Norfolk flavour to Nutcracker

SimcoeReformer.ca
Dec. 4, 2014
Jacob Robinson

Every year since she was little, Taylor Fess has accompanied her family to a production of The Nutcracker.

 So it's easy to imagine how the young Simcoe native's peers will feel when Fess has a part in Tchaikovsky’s famous score on Sunday.

“I was excited,” Fess said of being selected to take part in The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition held at Brantford's Sanderson Centre this weekend. “It's just really fun being on stage.”

Fess won't be the only Norfolk County native on stage either.

Simcoe products Evan Pond, Arden Couturier and Delhi's Megan Demeulemeester will also star in the show.

This fall, the foursome took part in a day-long tryout process with a few dozen other hopefuls. About a third of the group was selected to be part of Canada’s Ballet Jörgen production, which also includes many professionals.

“My mom told me about it, I thought if I wanted to do it. I decided I wanted to do it and wanted to try out,” said Demeulemeester.

“It was really fun. I really liked our teachers who did the audition with us,” added Couturier.

“My sister was really excited. My mom was really excited too.”

The group is no stranger to the stage at the Sanderson Centre – often performing at dance recitals to a packed house. That experience should serve them well this weekend.

“I'm kind of shy,” Demeulemeester admitted. “The lights are shining on me but I can't really see (people), so I go on and I smile. I'm kind of nervous sometimes but once I'm done I want to do it again and I'm not nervous anymore.”

The show is set against 30-foot backdrops from Kleinburg’s world renowned McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Dancers will don well over 100 costumes for the show.

All four youngsters and their families have reserved the last handful of Sundays for rehearsal, which is a small price to pay for being part of a legendary show.

Pond can easily recall the moments after he made the cut.

“I was definitely happy,” he said with a smile. “I was laughing the whole way home.”

If you go:
What: The Nutcracker: a Canadian Tradition
Where: Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts, Brantford (88 Dalhousie Street, Brantford)
Date: Dec. 7, 2014
Time: 7p.m.
Cost: $40

Jacob Robinson
519-426-3528 ext. 112
jacob.robinson@sunmedia.ca
twitter.com/JacobReformer