For the second straight year Alberta’s Ballet production of the Nutcracker will have a Barrhead flavour.
That is because Yasmeen Assaf, 9, and Jamie Kalmbach, 9, successfully auditioned for the company’s annual Christmas production. Alberta Ballet is Canada’s second-largest ballet company and is known around the world for its contemporary and classical productions. The 2017-18 season marks its 51st year.
Irene Widdup, Footworks Dance Academy’s owner and artistic director, said every year a small group of her students try out for the 30 non-professional youth positions ranging from about eight to 17 years old.
For Assaf it was her first time auditioning while it was Kalmbach’s second time.
Last year she successfully auditioned for one of the mouse roles.
“I really wanted to try out and be one of the party girls,” Kalmbach said, adding to qualify for many of the roles a person needed to be a certain height. Unfortunately, Kalmbach, who has been dancing at Footworks since she was about two and a half years old, wasn’t quite tall enough, something she admits probably worked in her favour. “The party girls in the palace are a really hard one to get so I’m glad I did this one again.”
Assaf, who will also be playing a mouse, said although she first found out about the auditions through Widdup, it wasn’t until she heard Kalmbach talk about the her experience performing in last year’s Nutcracker that she wanted to audition.
“She made it sound really fun,” she said, adding she also started dancing when she was very young, three years old.
As for the audition process, it took place on Sept. 24, at the Ruth Carse Centre in Edmonton.
Both girls admitted to being nervous before the audition, but Kalmbach believed her previous experience helped relieve some of her anxiety.
Unlike previous years, the audition process, at least for the mouse positions, was shorter than previous years. Kalmbach noted when she auditioned before she had to dance numerous times. This year they only performed once.
“They knew right away they wanted you and you were stars,” Widdup teased.
Since auditioning the pair have had to make weekly trips to Edmonton to help them prepare for the part. At first the rehearsals were short, about 30 minutes, but they are slowly increasing, as the show gets closer.
About a week before the show Kalmbach and Assaf will get a preview of what it will be like to perform on the bigger stage with a full dress rehearsal.
One of the things Assaf is most looking forward to at the dress rehearsal is being able to dance to live music that being the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, something Kalmbach wasn’t able to do until the actual performance last year because of a snowstorm.
“So they had no costumes, props, or professional dancers. All they had were all these kids,” Widdup said, concluding by saying how proud everyone at the studio is. “They are just such loyal, dedicated dancers who both really love to perform. It is so wonderful to able to see them have this opportunity.”
For those residents who would like to see the Barrhead dancers perform with the Alberta Ballet, the Nutcracker will be at Northern Jubilee Theatre in Edmonton from Dec. 8 to 10.
