Nearly 60 local dancers, some as young as 6, stepped into the spotlight alongside San Diego Ballet and the Glacier Symphony Orchestra for The Nutcracker at Flathead Valley Community College's Wachholz College Center last weekend. Students from more than a dozen Flathead Valley studios filled both principal and ensemble roles, swapping their familiar studio floors for a professional stage. Families packed McClaren Hall for a weekend of live Tchaikovsky and big-stage choreography.
Young dancers earn center stage
Thirteen-year-old Blayde Wehr was cast as the Nutcracker prince while his sister, Arrayah, 16, appeared in the Snow scene and the Waltz of the Flowers. Fourteen-year-old Miki Flint returned for her fourth season with the visiting company, and dozens of other students, from beginners to long-time performers, shared the stage. Barbara Otey, a Northwest Ballet faculty member, told the Daily Inter Lake, "Pretty much everyone that auditions gets a role."
When and where
The Nutcracker ran last weekend, according to the Glacier Symphony's event listing. Flathead Valley Community College's event page notes that performances took place in McClaren Hall at the Wachholz College Center. The partnership paired a touring San Diego Ballet company with a live symphony orchestra for a full-scale holiday production.
Rehearsals and auditions
Auditions were held in mid-September and dancers rehearsed Monday through Friday beginning in early October as companies prepared to combine casts for the larger production, the Daily Inter Lake reports. In the final week, the companies ran dress rehearsals at the Wachholz center to polish staging and quick changes. Photographers from the local paper captured both studio rehearsals and the dress run on stage.
Tradition and community benefits
This marks the fourth season the San Diego Ballet has brought The Nutcracker to the Flathead Valley. The Northwest Ballet faculty page notes that director Marisa Roth has served as the local liaison for recent seasons. The Northwest Ballet Company still mounts its own Nutcracker over Thanksgiving weekend in Bigfork, a regional tradition documented by the Bigfork Eagle.
For families and young dancers, the shows are both a community celebration and a training ground. FVCC notes McClaren Hall seats roughly 1,000 and the weekend run drew full houses. The collaboration is one of several ways touring companies, local studios and the Glacier Symphony say they build arts opportunities across northwest Montana.
