New England Ballet's 21st Annual Production of "The Nutcracker"

Throughout the winter season, I have had the honor to play the roles of The Sugar Plum Fairy and the Russian Princess in my ballet company's annual performances of the "The Nutcracker". In addition to having 5 public performances at the Parsons Auditorium and Klein Memorial Theatre, we also had the opportunity to be on tour, performing smaller versions of the show at various schools and events all throughout the month of December. It was a unique opportunity to be able to dance in so many different places, and it was especially fun to miss some days of school to perform!

This year was a special year for me because the Sugar Plum Fairy is technically the lead role of the entire ballet. You get 17 minutes straight of stage time, which equals long rehearsals in the studio and extra attention from the choreographers and directors. The man I danced with (shown in the picture below), was Jonathan Mendez, and he is a professional ballet dancer from Columbia! It was really exciting to dance with a professional, and I tried to learn everything that I could from our time together. The whole cast in general got along great this year, with very little back-stage drama. It was a younger cast, as many of our older dancers went off to college last year, and it was a beautiful thing to see all of my friends grow and learn over the course of the season. "Nutcracker" is definitely the highlight of our winter, and the extensive hours spent in the studio every week are a great way for us to foster our dancing and form great friendships. I will never forget what a wonderful year this has been and what a great show we all put on!

Don't miss New England Ballet Company's upcoming spring season! Go to www.newenglandballet.org to learn about our upcoming events, have us come perform at your school or event, and order tickets! You can also like our page on Facebook!

- Shaina Arsenault, 15 years old
Joseph A. Foran High School