Ballerinas with satin pink pointe shoes and soft, canvas ballet slippers fill the rehearsal room of the Central Ohio Youth Ballet academy (COYB). It’s a Sunday at 4:30 p.m., and they’ve been practicing since 12 p.m. The day before, they rehearsed for approximately 10 hours. But that doesn’t stop them from running excitedly to their starting poses as they prepare for yet another run-through of the beloved Christmas story and ballet tradition: “The Nutcracker.”
Almost every year since the ballet academy opened in Newark in 1994, they’ve put on “The Nutcracker” for all of central Ohio, bringing as many as 3,500 audience members to pack the Midland Theatre.
This Nutcracker will be the 31st Nutcracker put on by the COYB, choreographed by co-founder Robert “Bob” Cole. A former dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, Cole is finding new ways to tell the story of Clara and her dream world, inviting regular viewers to enjoy a fresh perspective and Nutcracker first-timers to a theatrical and unique first watch.
Read more: Always moving: Bob Cole and the Central Ohio Youth Ballet
“It’s hugely changed from what we’ve done in the past,” Cole said. “There is a whole brand new magic trick, completely different that they’ve never seen before.”
Cole said the changes were made in part due to the highly talented group of dancers the studio has this year, allowing him to enhance the roles to be extra theatrical.
“I had somebody say that, that my (Nutcracker) is not just watching pretty dance, you really get the essence of the story itself,” Cole said. “I had one guy that came here, and he goes, ‘I went ever since my sister was a ballet dancer. And I went to every Nutcracker for her for years and years and years…and this was exciting to watch.’”
In the back of the COYB dance studio, there’s a closet packed with racks of handmade costumes, sometimes recycled from thrifted or donated clothing items. Costume designer Laura Tabbut made 23 new costumes for the Nutcracker this year, bringing the total Nutcracker costume count up to 295 costumes for a cast of roughly 50.
One dress made of a green fabric with a pink, floral pattern on the front was fashioned from a vintage saridonated to the ballet academy. Another pink tutu fashioned with blue flowers was spray-painted by hand.
In the main studio, the dancers run the second act of the show. In this run-through, Caitlin Young, 14, one of the dancers cast as Clara, and Brenan Parsons, 14, cast as the titular Nutcracker, set the scene as they wander across the magical world of dancing sweets, featuring dances such as Spanish Chocolate, Chinese tea and Arabian coffee.
This may be Young’s first year dancing with the COYB, but the support she receives from fellow dancers makes her feel right at home.
“I’m so grateful for everyone who’s been there by my side to just help me along the way,” Young said. “Everybody’s so amazing and nice in every single way that you could possibly think of.”
For Parsons, his role in the Nutcracker is a fun way to stay fit during the wintertime.
“I just come have fun,” Parsons said. “Yeah, I stress about it during tech week, but I just go with it.”
As the act continues, dancers with their hair pulled back in tight, low buns, sweep their legs across the floor in large circles called rond de jambes. They hold their chins high as they flap their fans across their body for the Spanish Chocolate dance. These dancers perform impressively high firebird leaps, where the dancers’ back legs arc behind them as they propel into the air, toes almost touching the backs of their heads, creating the image of a bird mid-flight.
One of the Spanish Chocolate dancers, Amelie Shuler, 16, will also dance as the Snow Queen. For Shuler, it was love at first Nutcracker when she got to see the COYB dancers take the stage when she was only three years old.
“I went and saw this production of a Nutcracker, and then I told my mom that I wanted to be in it, and she signed me up for lessons,” Shuler said. “It’s always really, really stressful, but then once we get into the theater, it all becomes worth it.”
For the dance of the mirlitons, named after a flute shaped musical instrument, dancers tip toe and hop across the stage demonstrating fierce ankle strength. Their smiles beam as they bourrée and pas de chat across the room, ballet steps that make dancers appear to be weightless, like fairies barely bound to the floor.
Aspen Baird, 12, is one of the mirliton dancers. She was also cast as Clara, and will get the chance to share the stage with her mother, Abby.
“It’s been an amazing time, and I think we got so much done in the first few weeks,” Baird said. “Once we get into the theater, it’s just like, ‘Okay, we’re ready to do this.’”
One of the unique aspects of this year’s Nutcracker? There will be narrators on stage providing context for audience members not as familiar with the story. Abby Baird, mother to COYB Aspen Baird and COYB costume manager, took on one of the narrator roles after finding out her daughter was cast as Clara.
“It’s an opportunity for me to do (the Nutcracker) with my daughter, which is great,” Baird said.
This year, two dancers from the Indianapolis Ballet will come to perform as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her dance partner, the Cavalier. Grace McCutcheon, who will perform as the Sugar Plum Fairy, is a COYB alumni from Zanesville, making her guest appearance extra special for the studio.
“She’s been professional now for a few years,” COYB Co-Founder Lisa Cole said. “It’s always thrilling.”
Performances will take place at the Midland Theatre Friday Nov. 28 – Sunday Nov. 30, with ticket prices ranging from $24-$32, available for purchase at www.midlandtheatre.org. Additional performances will occur at the Woodward Opera House in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Saturday Dec. 6 – Sunday Dec. 7. Tickets range from $26-$28, and are available at www.thewoodward.org.
Maddie Luebkert writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.