl with a tight, high bun. It’s the answer Goodner-Tan is looking for, so they set out to put it in motion.

But there are many things that an angel must practice before she is awarded a gauzy, peach costume. Goodner-Tan stops the music to remind the dancers of how they need to hold their hands, and of how they need to adjust to an imaginary Opera House scrim.

“Don’t bounce. Float!” instructs Dodie Askegard, the director of Ballet Arts. One by one, the girls practice “floating” bourees across the floor, giving it their all in patient silence.

Were they always this well-behaved? “It’s more of a process,” Askegard says.

The process for the young “Nutcracker” dancers began last September with an audition that attracted students from a dozen area dance studios ranging from Colville to Coeur d’Alene.

Alberta Ballet only considered children over age 10 who fit the existing costumes. For example, the costume for Clara, the lead children’s role in the production, fits a dancer measuring under 5 feet 2 inches.

“I like to see how the kids grow from an audition,” says Christina Jeromchek, mother of “Nutcracker” first-timer Ashley. “It inspires them to work even harder. It gives goals.”

Of course, the experience is not without its stresses. But Jeromchek laughs about how the audition day is more nerve-wracking for the parents who wait outside than it is for the tiny dancers.

A long list of family and friends will watch Ashley’s debut at the Opera House. It’s a big deal. Young dancers share the stage with professionals, making “The Nutcracker” decidedly different from your typical student recital.

“In the week of performance, expectations of the kids are higher,” says fifth-year “Nutcracker” parent Debbie Swoboda. “It’s not just you and your class up there. What you do reflects on your dance teacher and your school.”

Parental responsibilities also increase. Alberta Ballet requires six to eight chaperones to watch the kids backstage. Chaperones must complete the childrens’ hair and makeup, make sure the younger ones go to the bathroom before they line up in the wings, and see to it that everyone puts on their costume with plenty of time to spare.

Since performers are not allowed to eat or drink anything other than water while in costume, parents like Swoboda have had to “confiscate the occasional bag of Cheetos.”

This year is a special landmark in Swoboda’s family history. Her younger daughter Nora makes her debut as an angel alongside sister Leyna, who dances as Clara for an unprecedented third year in a row.

According to her mother, 10-year-old Nora has spent a lot of time watching 14-year-old Leyna and hoped to be an angel in her first sugarplum spectacle, just like big sister had been.

“It’s exciting to see them up there together,” says Swoboda.

When a toy soldier drill gives Leyna a short break from rehearsal, the Lewis and Clark High School freshman is asked what she thinks about dancing with her sister.

“It’s kind of weird,” she responds. “I’m used to having other people on stage with me.”

Leyna feels that she learns something new each “Nutcracker” season. Her favorite part involves working with the professional dancers.

“I learn control from them,” she says, adding that they are all very kind to her and give her tips which help her reach her personal best.

After each performance, Leyna also reflects on what she might improve. She experiments with the presentation of her arms and connects with different people onstage.

Over the last three years, her role as the girl who receives a nutcracker as a Christmas gift – launching an elaborate fantasy involving an army of mice, a handsome prince, a Snow Queen and a Sugarplum Fairy – has challenged her in different ways.

“The first year, I was really nervous,” she says. “The next year, I was less nervous than before. I was like, ‘OK, I can do this.’ Now that I’ve done it, I’m more confident about the dancing, but it’s harder to do the acting. In the first year, it was easier to act surprised and cute.”

Modest Leyna is much more convincing in the role than she realizes. Each year, a different representative from Alberta Ballet has selected her above all other auditioners.

She moves with clarity and presence. Her beautiful jumps are joyful, and her expression conveys openess. The petite 14-year-old has a childlike look to her, but the confidence she exudes once she begins to dance whispers of an underlying maturity.

Will Leyna audition again in 2005? “If I’m not too tall, I might try out,” she says.

Ultimately, she hopes to dance professionally in the Pacific Northwest. Dancing alongside professionals may bring her one waltz closer to those sugarplum dreams.

Jennifer Hansen, Leyna’s 11-year-old understudy from Coeur d’Alene, also shows promise, as does 13-year-old Casey Nieuwenhuis of Deer Park, who dances the “trousers” role of Clara’s mischievous brother, Fritz.

“She’s the absolutely sweetest girl in rehearsal, and here she is playing this boy who spoils the fun for Clara, breaks the nutcracker, gets into all sorts of trouble,” says Goodner-Tan. “She’s been marvelous about that. It’s not something that came naturally to her at first, but she’s really worked on it.”

The children remain poised in the face of many challenges. They only get one technical and one dress rehearsal on stage with the professionals. In this short period, they perfect their spacing with the company, try out their props for the first time, adjust to their costumes and learn to dance with a live orchestra.

“They’re smart kids,” says Goodner-Tan. “It’s a huge credit to them.”