By: Valerie Zhang

The Nutcracker— a classic Christmas ballet—has proven to be quite the challenge this year. This traditional Christmas story was initially transformed into a ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky in 1954. For decades, this timeless ballet has performed every year with children from the School of American Ballet. However, this year, the recovery from the Covid pandemic has led to a prolonged period away from the stage, and that has led to myriad challenges.

Usually, children new to the company start off as background characters—like Candy Canes and Polichinelles—and along the way, they learn the basics of how to perform like professionals. However, due to the pandemic, this year many children in all kinds of roles are starting from scratch, with limited understanding of the choreography and the story. However, this problem may have been a blessing in disguise. Dena Abergel, repertory director of the City’s Ballet’s children, expresses she is thrilled to see how the children will approach the ballet, as they are less likely to mimic previous performances.

The casting proved to be another difficulty, particularly when it came to Marie—the ballet’s main heroine. Because none of the lead contenders had previous experience or proven acting ability, Abergel created acting sequences in the audition choreography. Two stood out in the crowd—Zofia Mendez and Caroline O’ Hagen. Their acting endurance and skill (on top of wearing a heavy, silk taffeta dress) will be the key to shining in the spotlight.

Abergel remarks she has other concerns, such as the coronavirus, that can take a main character like Marie out days before the show begins. That’s why she says she tries to “have them as prepared as possible every day because you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Though the pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the preparation aspect of this year’s Nutcracker ballet, this generation of performers is still excited to be in such a large-scale production. Abergel and her crew have taken measures to ensure this year’s show will be a success—even if that means more rehearsal time and effort to make up for their time losses.