We are giving away two pairs of tickets to the December 3 performance of the Nutcracker by the Alberta Ballet at the National Arts Centre. To enter the contest send an email to apartment613@gmail.com with the subject line “Nutcracker Contest” by 3 pm Thursday, November 27. The winners will be picked by random draw and contacted on Thursday evening.
According to the legendary painter Pablo Picasso, every act of creation is first an act of destruction.
This intriguing observation could be applied to local teenager Xander Sen, whose passion for dancing most definitely left a mark at his home.
“My mother put me in dance classes because she didn’t want me to wreck the house,” jokes the 13-year-old.
Then, switching to a serious tone, he adds: “Dance is my passion and I love it. My dream is to go to Juilliard and then eventually to the National Ballet.”
Sen, who is part of Capital City Dance, is one of several young dancers from the National Capital Region who will be performing the Nutcracker with the Alberta Ballet at the National Arts Centre from December 3-7. (Dance companies regularly choose local dancers to play extras when performing the Nutcracker).
In anticipation of this performance, Apartment613 spoke with three young dancers who will be part of the ensemble for the NAC-showing of this famous ballet, which has become an annual ritual for many during the holiday season.
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“I love the Nutcracker,” says 14-year-old Adeline Campbell Prest following a rehearsal at the School of Dance (see above video). “When the (Christmas) season comes it’s heartening because I love this ballet.”
Campbell Prest is the veteran of the trio, having previously danced in several professional performances of the Nutcracker. Her upcoming role, however, is particularly important, given that she will be spending part of the summer of 2015 with the Alberta Ballet.
If things work out during her summer stint, she could go on to train full-time with the Alberta-based company. For his part, Sen is deciding whether to go to Alberta or to Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 2015, as he was accepted into the summer program of both prestigious companies.
Canterbury High School student Mikayla Shepertycki, meanwhile, will be performing in her first-ever professional Nutcracker.
“Everyone in my family dances or plays a musical instrument,” says the 12-year-old Shepertycki, who dances at the Kanata Ballet School. Her artistic background will come in handy in her role as one of the children in the festive party scene at the beginning of the ballet. (The other two will also play children at the Christmas party).
When asked about their preparations for the NAC stage, the trio replied with interesting answers. For instance, they mentioned the importance of being hydrated throughout the show, as the glare of the spotlight can make the performers quite hot, particularly given their costumes.
They also discussed the importance of being fit, given that a ballet performance is akin to being an athlete in a major sporting event. The difference in this case, however, is that certain members of the cast are asked to “play” on consecutive dates, with some even appearing on stage twice on the same day.
The Alberta Ballet performs the Nutcracker at the National Arts Centre from December 3-7. Tickets start at $25.
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