Authors: Sheryl Berk
On Pointe
To Francis Patrelle and everyone at dP and
The Yorkville Nutcracker.
Thank you for your
dedication, inspiration, and perspiration, and
for making magic onstage year after year!
5
That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles
Going Nuts
Anya Bazarov walked past the bulletin board outside Dance Divas studio 1 and did a double take. She yanked a flyer down and raced into the dressing room, where the rest of her teammates were getting ready for ballet class.
“Did you see this?” she asked excitedly, waving the sheet of paper in the air.
“I can't see it unless you stand still,” replied Liberty. She stood up and grabbed the paper out of Anya's hand and read aloud: “ âDances Minnelli presents
A New Jersey Nutcracker
.' Yeah? So?”
“So? So keep reading. They're casting it next
weekend! They're looking for dancers to play the leads!” Anya said.
“Lemme see that,” Scarlett said. “I've always dreamed of playing Clara in
The Nutcracker
.”
“I've always wanted to be the Sugar Plum Fairy,” Anya said. “Since I was seven years old and saw it for the first time at the Los Angeles Ballet.”
Scarlett read the details on the flyer. “ âWanted: children ages seven to sixteen for principal roles. Must have at least two years of dance experience and be currently enrolled in a preprofessional dance program.' ”
“Do you think they'll have the Land of Sweets scene?” Bria asked. “I'd love to be one of the Spanish hot chocolate dancers. Or the Arabian coffee!”
“And I could be one of the Russian candy canes,” Rochelle said. “They have the best music and the coolest moves.”
Scarlett's little sister, Gracie, had been barely paying attention. But the word “sweets” suddenly piqued her interest. “What do you mean âLand of Sweets'?” she asked.
“Oh, it's so beautiful!” Anya explained. “Clara and the prince travel to a breathtaking candy land where candies from all over the world perform for them. And the Sugar Plum Fairy is in charge!”
“Don't you remember Gram taking us to see
The Nutcracker
at Lincoln Center in New York City a few years ago?” Scarlett asked her. “You were about four years old and all you wanted to do was go home. You kept ducking under the seat when the Mouse King came onstage.”
Gracie shrugged. “I kinda remember the creepy mouse guy. Oh! And Grandma buying us hot dogs from a cart on the street outside the theater.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Of course all you'd remember about this gorgeous ballet is what you ate, Gracie.”
Gracie pouted. “Well, I'm older now. I'm seven and three-quarters, and the paper says you need to be seven to audition. I wanna be in the show, too.”
“I can totally see you as one of the cute and fuzzy little mice,” Anya teased her. She got down
on all fours and pretended to sniff around the dressing room floor. “Squeak! Squeak!”
“Those mice were not cute and fuzzy!” Gracie protested. “They were gray and ugly with long tails and twitchy noses. I am not playing a mean mouse.”
“I think Gracie has reindeer written all over her,” Bria suggested. “You know? One of the little guys who pull Clara's sleigh?”
“Reindeer are okay,” Gracie said. “At least they're cute and they don't scare people. What other parts are there?”
Anya did a graceful
pirouette
. “There's also the beautiful Snow Queenâor Dew Drop Fairy, who dances the âWaltz of the Flowers,' ” she said.
“Clara is the best part,” Scarlett added. “She's the main character and she gets to do a gorgeous
pas de deux
with the Nutcracker Prince.”
“Ooh! I wanna be Clara!” Gracie said, clapping her hands together excitedly. “Especially if she gets to dance with a prince and go to Candyland!”
Liberty chuckled. “Dream on, Gracie. I'm sure they'll cast someone with infinitely more ballet talent and experience. That would be me.”
“Excuse me?” Anya jumped in. “Or me.”
“Or me!” Scarlett said.
“Just a second. I know
all
about
The Nutcracker
,” Bria said. “Not only have I seen it every year since I was three years old with my family, but I know the whole history. I did a term paper on it. It was adapted from E. T. A. Hoffmann's story
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
, and it premiered in 1892 in St. Petersburg. Tchaikovsky wrote the score.”
“Bria, you are a human Google search engine.” Scarlett chuckled.
“Maybe for dance. Just not for biology or pre-algebra,” Bria said. “My brain crashes on those subjects.”
“You'd crash and burn as Clara, too,” Liberty said. “There's no way you'll beat me for that part.”
“Maybe Hayden and I will be Clara and her prince,” Rochelle added. She and her “boyfriend”
had always wanted to perform together again, and this was the perfect opportunity.
“Don't make me laugh,” Liberty snickered. “You? Clara?
Puh-lease!
But Hayden and I would certainly make a great team again. Did you forget when we won best duet at Leaps and Bounds?”
Rochelle gritted her teeth. How could she forget? If she hadn't sprained her ankle, the trophyâand the duet with Haydenâwould have been hers.
“That's all very nice,” Anya said, piping up. “But I'm the one with the most ballet training.”
“Says who?” Liberty stared her down. “It's not what you know in this biz, it's
who
you know. And I bet my mom knows the choreographer for Dances Minnelli.”
“There you go again,” Rochelle said. “Always running to your Hollywood choreographer mommy to call in special favors.”
Scarlett stepped in to referee. “Divas, Divas! Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves here? The audition is next week. We'll just all have to prepare and practice and see how it goes. Plus, we need to ask Miss Toni's permission.”
With several competitions coming up, she wasn't sure how their dance coach would feel about them taking time off to rehearse and do a different show.
The dressing room suddenly became silent, as each of the girls began to formulate her game plan for winning the lead. Rochelle was texting Hayden; Liberty went off to call her mom; Anya did another
pirouette
; and Scarlett and Gracie gathered around Bria's laptop to see what other information they could find out about the production.
“It says here that âDances Minnelli's
New Jersey Nutcracker
will be the only
Nutcracker
in the tristate area to feature an all-kid cast,' ” Bria read. “Even the adults in the opening party scene will be played by kids.”
“What else does it say?” Scarlett asked. “Any hints as to what they're looking for in a Clara? Like, oh, maybe a redhead?” She twirled a long, curly strand of hair around her fingertips.
Bria scanned the website. “Nope, just lots of stuff on how the setting is really unique and nontraditional. The set for the Land of Sweets will
look just like the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey, complete with a working Ferris wheel onstage.”
“Cool!” Gracie squealed. “I hope Miss Toni lets us do the show.”
Bria's face went white. “Um, I'm not so sure she will. Take a look at this.” She pointed to a line of fine print. “Directed by Marcus Sanzobar.”
“Oh my gosh! As in Toni's ex? The guy who broke her heart when she was a student at American Ballet Company?” Scarlett exclaimed. “The guy who dumped her for Justine Chase, coach of City Feet?”
Bria nodded. “How many professional ballet dancers named Marcus Sanzobar could there be? Maybe we should leave that part out when we ask her ⦔
Casting Call
Miss Toni demanded several things from her elite dance team: cooperation, coordination, and perspiration. But perhaps the most important thing was punctuality. If the clock ticked a second past the scheduled class time, it set even her teeth on edge.