Dancers express love for art in 'Nutcracker'

This weekend brought the continuation of a Christmas tradition that stretches back more than a century. The ballet suite "The Nutcracker" by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was performed with a full cast, live orchestra and large-scale set in five performances. The classic tale of fantasy meets Christmas is entertainment for the audience, but work for the dancers. Dressed in mouse suits, dancing on stilts and playing multiple characters has its challenges. Though many artistic forms contribute to the overall piece, the one that is showcased onstage is dance. A few cast members described the enormous amount of time, dedication and effort that go into producing a ballet of such magnitude as "The Nutcracker." \nFreshman Michelle Mahowald, whose roles include the leading mirliton, a Chinese dancer, a snow flake and a party parent, remembered the first time she performed "The Nutcracker" at the age of seven. Mahowald said the ballet is such a Christmas staple that all dancers are familiar with it and she herself has performed it several times. This, however has not made Mahowald bored at all.\n"In the music, I'm always surprised and find something new and beautiful every time I perform it," she said. \nAs far as the difficulties encountered in performing, Mahowald said all dancers expect to play multiple characters during a performance. The rehearsals are used to figure out what to bring out in which character.\n"It's hard at first, but you get used to it," she said.\nLauren Collier, who is performing with IU for the first time, also described some of the difficulties encountered in performing. In one of her roles as a mouse, Collier has to wear fat pads and a large mouse head that can make it difficult to breathe. Collier said there is a large element of risk -- many things have the potential to go wrong on stage, and if anything does, then it has to look as natural as possible.\nCollier added that many years of pain and frustration go into ballet, but all of it is for the joy of dancing.\n"We love it because it's challenging," Collier said.\nSenior Joshoa Sutton, whose roles include the Moorish puppet, the Mouse King and the Arabian prince, agreed with Collier.\n"A lot of the dancers you see on stage are in pain," Sutton said.\nIn spite of this, Sutton added, the performance is a time to showcase the dancers' talent and chance to show the world how good one really is. This is part of the thrill of dancing ballet, Sutton said.\nAnother important aspect of ballet, Sutton said, is the ability to connect with the audience. Giving the audience a thrill and allowing them to enjoy the experience is why Sutton said ballet dancers cherish their art.\n"In this mechanical, electrical age," Sutton said, "we show what humans can do, and that can't be duplicated."\nCollier agreed, calling ballet almost a forgotten art.\n"We want to impress the audience," she said. "And show the magic of ballet, to show that it is special and important to us all."\nMahowald said the performance is worth the pain.\n"When people ask me why I do it when they see me in pain, I always say it's because I love ballet, and that there's nothing like a live performance," she said.\nAs far as this year's production is concerned, the dancers all agreed that working with the staff added to their enjoyment of ballet. Sutton described the IU Ballet Theatre as "a great company," comparing it to "a big, happy family."\nThe choreographer, Jacques Cesbron, in particular made a lasting impression upon the dancers. Collier appreciated Cesbron's sense of humor, saying that he made the ballet very fun to dance.\n"I love Jacques's directing," Mahowald said. "He's a real person and very supportive of the dancers."\nAll three dancers found their experience with IU's performance of "The Nutcracker" both fun and rewarding, and all expressed their enthusiasm that the audience would walk away with a greater appreciation of ballet as an art form.\nAs Mahowald said, "Ballet is more unique than the other arts. Other art forms have a medium. In ballet, we, the dancers, are the medium. Our bodies are our art. That is why it's so personal -- we have a lot of our selves put into it."\n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu