Happy Nutcracker Week Everyone!!!

If you were unable to attend one of the parent meetings, please review the information below to refresh your memory of the expectation for the week.

***CHRISTMAS PARADE*** Thursday evening is the Christmas parade downtown. Please plan for extra time trying to get to the theater on this night. Some roads are closed in the downtown area. Truxtun will be open but may be more congested than normal.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Nutcracker week. Break-a-leg dancers!

Nutcracker Performance Information 2023

Thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication. We know that The Nutcracker is a major commitment for not only the dancers, but the entire family.

Dancers: Thank you for your ambition! We see you juggling school, homework, your ballet classes, band, cheerleading, work, social life, family obligations, etc. and you still slip on those ballet shoes and smile. We are impressed with how organized and dependable you are.

Parents: Thank you for your time and support! We know it is hard enough to get your children to and from ballet classes, let alone rehearsals. The Nutcracker puts you to the test — buying tickets, sweatshirts, videos, sewing costumes, working backstage, and helping as you can. All of your help, contributions, and talents are greatly appreciated.

Backstage Parents: We need 2-3 parent volunteers per dance to help backstage. There is a lot going on backstage with costume and hair changes, entrances and exits, and little dancers who may be newer to performing and it is important to have your support to ensure they are safe, calm, and poised when it is time to go onstage. it is also important to make sure the dressing rooms and backstage remain quiet and organized. Please sign up to help with any dance you are able, even if it is not the class or cast in which your dancer performs.

Ticket Sales: Continuing The Nutcracker as an annual tradition depends completely on ticket sales. Please recommend The Nutcracker to your friends, neighbors, coworkers, your church group, etc. Many families in Bakersfield have made this an annual event of their Christmas season and we encourage you to share ticket information as much as possible.

Rehearsals: Please be on time! A rehearsal scheduled at 7:00 means to be dressed, warmed-up, and ready to dance at 7:00, not walking in the door at 7:00. Everyone must be on time. Please plan to stay with your younger dancers until they are called into rehearsals at the studio and throughout the entire rehearsal at the theater. Dancers with major roles and those in Snow Scene or Flowers may arrive early to warm-up and work on your costumes. All rehearsals are closed rehearsals. Please do not invite friends or family to watch, as they will be asked to leave.

Costumes:

1. During studio dress rehearsals, dancers should arrive at the studio with performance hair done in time to change into their costume. During theater dress rehearsal, dancers should arrive at the theater with performance hair and make-up done in time to change into their costumes.
2. If you do not share your costume, you will be asked to bring it to the theater after studio rehearsals. Please make note of the directions that will be sent home with you regarding caring for your dancer’s costume. All other costumes will be transported to the theater the week of the show and will be hung in their designated location (dressing rooms or otherwise). Some costumes may be lightly steamed (Bon Bons, Little Girls, etc).
3. Every dancer must arrive and leave the theater in their street clothes and shoes. No costumes may ever be worn outside of the studio or theater.
4. Make sure you bring tights, including an extra pair, an leotards for warm-up and practice and anything needed for under your costumes. If your costume requires an undergarment, please note the color required for your dancer’s costume. Undergarments should not be visible or peeking out from under the costume.
5. Shoulder and shoe straps should be securely stitched. We do not want dancers distracted by broken or loose straps. Please check costumes and shoes before each performance — they can become loose after a single dance!
6. Everyone must have elastic sewn on their ballet shoes with shoestrings tucked into the toe.
7. Ballet shoes must be in good condition — touch them up with polish or Calamine lotion.
8. Party Guest Boys and Overture Boys will need black ballet shoes. Mice will need painted pink ballet shoes; we may have some you can borrow from previous years performances.
9. LABEL EVERYTHING you bring to the theater that belongs to you. All costumes and hair pieces will be labeled by the costume committee.
10. Please wear deodorant. We understand many younger dancers may not be used to this, but because these costumes will be worn over and over and shared between dancers throughout this Nutcracker season without being washed, we need them to smell fresh and remain clean.
11. After your performance, please change out of your costume and hang it carefully and return it to the appropriate rack. If you share a costume, please make sure it is hung on the correct rack for the next dancer.

Absolutely no eating or drinking while in costume. It is incredibly important that we work to preserve the integrity of our priceless costumes. Many have been lovingly hand sewn and worn by generations of dancers, an we want to ensure they remain in excellent condition for future dancers.

Immediately following the last performance, everyone must return ALL COSTUMES and PROPS to the studio. If for any reason you cannot make it to the studio, please make sure you have coordinated with another reliable parent to return your dancer’s costume. DO NOT take home anything to wash. We will check-in all costumes immediately after the final performance to get them professionally cleaned. No costumes may leave the theater until after the final performance on Sunday afternoon.

Makeup

Full make-up, including red lipstick, should be applied before you arrive at the theater and worn to all final dress rehearsals and performances. This includes darkened eyebrows, brown eyeshadow, extended thin eyeliner beyond the eye, mascara, and blush. Please purchase a lipstick that will not smear on costumes. Some suggestions include Maybeline Super Stay Matte Ink in Dancer or Pioneer, NYX Professional Makeup Shine Loud Long-Lasting Lipstick in Rebel in Red, Ruby Woo by MAC. You may not wear any jewelry, shiny hair clips, or fingernail polish on stage. For those with pierced ears, small diamond or clear rhinestone earrings only. Dancers with visible tattoos, body piercing, or drastic hair color changes will not be allowed to perform.

Hair

Bring all your own supplies including extra hair nets, pins, hairspray, make-up, a small sewing kit, etc. These supplies will not be provided and it is important each dancer has their own personal supply kit.

Please refer to the hair information handout that came with your dancer’s costume to know how your child’s hair should be styled for each dance. Your head piece, including ribbons, tulle, or a hat must be securely attached with lots of hair color matching bobby pins. Snap clips can be used if they are hidden under the headpiece.

Dancers with buns or party-guest hair must have their hair slicked with gel and hairspray. No bangs and no wispy hair. This rule is strictly enforced. Please reach out if you have questions regarding hair changes, ie Party Guest to Ginger.

Dancer Survival Kit

Each dancer should bring a small bag or make-up cast to each dress rehearsal and performance packed with hair bands, hair nets, pins, hairspray, makeup, safety pins, band aids, a small sewing kit, make-up remover, etc. It is always a good idea to have an extra pair of tights as they can be easily torn between changes.

Food and Drink

Absolutely no food or drink is allowed in the audience during rehearsals. As we do not pay for custodial service during the week, it is extremely important we keep the audience area clean and free of food debris. We recommend your dancer eats lunch or dinner at home before arriving. If your dancer needs a small snack, please make sure they are nutritious and not messy. Snacks and water may only be consumed at the designated backstage tables and cannot be eaten while in costume. Ideas include: apples, crackers, cheese sticks, etc. Do not send anything that could stain or cause messes. Dancers may never eat in costume and no food or drink may ever be brought up into the dressing rooms. Please leave all food and drink items at the designated tables downstairs before going to your dressing room.

Pictures and Video Recording

For the safety of your child NO pictures or video recording during rehearsals or performances will be allowed. Flashes from these devices can temporarily blind your child, distract or disorient your child, and/or cause your child to trip and fall and get hurt. Also the light emitted from these devices are extremely distracting to audience members. Abstaining from taking pictures during rehearsals and performance allows you to be in the moment and appreciate your child’s milestone. It is also respectful of the choreographers, fellow performers, and audience members. Pictures and videos can be taken before or after rehearsals and performances in the front of the theater or backstage.

Professional digital photos and videos will be taken for each performance and will be available for purchase.

Safety

No extended family or friends will be allowed backstage to visit with the dancers before the performances. There are over 250 performers, symphony members, and backstage workers. During dress rehearsal, there will be no supervision of younger dancers, so please plan on staying the entire rehearsal with your dancer or connecting with another dance parent to help watch your child. Backstage parents will be supervision during the performances.

Do not bring any money or valuables to the theater.

Please instruct your dancer to never leave the building without you. They must wait inside the building to be picked up not in the parking lot. It is very important that dancers are instructed to wander around the building, inside or out. Please have your dancer go in pairs to the restroom and do not go to their dressing rooms alone. This is a very large building with many doors to the outside; we want our dancers to be safe!

A Note to Dancers

Please stay with your own group in the dressing rooms and backstage. The backstage moms need dancers to be at their designated area, ready to dance, and not wandering around backstage or in other dancers’ dressing rooms. Even after you have performed your dance dance stay with your group!

Rehearsals

Please be on time! A rehearsal scheduled at 6:00 means to be dressed, warmed-up, and ready to dance at 6:00 not walking in the door at that time. Dress rehearsals at the studio will be full hair and costumes. Dress rehearsals and performances at the theater will be full hair, stage makeup, and costumes. Please note that there is no backstage supervision during theater rehearsals, and parents of young children should plan on remaining at the theater with their dancers or coordinating with another parent from your dancer’s class to help supervise your child.

We cannot utilize the Marriott parking lot to gain access to the backstage area unless you are staying at the hotel. It is important to arrive early enough to find nearby street parking and walk with your dancer to check them into rehearsals and the show. The theater parking lot is quite a walk, so plan ahead to ensure you arrive on time.

We know that the rehearsals the last two weeks before the show can be extremely long, but we feel that the hours that your children spend in rehearsals provide them with a valuable learning experience. At these rehearsals, the younger and/or less experienced dancers can benefit from watching the advanced level dancers at work and, most importantly, comradery develops when dancers work together to create a worthwhile show.

Please note that all rehearsals are closed rehearsals. Do not invite any guests to come to rehearsals; they will be asked to leave. This includes bringing friends backstage or in the dressing rooms. The only people allowed backstage are the dancers and those who have volunteered to work backstage. Parents who are not volunteering backstage for performances must drop their dancers off and leave. If you have a younger dancer, you should plan on staying at the theater with your dancer during rehearsals. While we have parents sign-up to supervise and help dancers backstage for performances, there is no supervision during rehearsals. If you cannot stay, please touch base with another parent who is staying to be in charge of your dancer.

Rehearsals may run over time. When we make the rehearsal schedules, we are guessing as to how long each rehearsal will take. Although we try to make allowances for problems, we sometimes still run long. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause, but please be patient. We are working hard to do a good job for your dancer and you. Some common problems that cause us to run over include: dancers not arriving on time and delaying start, too much noise causing us to pause the rehearsal, costume changes not working, technical problems, etc.

No one may leave a rehearsal until they are specifically excused by the director. After we do a “run-through,” everyone must be present to listen to corrections, changes, etc. It is very important that all dancers are present so the directors can provide critique, instruction, and changes. It is very unfair to the directing staff and other dancers when individuals leave without permission when work still needs to be done.

Performances

Dancers must arrive prior to cast call to check-in and get in costume (please note the rehearsal schedule). Dancers should arrive in street clothes and shoes with all stage makeup applied and hair show ready. They will be able to dress in their costumes and stow their dance bags and clothes in the dressing rooms. Dancers should find their group and backstage parent helper before heading to cast all together. After parents have dropped off their dancer, they must go outside and around to the front of the theater and enter through the front doors with a ticket. Doors will open 1 hour prior to performance time.

Dancers will remain with their backstage parents throughout the entire performance. Parents will not be allowed to leave mid-performance or collect their dancers until intermission. If you are not watching the performance, and your dancer is only in Act I, you may pick up your dancer after their scene is completed. Please let the backstage mom if you will pick up your dancer at intermission.

Meet and Greet

After curtain call, guests are invited to come around behind the stage to meet and greet dancers and take pictures in costume.