Fantasy with some flair

Next week’s annual Alberta Ballet/Spokane Symphony production of “The Nutcracker” comes later this year because “The Lion King” was playing at the Opera House during the usual “Nutcracker” slot in early December.

The change has actually worked well, according to Annie Matlow, the symphony’s marketing director.

“This year, it’s truly a Christmas show,” Matlow said, adding that ticket sales have been going well, particularly among family groups.

The holiday classic about a girl named Clara 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 – also will reflect the honed theatrical flair that has been developing under Alberta Ballet’s artistic director, Jean Grand-Maitre.

“The company retains the integrity of (former artistic director) Mikko Nissinen’s choreography of ‘The Nutcracker,’ but Grand-Maitre has reinterpreted its performance to make it easier for audiences to understand,” says Harry Paterson, Alberta Ballet’s director of productions.

“It’s his own personal touch, something that he passes along to company members,” Paterson says. “It’s the way he gets the dancers to move.”

The Quebec-born director-choreographer’s vision is to reshape the company into a contemporary ensemble through his innovative choreography and by coaching the dancers to communicate with more precision and clarity.

“I do not intend to let them hide behind their technique. I want them to be dancing on the edge,” Grand-Maitre, who took the job in 2002, told Dance Magazine in August. “That is what makes our art exciting.”

Paterson tells how Grand-Maitre used the renovation of Alberta Ballet’s performance facilities to work toward his goals.

The company has two identical, 2,350-seat auditoriums in which it performs, the Southern Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary and the Northern Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton. Both underwent renovation during the 2004 season.

“Consequently,” Paterson explains, “the company was forced to perform in smaller theatres for eight months. In order to fulfill their obligations to their subscribers, instead of doing a few performances in a big auditorium where the front row of the audience was 20 feet from the stage, the company did multiple performances in theatres where the front row audience members were only five feet away.

“We call that ‘up front and personal,’ ” he says with a laugh. “So the dancers stepped up to the challenge of not dancing with just fine technique, but honing their flair for the dramatic.

“Even when we performed ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in China, where the story is not common knowledge, audience members commented that they understood what was happening on stage moment-to-moment,” Paterson adds. “That’s very gratifying.”

The approach also has an effect on the local dance students who accompany Alberta Ballet and four dancers from Ballet British Columbia at the various “Nutcracker” stops around the region.

“It rubs off on the children,” Paterson says. “Children learn by watching. They’re empowered by learning from professionals.”

Peggy Goodner Tan of Theatre Ballet of Spokane, who’s been rehearsing 50 children for the Spokane performances of “The Nutcracker,” said she looks for that dramatic flair right from the start.

“To begin with, children will not be cast during auditions if they perform with beautiful technique, but no expression,” Tan says.

“At the first rehearsal, I explain my expectations. I am very strict about both technique and expressiveness. Throughout the rehearsal process, if the children are not working up to their potential, I stop the music and review, then we try again. I hold them to a very high standard.”

There are several opportunities for local students to develop those skills, Tan says.

The Missoula Children’s Theatre regularly visits Spokane and teaches public school children about acting and production. Several local theaters and some private teachers offer children’s acting lessons, and area dance teachers teach dramatic expression along with technique.

“The simple fact that we have children from 10 area dance studios represented in this year’s ‘Nutcracker’ speaks for their teachers’ influences,” Tan says.

This year, Leyna Swoboda, who has danced the role of Clara for three years, and Casey Nieuwenhuis, who portrayed Clara’s mischievous brother Fritz last year, announced that they would not be auditioning for their previous parts, but were willing to accept any role.

Furthermore, they volunteered to attend rehearsals to pass along what they had learned from the Alberta Ballet dancers about performing those previous roles.

“What a gracious example these young women set for the other children,” Tan says.

Swoboda will dance the role of the lead soldier in this year’s production while Nieuwenhuis will perform as a mouse.

“The children who dance Clara and Fritz are usually children who come up through the ranks,” Tan notes.

This year, 12-year-old Jennifer Hansen of Coeur d’Alene, who was Swoboda’s understudy last year, will dance Clara. Two children, Ian Tanzer from Cheney and Treasa Parazoo from Colville, are cast as Fritz and will take turns dancing the role in various performances.

“They’ll have lots of help from Swoboda and Nieumenhuis, from the teachers at their own dance studios, from the professionals at Alberta Ballet, and from me,” Tan says.

“Then, next year, maybe it will be their turn to pass the knowledge on.”