Dance Arts Los Alamos dancers rehearse for ‘Sugar Plum on the Hill’. Courtesy/DALA
Dance Arts Los Alamos dancers rehearse for ‘Sugar Plum on the Hill’. Courtesy/DALA
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Dance Arts Los Alamos (DALA) concludes its Nutcracker on the Hill trilogy this weekend. The final chapter, Sugar Plum on the Hill, will premiere at 7 p.m. Friday at Duane Smith Auditorium. The show will continue at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
DALA Artistic Director Jonathan Guise explained Sugar Plum on Hill involves time travel, disguises and some real bits of local history. For instance, the ballet opens with a hockey game between the Los Alamos Ranch School and the Santa Fe School. Plus, historical figures J. Robert Oppenheimer and Gwen Groves continue to take part in this holiday saga.
Guise, who choreographed and created this entire trilogy, has put new twists in each segment and Sugar Plum on the Hill is no exception.
He explained that Act II will showcase new sets and even new cultural dances. Rather Spanish chocolate it will be an Argentian flamenco with castanets, a Georgian dance will replace the Russian one, the Chinese tea dance will be substituted with a Japanese parasol dance, rather than French Merlitons there will be Italian tarantellas, the Arabian performance will be a Hindu dance and finally Mother Ginger and her ginger snaps will perform a patriotic number.
“I wanted to show a little more diversity and have the kids learn new cultures as opposed to the ones that are always done,” Guise said.
Not only is Guise exposing the dancers and the audience to new dance numbers, but he is unveiling an original version of The Nutcracker, which is a very often told and well-worn story.
To give a new spin on the famous ballet, Guise incorporated Los Alamos, which does in fact have ties to The Nutcracker.
“Originally, I had learned a small fact that during the Trinity Test, when the countdown for the ignition or the reaction was occurring, there was radio interference and while they were counting down the last 10 seconds, The Nutcracker’s Act I kids march music started playing over the speakers,” Guise said. “Once I heard that, it took me 10 years to make something about that moment. I am trying to give a fantastic, fun adventure about a young girl taking steps into maturity and growing up and how life can bring you down and how family can support you and give you that hope back … “
To incorporate local history, he turned to help from the Los Alamos Historical Society including Aimee Slaughter and former Los Alamos Historical Society Executive Director Liz Martineau.
“It’s helped me out because it’s given me a better direction because I can use historical information … when I choregraph, I apply historical personas into what steps we choose to choregraph,” Guise said.
For instance, he pointed out in the party scene, Oppenheimer leaves his wife, Kitty. When Jacquelyn Connoly, the dancer playing Kitty, asked Guise what she should do in response, he countered with, “What would Kitty do?” Connoly responded, with “Get a drink!”
“It ties the community in, and it is fun to see the community react … even if it is just one person who picks up on a piece of information,” he said. “That person connects with the ballet in a way other people didn’t.”
The work to make the ballet historically accurate paid off. Guise said Nutcracker on the Hill earned a Dorothy Woodward New Mexico Historical Society Award for historical excellence.
Each installment has its own unique quality. Guise said the first one, Nutcracker on the Hill, is the most traditional. The second, Ratcracker on the Hill, showcased a more jazzy, swing dance style, and the final installment will be the most dynamic.
This is not only a conclusion for the trilogy but a sweet finale for DALA’s senior in high school dancers – all of whom performed in the first production of Nutcracker on the Hill in 2015, Guise said.
“It’s exciting and a great growth process for them to see an idea accumulate,” Guise said, adding, “They are very excited and look forward to seeing how it all unfolds.”
Seniors taking principal roles include:
- Sonja Ebey as the good Sugar Plum Fairy;
- Andrea Riveria as the Snow Queen;
- Violet Henderson as Dew Drop;
- Jadie Gonzales as the Rat Queen;
- Erin Gattis as the evil Sugar Plum Fairy;
- Becca Massa and Andrea Chapman will each perform as the Nutcracker princess;
- Massa also as Roni, the Hindu Queen;
- Violet Henderson also as Kogo, the Japanese Empress; and
- Allyson Harbet as Gwen Groves.
Other notable performers include guest dancers Joesph Moore from En Pointe, Indiana, and Finleigh Cutlloton from Minnesota. Moore will perform as the Cavalier and Cutlloton will be the Snow King. Todd Haagenstad will reprise his role as Oppie.
While the final chapter on Nutcracker on the Hill is about to be closed, the story isn’t finished yet. Like the original story itself, there are many different versions to explore and celebrate.
“I’m really excited because as a creator, it’s never good enough … not the kids and the dancing, but the story,” Guise said. “There is always tweaking to do. I feel like I am on the first draft of this trilogy.”
“Next year the whole trilogy will start over,” he added. “It is always very limiting if you do the same thing every year … I can really allow the kids to grow from an elementary role to a medium role to a more advance role.”
Tickets for Sugar Plum on the Hill are $20 for general admission, $15 for seniors and $10 for students. Children 3 and younger will be admitted for free. Tickets can be purchased at the door or through DALA, Village Arts, Little Studio on the Mesa and Los Alamos Historical Society.
Dance Arts Los Alamos dancers rehearse for ‘Sugar Plum on the Hill’. Courtesy/DALA
Dance Arts Los Alamos dancers rehearse for ‘Sugar Plum on the Hill’. Courtesy/DALA