It’s late September. Can “Nutcracker” season be far behind?
Tchaikovsky’s ballet is a staple of dance companies across America. Young girls (and a few young boys) spend weeks rehearsing their roles as mice, bunnies, horses and snowflakes.
Often though, the main roles — like Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara – are danced by professionals.
Those roles are demanding and complex — perhaps beyond the capabilities of a local child.
But when Norwalk Metropolitan Youth Ballet’s “Nutcracker” takes the Westport Country Playhouse stage on December 5 (1 and 6 p.m.), every role will be danced by a student.
Alissa Zimon portrays Clara. The Greens Farms Elementary School 5th grader will perform on her hometown stage.
Alissa Zimon will dance as Clara. (Photo/Mark Smith)
It’s a fine moment for NMYB (and their milestone 10th “Nutcracker”).
The company may not be as well known as the larger ballet academies in the area.
But they’re making a mark, And it starts with the culture that artistic director Adam Holms has created.
There is a genuine sense that — even in the pressure-filled world of dance — everyone belongs, everyone contributes, and everyone is celebrated.
He’s a local boy, from Fairfield. Walking to Tomlinson Middle School, he’d pass Joe Vilane’s studio, and wonder what went on inside. At 15 years old — just a few years after he started dancing — he left Fairfield High to dance professionally, with the Joffrey Ballet.
At Butler University — where he studied ballet pedagogy – Holms realized he also loved history. He taught middle school for 4 years in Decatur, Indiana, gaining confidence that he could handle just about any situation with young people.
After earning a master’s at New York University Holms opened a one-room studio on Norwalk’s Main Street. “It was ‘Little House on the Prairie,'” he recalls. “All the grades were mixed together.
Now, in a bigger space on the same street, NMYB is thriving.
Quietly.
Getting ready to rehearse. (Photo/Mark Smith)
Fifteen percent of his 100 or so students are male, Holms notes with pride. They come from different towns and backgrounds — and different levels of experience — but he welcomes them all, whoever and whatever they are.
Holms understands the allure of professionals in “The Nutcracker.” “They increase ticket sales, and give kids someone to look to,” he says.
Yet that’s not the way he rolls.
“I want to showcase you,” the artistic director says. “Most kids here won’t go on to be professional dancers. I want them to wear tiaras and tutus for every role, and hear the applause.”
He’s an unlikely role model himself. “I have a beard and tattoos,” he says. (One is of “The Nutcracker.”)
“But I’ll dancers how to skip, partner and wear pointe shoes. Once people buy into that, they love it.” Training includes ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, acro and pas de deux.
Adam Holms (Photo/Mark Smith)
While remaining local, students get global exposure and meaningful artistic opportunities. Norwalk Metropolitan has twice been named an Outstanding School by Youth America Grand Prix.
NMYB welcomes students from 4 years old through high school graduates. Most are between 9 and 13.
“That’s the most magical time,” Holms says. “In the beginning, ballet is rough. There’s a lot of repetition and muscle memory. But once they start soaring, it’s so exciting.
“There is no fast route to ballet. You have to be committed for a decade. But every time I see them doing what major ballet companies do, it’s incredible.”
Holms’ studio is a “parent-free zone.” There’s no watching through windows.
:I want kids to feel that this is their house — their safe area,” the director says. “I want them to learn to be autonomous, through ballet.”
Adam Holms, with members of his Ensemble Etoile. (Photos/Andrea Carson)
“Nutcracker” is not the only production. There’s a mid-winter contemporary showcase, and a full-length dance (this year it’s “Don Quixote” — also at the Playhouse.)
The historic theater costs more to rent than a school auditorium. But it’s important, Holms says, for young dancers to have dressing rooms, stage lights, a stage manager — and learn to respect it all.
Annabelle Gorski and Isaac Bailey are NMYB alums who have danced principal roles in “The Nutcracker.” (Annabelle had a great offer from the Kansas City Ballet, but chose to return to her home studio.)
Now Alissa Zimon will follow them. She has been encouraged not only by her ballet school mentors and fellow dancers, but by GFS educators Stacy Fowle, Suzanne Propp and Angela Belta.
From now through December 5, it’s “crunch time,” Holms says. The dancers are rehearsing regularly, for every role from mice, bunnies, horses and snowflakes, to Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara.
And — except for the staff of 6 — there will not be a professional in sight.
(For more information on Norwalk Metropolitan Youth Ballet, click here.)
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