The Cangelosi Dance Project spreads seasonal cheer with its Holiday Nutcracker

For more than a century, The Nutcracker has remained a can’t-miss holiday experience for families and a sought-after performance for many dancers. The Cangelosi Dance Project brings the magical tale to life again on Dec. 20.

Emmy Wesley grew up performing in The Nutcracker. This year, the 15-year-old, lifelong dancer has landed her dream role of Clara in Tchaikovsky’s timeless ballet. 

The story follows Clara, a young girl who aspires to become a professional ballerina someday. For Wesley, who says that dance is a part of who she is, it’s easy to see why this role has been her childhood dream.

“I grew up doing The Nutcracker ever since I was itty-bitty, and I always wanted to be Clara. She travels through magic and visits all these different places—it’s just a really special role to me,” Wesley says.

A lot of preparation has gone into this performance, and Wesley is eagerly awaiting opening night, but she says she is most excited by the small roles some of her family members have taken on.

​“My dad is Uncle Drosselmeyer, and my brother is the Rat King. I’m really excited to share the stage with them this year,” she says.

​A cast of 60 performers will also take the stage with Wesley, including non-dancing adults, pre-professional dancers, professional dancers and child dancers from the Cangelosi Dance Project. Among the cast is Maddie Kucensky, a professional ballerina from Ballet Spartanburg who will perform as the Sugar Plum Fairy.

​Kris Cangelosi, artistic director and choreographer behind the CDP, and her students have been working on this show for almost half the year. Auditions were held in the summer, but she delayed revealing the dancers’ roles for months.

“I already kind of knew what their roles were going to be in August and September, but I kept pushing and training to make them get stronger because I was trying to figure out what was going to happen with each dancer,” Cangelosi says. “So they didn’t actually know what part they were going to do until October.”

The Nutcracker is a special annual tradition for many, and Cangelosi loves to spread the holiday magic. Her first experience with this ballet was in her college years. Every year since, she has been involved in The Nutcracker wherever she lived—from Atlanta to South Carolina. When she moved back to Baton Rouge, the choreographer knew she had to bring this ballet home with her.

“It was always a Christmas tradition,” Cangelosi says. “When you bring that kind of tradition into the community, you just want to continue to give it.”

Nine years from the CDP’s very first full Holiday Nutcracker performance, the director still feels the magic. Cangelosi’s version of the ballet evolves and changes every year, depending on her cast and their talents. She believes each performance has its own creative signature.​

This year, the director is most excited to see Wesley, a CDP student of 11 years, perform as Clara.

“It’s always special with the Claras. Each one has always brought a different flavor to it with their own talent, and it’s always fun to watch the Clara perform,” Cagelosi says. “It always brings tears to my eyes at the end. Every time after they perform The Nutcracker, they just grow as a person, and their love for ballet is quite beautiful afterwards because they carry the ballet throughout the entire show.”

Wesley can personally attest to the truth of that growth. 

“I can really share my emotions through my dance and feel I’ve really grown to be a better dancer this year. Ms. Kris has guided me to be the person I want to be,” Wesley says.

The Cangelosi Dance Project cast will perform their Holiday Nutcracker twice on Dec. 20 at Brown-Holt Theatre at The Dunham School, located at 11111 Roy Emerson Dr. Tickets for both the 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. performances are available for purchase.