(Pictured far left: Maile Narkon)
(Le Mars)- The Siouxland Civic Dance Association has been working hard for months preparing for “The Nutcracker” Ballet to be performed at Sioux City’s Orpheum Theatre on December 8th and 9th.
Dozens of local dancers will be participating, including six from Le Mars. I had a chance to talk with two of them about their experiences so far.
Maile Narkon is a 16 year old 10th grader who has been dancing for 11 years. When Siouxland Civic performed “The Nutcracker” two years ago she was featured as the Snow Queen. This year she will be a Dew Drop, Ice Crystal and Marzipan.
Maile said she didn’t know all the dancers she was working with when rehearsals began back in September, but she did recognize many.
Brookelyn Britt is a 17 year old senior at Le Mars Community HS and has been dancing for 14 years. She will be performing the roles of a Snowflake, a Chinese lead and participating in Waltz of the Flowers.
Both dancers agreed that the biggest challenge to taking on a show like this is learning and retaining all the choreography, as there are so many numbers. Brookelyn said the great thing is you’re never alone in that experience.
Maile said another challenge for her is doing the whole show “en pointe,” which means she’ll be dancing on her toes for the entire part of her performance.
All the dancers are excited to be making the show even more magical by performing it at the beautiful Orpheum Theater. Brookelyn said she’s especially excited to have more space on stage.
Orange City native Joshua Vore is the assistant producer for the show this year, helping producer Becca McNamara however he can. He is also playing the roles of Uncle Drosselmeyer and Mother Ginger. Josh said in addition to the beautiful venue, another change he’s excited about this year involves glammed-up costuming.
Tickets are on sale for Siouxland Civic Dance Association’s presentation of “The Nutcracker” by visiting siouxlandcivicdanceassociation.org. Performances are Friday December 8th and Saturday the 9th, both at 7pm.
(Elizabeth Avery as Clara and AShton Jacobsen as Fritz)
(Photos courtesy of Joshua Vore)
