The Squamish Youth Ballet is hoping to deliver an early Christmas present to locals when they hit the stage and perform the holiday classic, The Nutcracker on Dec. 4.
However, in the meantime 28 students and instructor Shalimar Blanchard are practicing over and over again, ensuring that everything goes smoothly on the day of the performance.
"It probably looks like complete chaos," she joked during a break in rehearsal on Sunday (Oct. 24). "But this was a really monumental moment today as it was the first time we've gone all the way through the first act without having to stop."
The group has been practicing and rehearsing since mid-September but Blanchard said they're not entirely ready yet.
"We definitely couldn't do it today," she said, with a smile. "But they will be ready. We've been working hard every Saturday and Sunday and they know everything about the performance now. We just need to put it all together."
It's been a lot of fun putting the production together, said Blanchard.
"I really like the music from the Nutcracker, and I enjoy the teaching. It just feels so good to see their face when they finally get it right."
Blanchard pointed out that the choreography from the show is based on the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow and the Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg. She noted that the original ballet was choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in Russia for the Imperial Ballet and said that she wanted to try and keep this version of the Nutcracker as close to the Russian versions as possible.
"For years and years and years I had said I would never do Nutcracker," she said. "But if I did, I wanted to do it properly. I didn't want to do Nutcracker with a little bit of jazz and little bit of hip-hop."
She added that it's a great opportunity for the kids as several of them are playing multiple roles and getting a chance to flaunt their talents in a number of different eye-catching outfits.
The rehearsals will continue for the next five weekends, lasting until the Dec. 4 show.
The performance will take place at the Eagle Eye Theatre and there will be shows in the afternoon and evening. The afternoon performance will take place at 2 p.m. while the later show is scheduled to beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Advance tickets are available to participating families on Nov. 1, 4, 8, and 11 at the Howe Sound Dance Academy studio from 3:30 to 8 p.m. They will be available to the general public on Nov. 15 and the cost is $20 to attend.
For more information on the academy, visit www.howesounddance.com.
