Grand production – Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker doesn’t skimp on spectacle

When a delivery truck fills the Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre studio with box after box of nutcrackers every September, organizers for the city’s Cajun-themed performance know the season has arrived. Shelves and racks of tutus, trim, dresses, flowers and shoes covered in tulle, shiny stones and glitter fill a large room upstairs in the studio. Backdrops and set pieces sit in wait.

Auditions are held, roles assigned and rehearsals begin, culminating in four full performances of The Nutcracker: A Tale from the Bayou that bring Southern culture and tradition to a classic Russian story.

Though BRBT runs its own performing company, auditions are open to the public and draw in about 350 hopefuls from Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes.

Baton Rouge has hosted The Nutcracker since the mid-1980s, but this is the 19th year the A Tale from the Bayou version has been performed. The show runs Dec. 15-16.

“We incorporated the bayou scene with snowy oak alley plantations. We figured if Clara were dreaming The Nutcracker in Louisiana, she would dream it in a plantation home, the only castle she could imagine,” says Molly Buchmann, artistic director and head of dance at LSU.

Buchmann, along with co-artistic director Sharon Matthews and associate director Susan Purless, has been involved in the performance since the show’s creation.

The well-known story of a girl whose toy comes to life on Christmas is told here with a huge cast and equally huge team backstage.

Counting through the number of costumes, Buchmann finally settled on 198 sets. She pointed out that Mother Ginger is the most difficult to put on, as the performer must climb into the giant dress.

The nutcracker used in the show is made to match the costume a dancer wears as the life-size character, and every year a new souvenir nutcracker is designed for sale based on a theme. This year’s theme is presents, so the decorative nutcrackers hold strings of wrapped gifts.

The show has earned a reputation for its high production quality and special effects, which include pyrotechnics and snowfall.

A professional crew of 18, which is large for this type of ballet, seamlessly change sets between scenes, hauling Christmas trees, furniture and various props on and off stage.

Nicole Naquin, director of development and communications, says there’s a sense of tradition in The Nutcracker, and the inclusion of both children and advanced dancers gives the show a wide appeal.

“It’s wonderfully important for Baton Rouge because it takes theater on a grand scale and involves the community,” Naquin says. “It’s what theater is all about—putting on that grand performance that reaches out.” batonrougeballet.org

Through rehearsals for the cooks and the mice, the battles and the parties, 13-year-old Emelia Perkins shows up ready to learn. As one of four girls playing Clara in this year’s The Nutcracker, Emelia will be on stage in character through most of the ballet’s many scenes.

Dancing since the age of four, Emelia’s dedication may be inspired by her mother, Christine Perkins, who is also performing in The Nutrcracker in the principal role of “Spanish dancer.”

Emelia says acting is the most fun and the most challenging aspect of playing Clara.

“That’s the part that you can express it in your own way, and you can just do what you want, but on a guided line,” she says.

For Emelia, learning the steps is second nature after about nine years of ballet, but muscle memory helps when following the patterns and combinations of moves.

“When I’m on stage, I get really nervous. I get the butterfly sensation and I’m thinking about what the people in the audience think,” she says. “But usually, since I’m so worried about what my body is doing, I don’t mess up.” —Morgan Searles