Giuliana Savini
Reporter
Since the beginning of September, The New England Academy of Dance (NEAD) has been preparing for their 25th annual production of The Nutcracker. This year, they plan to include higher quality pyrotechnics, an additional charity benefit show, and a brand new dance called “The Roses”. The performance times are Dec. 3 at 7:30, Dec. 4 at 11:00 a.m (children’s show, Act II only) and at 4:00, and Dec. 5 at 4:00, at NCHS.
To increase the energy of their 25th anniversary, more advanced elements of the production were incorporated. “We’re doing more in the form of special effects,” Co-Artistic Director Ted Thomas said. “This year we have a snow machine and a cannon that is actually going to fire.”
The members of New England Dance Theater (NEDT), consisting of 25 selected company members, are exercising their charitable holiday spirit through an extra show for over 13 different charities and organizations that support children and families in need. “We’re giving away 900 free tickets to them [the charities], which is going to be pretty special for us because we’re giving back to the community,” Co-Artistic Director Ginna Ortiz said.
Another addition to the production is “The Roses” Dance. “We were missing a section of the music last year so we added that in. They choreographed a whole new dance to it which is for the junior company , consisting of freshmen and sophomores,” junior Linnea Swarting the Sugar Plum Fairy said.
For the cast and crew, reaching this 25th year anniversary has lead to wide-spread excitement. “The energy of the production has gone up since it’s our 25th anniversary,” senior Kathryn Sawabini, the Snow Queen and Dew Drop Queen, said.
But the desirable perfection of a performance comes with a hefty price. “More rehearsals means more work, especially for us with lead roles, ” senior Julia Pasini, the Snow Queen and Dew Drop Queen, said.
One of those leads along is Linnea. She’s the first junior in NEAD history, to be cast as the Sugar Plum Fairy. “That’s a big deal because it shows that the bar of the girls has gone up,” Mr. Thomas said. “They’re getting to a level of proficiency to do lead roles at a younger age.”
Linnea’s memories of her earliest aspirations bring the satisfaction of her hard work paying off. “I always wanted to be Sugar Plum Fairy and it was really great to achieve my goal. It was really challenging but definitely worth it,” Linnea said. “I’ve worked really, really hard for this.”
Two of the other leads are Snow Queen and Dew Drop Queen shared between the days of the performance by Julia and Kathryn. “It’s a chance to show what we can do,” Julia said. “I think that we are at a level where we can do a lot of challenging and different steps so it’s nice to have this opportunity to shine.”
Tickets cost $25 for adults and $15 for students, seniors and children. For the children’s show, all tickets cost $10. Tickets will be sold at the door, or you can email nutcrackertickets@yahoo.com.
Photos by Giuliana Savini
A MUST SEE performance!