IN THE MEDIA

After 50 years of building a reputation for professionalism in dance instruction, Nutmeg Ballet was forced to put that reputation to the test this year. Audition tour director Joan Kunsch injured her arm and was unable to go on her annual 18-city nationwide recruiting tour. But, “Nothing will be canceled,” she promised in early December. “It was up to me to solve it,” said Kunsch. “I thought, ‘Who better to represent Nutmeg than the former students who are making professional company careers around the country?’” She compiled a list of about a dozen Nutmeg alumni around the country and called them. They eagerly accepted the challenge. For example, Kunsch said, “We have a Nutmeg graduate, Amy Potter, who is a principal dancer in the Oklahoma City Ballet, and I called her and she’s ecstatic to do it. She said, ‘Proudly, I would do it. Proudly.’” Another former student, Thel Moore, trained at Nutmeg from 2012 to 2015. He agreed to cover three of Kunsch’s scheduled cities, including Richmond, Va., where he is a danseur at the Richmond Ballet Company. Moore said in an email, “What I typically look for in an audition is a base in classical ballet but also a love for ballet as well. I’m looking for a spark that you usually can’t teach but mold into something beautiful.” He said students are nervous at first, but “when they see the brochure [and] how beautiful the building is and how incredibly professional the staff is, they usually lighten up and get really excited for the audition.” The far-flung team of Nutmeg-trained dancers are directing auditions in January and February in nearly 40 cities in the United States and Canada. Some of these cities are on Tim Melady’s usual itinerary as audition tour co-director. Melady, Nutmeg’s principal ballet master, is also standing in for Kunsch in several cities. Speaking by phone from an airport near St. Louis, Mo., Melady said, “I have been to the West Coast. Seattle had a good turnout. Portland had a good turnout. San Francisco had a good turnout, and they are all so interested in Nutmeg and Torrington!” He said, “We’re so lucky that we have such a respected reputation.” When an auditioning dancer asks about Nutmeg, he refers them to former Nutmeg students in the area, who are happy to talk about their experiences. Melady said the constant influx of students from thousands of miles away is enriching for them, for Nutmeg and for Torrington. “People come to Nutmeg and say, ‘Oh my God, we’re meeting people from Wyoming! From California! This is crazy.’ Everybody knows about Nutmeg Ballet. It’s wonderful!” Kunsch said that when she has gone on the audition tour – which she has done every year since 1993 – she tells dancers, “Not only are you auditioning for Nutmeg; Nutmeg’s auditioning for you.” She tells them, “We’re not looking for perfection. If you were perfect, would you need us? We’re looking for trainability.” Moore said, “Bringing talent from all over is very important because it keeps Nutmeg as one of the best schools to train at in the United States.” Melady said, “[The auditioners] have heard of us, and they’ve heard of our reputation. And that’s a real advantage. Our reputation is golden. There are more and more schools just vying for this slice of talent. And there is always talent.” Victoria Mazzarelli, artistic director, said Torrington auditions at the Nutmeg Conservatory attract not only local aspirants but dancers from New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania for both the summer and year-round programs. Remaining auditions at the Conservatory at 58 Main Street are Feb. 1, 15, 29 and March 7, from 9 a.m. to noon. And by the way, said Mazzarelli, locals are most welcome! “During these next few months, our year-round students and faculty are rehearsing and preparing for our Spring Studio Series that will be held on March 18, 19, 20 and 21,” she said.

TORRINGTON – The first time Shelley Gallo and her mother, Rosemarie Meyer, attended Nutmeg Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” in 1975, they thought it was a musical play. Shelley was four years old. “When are they going to start talking?” she asked her mother. They had never been to a ballet before! But, since that night 44 years ago at Torrington High School’s Little Theatre, they have attended Nutmeg’s “Nutcracker” almost every year, missing it only once due to illness. “I’ll bet we hold the record,” Shelley said. Nutmeg’s “Nutcracker” has since outgrown the high school auditorium, of course, and now is performed yearly at the 1,750-seat Warner Theatre and the 900-seat Belding Theatre at The Bushnell in Hartford. It opens Dec. 7 at the Warner. “I remember going that first time with my mother,” Shelley said, “but I don’t really remember how I felt when I left. I do remember all the pretty ballerinas and the pretty costumes, but I can’t say I ran out of there saying I want to be a ballerina.” Rosemarie said she had taken Shelley to Christmas Village and was looking for something new to share with her. She saw an advertisement for “The Nutcracker” in what was then The Torrington Register. “I thought that was something that I’d like to start with her as a tradition,” she said. “We realized at some point in the performance that it was not going to be a play,” she said. “There was not going to be singing, or any kind of dialogue, but we just watched it in awe because the dancers were so talented and the costumes were so beautiful and the scenery was beautiful. And as the years have gone by, it’s gotten better and better.” Costumes and scenery have evolved, and this year the mother-daughter duo are looking forward to revolutionary changes. To mark Nutmeg’s 50th anniversary, hundreds of the 1,200 costumes will be new, designed by Janessa Urwin and Susan Aziz and hand-finished at Nutmeg’s own costume shop. And the 22-year-old set by Campbell Baird will be replaced by spectacular scenery by Boston’s theatrical designer Roger LaVoie. Artistic director Victoria Mazzarelli has reimagined the choreography, and Brian Sciarra has designed new lighting. There will be some delightful surprises. “There have been little tweaks every year,” Shelley said. “Maybe the lighting is a little different, or the choreography is different, or maybe there’s a sash on a costume that’s a different color. My mother and I would bump elbows and whisper, ‘Did you see that?’ This is the first year that we can’t compare our notes.” When they heard that things would look very different this year, Shelley said she and her mom were at first nervous. “But I’m sure it will be beautiful.” Rosemarie said, “I can’t wait to see this year’s new scenery and costumes. We’re both really excited about it.” Rosemarie and Shelley both love family traditions, especially around Christmastime. Since Shelley was a child, she helped her mother every year bake cookies. Now, though she lives in New Hartford and her mom lives in Torrington, Shelley says she still bakes more than 1,000 cookies every Christmas and gives them to co-workers, family and friends. “The Nutcracker” is perfect for tradition-minded people, she believes. “I love the story because it’s the whole Christmas Eve party, and I come from an Italian family,” she said. “Christmas Eve is the biggest celebration in my family. It’s such a magical time, even for me now. I carry on the cookie-baking traditions my mother and my two Italian grandmothers carried throughout the years.” Nutmeg’s new 2019 “Nutcracker” ushers in a brand-new tradition as Nutmeg Ballet enters its second half-century. Tickets can be ordered through Nutmeg’s website – also reimagined and redesigned for the occasion – at www.nutmegconservatory.org. Warner Theatre performances are Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. Performances at The Bushnell in Hartford are Dec. 14 and 15 at 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

TORRINGTON – Gentle horns and tentative woodwinds filled the Warner Theatre, followed by an arpeggio of harp strings rising and falling – the ethereal music of “Waltz of the Flowers” from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” It was a dozen days before the opening on Dec. 7, and this was the first rehearsal at the Warner for dancers from the Nutmeg Ballet. They glided across the wide stage, leaping and pirouetting to the dreamy music, as dance instructor Denise Warner Limoli directed and corrected them. Behind the dancers was a colorful, 20-foot-wide theater-within-a-theater, a brand-new set piece that had never been on any stage before – built exclusively for the Nutmeg to mark its 50 years of existence. “This is so spectacular,” said Victoria Mazzarelli, Nutmeg’s artistic director, seated near the middle of the 1,750-seat theater. “This is the little theater, and that’s a piece of Clara’s home on the stage,” she said, referring to parts of the set created by Boston theatrical designer Roger LaVoie. “There’s a really beautiful Christmas tree, too, backstage,” she said. “It’s an evergreen, with candles on it.” As Brian Sciarra began setting up and testing lights, Victoria’s husband Thomas Evertz studied the set’s dimensions so he could figure out his movements onstage as Dr. Drosselmeyer. Victoria was reminiscing about her early years as a dancer and how her illustrious career has led to these final few days before a completely re-imagined “Nutcracker.” “I’ve been involved in many different versions of ‘The Nutcracker,’” she said. “I remember my first time, being a shepherd with a little candy cane. It was maybe 1979 or 1980.” That was before she became one of the brightest stars in Nutmeg’s history, a willowy teen with fluid movements, a 1984 gold medal winner in the New York International Ballet Competition at age 17. That award propelled her to a shining ballet career abroad, starting with Basel Ballet in Switzerland, where she was quickly promoted to principal dancer. She worked with some of the best choreographers in the world, including Hans van Manen, Jiri Kylian and William Forsythe, whose influence led her to join the Frankfurt Ballet in 1990 as principal dancer. She also toured extensively and worked with Alonzo King, Ohad Naharin, Jan Fabre and Saburo Teshigawara before returning to Switzerland in 1996 to join the Zurich Ballet – again as principal dancer. She recalled a production of “The Nutcracker” she was in in Dusseldorf, Germany, that departed from tradition. “It was not done at Christmastime,” she said. “It was not about Christmas. It was somehow –” She paused in mid-thought, because on the Warner stage a dancer had just made a spectacular grand jeté. “Isn’t that beautiful!” she said. Then she resumed her story. “It was a party and festivities. It was Clara’s birthday, and she actually runs away from home and she goes on a fantastic journey.” In traditional productions, it is Christmas Eve, and Clara receives a wooden nutcracker in shape of a man, which a rowdy partygoer breaks. Clara’s godfather, Drosselmeyer, repairs it. When guests leave, Clara gets up at midnight to check on her nutcracker. Drosselmeyer uses his magician skills to propel her on a journey to the Land of Sweets with her nutcracker, which has been transformed into a young man. “It’s a fantastic story. She is growing up, and it’s all in the music,” Victoria said. As dancers whirled on the Warner stage, deep notes of a bassoon vied with a bright, high-pitched flute. “The music is so beautiful, so inspirational,” she said. “I never get sick of it.” She said she is glad the young dancers get to take part in seven performances – three at the Warner and four this year at The Bushnell in Hartford. “Some of them have three or four roles. I always want to give them as many opportunities as I can,” she said. Because the set is radically different from the one Campbell Baird designed more than 20 years ago, Victoria has had to rework much of the choreography and staging. Other added details include lights to the wings and halos of angels. “And the mice are different,” she said. The mice, in fact, have all new costumes, as do many other characters. “You forget sometimes that these are students, because they do so well,” she said. “And it’s all about the details. I know I drive them crazy sometimes, going over it, doing it again, doing it again, making sure they understand how they have to stand in relationship with their partner, or bowing or timing.” Like founding director Sharon Dante, under whom she studied, Victoria is concerned with details – a word that is on prominent display in the Nutmeg’s Premiere Studio. “When you watch a performance and you don’t know so much about everything, you don’t notice little mistakes. But you notice it as a professional. You see how the show runs with a certain timing. It’s smooth. It should be seamless. There should be a certain flow to it. But you do notice when it runs well. It’s pleasing to the eye.” Although she faces many technical problems this year, in addition to managing 100 dancers ranging in age from about 5 to 18, she takes everything in stride. “The dancing has to be organized and rehearsed,” she said. “It doesn’t just happen. It’s hard to be the one who has to drive that, but I like it. When they’re successful, I’m happy, and then we’re all successful. When we get a great reception, it means we’ve all done our best. We’re here because we love it. And I just think the instructors bring in all the things that we know. You see it through the students.” The music’s tempo and volume increased, and timpani, trumpets, trombones and more filled the room, building to a resounding climax, as the rehearsing students bowed. “Sometimes I think it would be such a great feeling to be out there onstage, but now it’s a different time for me,” Victoria said. “I love to watch our students succeed. It’s their time now.” Tickets for the 2019 production of Nutmeg Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” are now available through Nutmeg’s newly designed website, www.Nutmegconservatory.org. Warner Theatre performances are Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. Performances at The Bushnell in Hartford are Dec. 14 and 15 at 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

TORRINGTON – A soothing, rhythmic hum of sewing machines fills the air in a brightly lit, spacious room of the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory. Towering wooden shelves hold large plastic bins of fabric, smaller bins of buttons, snaps, hooks & eyes, scissors, measuring tape and much more. Head seamstress and wardrobe supervisor Pat Eldredge is sewing bejeweled gold lace onto the sleeve of a turquoise costume for “The Nutcracker.” Costume shop director Sue Fazzino is just finishing up the fitting of a new costume to a Nutmeg student, who will wear it on the Warner or Bushnell stage in just two or three weeks. And among all the activity, a squat, copper-colored spaniel named Penny wanders from person to person, as if admiring their work. “She’s been with us for six years,” says Fazzino, scratching behind Penny’s floppy ears. “She keeps us company.” Fazzino designed this sewing space herself 18 years ago, working with Nutmeg Conservatory architect Tommy Thompson. “I was able to build it the way I wanted it,” she said. “Before we moved here, the dance shop was on Water Street, and it was literally a closet.” The dance shop is always busy this time of year, as the calendar counts down to the opening of “The Nutcracker” on Dec. 7, but this year the sewing machines are getting an even greater workout. To mark Nutmeg’s 50 years of existence, colorful new scenery has been created, and more than half of the production’s 1,200 costumes have been modified or redesigned and built from scratch. “It was a huge project,” Fazzino said. “It was really more than we could handle by ourselves here and so we hired two designers, Susan Aziz and Janessa Cornell Urwin. In house, we created 11 new costumes for the Arabian scene, and we made a new gown for the Prologue. And we are in the process now of doing fittings and alterations on the older costumes that we didn’t replace.” All costumes, whether sewn on-site or elsewhere, are finished at the Nutmeg site. “Starting at the beginning of September when they came in, we had to put on hooks and elastics and hems and do a hundred other tasks,” Fazzino said. “And it has to be fitted on the body. It has to be altered.” The new set, created by Boston theatrical designer Roger LaVoie, includes a panel showing a girl in a turquoise costume and pants, which do not match last year’s Arabian costumes of red tops and gold skirts, Fazzino said. “So we really felt that we had to modify Arabian to kind of go with the panel that would be front and center on the stage,” she said. Fazzino designed the patterns on the Arabian costumes, as well as on tutus stacked high on a table like fluffy pancakes. “Each tutu is layers and layers and layers of tulle of different lengths,” she said. “There is a four-inch layer, a six-inch layer, a seven-inch layer, an eight-inch layer, and then you put them on a panty that you build out of stretch material, and then you sew the layers on the panty and then you have a tutu.” It takes five seconds to explain, but each tutu takes at least two weeks to make from scratch. In her 30 years with Nutmeg, she has made more than 50 of them. “They are expensive and they are the most time-consuming. You start with the tutu, the netting underneath, and then you put a basque on that. That fits her tightly, and that’s what keeps the tutu from moving when she spins. And then you build the bodice, and get the bodice to fit her perfectly, and then you put it all together.” In “The Nutcracker,” tutus are worn by the Snow Queen and the Sugarplum Fairy, but they do not appear onstage together. “If we did ‘Swan Lake,’ there could be 25 tutus out there at one time,” she said. She said things will quiet down in January, but only briefly. In February, the shop will be working on costumes for two spring performances that may have excerpts from classical and modern works. She finally gets vacation and gardening time starting in June, she said. But these days, “We are just humming along here,” she said, as Penny the spaniel looks up at her in apparent admiration. Luckily, Fazzino is not alone: Besides Penny, she has help from Pat Eldredge and seamstress/crafters Louise Porto, Barbara Zordan and Nicole Bittner, who make sure that seams are straight and hems are perfect. Tickets for the 2019 production of Nutmeg Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” are now available through Nutmeg’s newly designed website, www.Nutmegconservatory.org. Warner Theatre performances are Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. Performances at The Bushnell in Hartford are Dec. 14 and 15 at 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

TORRINGTON – When the Nutmeg Ballet stepped boldly into its “première position” at a Migeon Avenue studio 50 years ago, founder Sharon Dante knew that some day she would have to provide a convenient way for her students to acquire proper dancewear. A “petit jeté,” occurred when Dante opened a dance shop in 1992, about 15 years after moving Nutmeg to Water Street in 1977. And when the “grand jeté” occurred – the “great leap” to moving the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts to its grand location on Main Street in 2001 – it was time for the dance shop to come into its own. Holly Watson, Nutmeg’s operations director and former manager of the Nutmeg Dance Shop, said that before the shop existed, Marge Dante, Sharon’s mother, used to drive to New Haven to buy Pointe shoes for students. Marge was a driving force behind the opening of the shop on Water Street and continued her involvement after the move to Main Street. Housed in the former Tunick Jewelers building at 62 Main Street, it is now managed by Carianne Riley, a former student at Australian Ballet School. She and Lori Pagano, a liaison between the children’s Torrington School of Ballet and the Nutmeg Ballet, help with fitting ballet slippers at the shop. Watson said, “The entity is structured to donate all its profits back to support the Nutmeg. The Dance Shop does not keep those funds. They go back to our students, back to our organization after expenses.” The shop specializes in Pointe shoes and ballet slippers, but Watson said it also carries tap, jazz, lyrical and more. There are leotards, tights and other apparel for men and women, as well as a wide array of nonessential (but fun!) items. Books about dance by local authors – including many by Nutmeg employees – are available. Retail director Kim McAllister, like many Nutmeg employees, is a former Nutmeg student, starting when she was 4 years old and graduating in 2001. She pursued a career in photography before returning to Nutmeg this year. “Nutmeg has always been a part of me,” she said. McAllister said, “I love fitting a little girl’s first ballet slippers and watching her walk over to the barre and mirror we have with excitement in her face. It’s exciting to also fit a dancer for her first pair of Pointe shoes. They are nervous and excited at the same time.” She said there is a buzz of excitement and energy that goes through the building. Students are now in rehearsal for “The Nutcracker,” the annual Christmastime production at the Warner Theatre and The Bushnell. “I hear the music that I’ve heard a million times before, but yet I’m never sick of it because I can feel the movements of the dances I danced many times myself. I get the same excitement as the dancers!” she said. And every year she looks forward to the shipment of nutcracker dolls that are holiday gift-giving favorites – not only among students and their parents but anyone who walks in the door. There are the traditional wooden-soldier nutcracker dolls, much like the one used onstage in “The Nutcracker”; and then there are variations such as mermaids, sea turtles, unicorns, wizards, lamas, and even Darth Vader (but without the heavy breathing!). Watson said, “We’ll be selling these at the performances, and all proceeds support Nutmeg.” It is the only local outlet for dancewear, but because it is a part of the nonprofit Nutmeg Ballet, the staff are conscious of its commitment to the community, Watson said. “For example, we have supported local nonprofit fund-raisers such as the Warner Theater’s wine-tasting event and partnership initiatives such as Newspapers in Education. We work with anonymous donors to get Pointe shoes onto the feet of people who can’t afford them. We try to give local discounts to students at every dance school in the area. If they tell us they’re in a dance school, they get a 10 percent discount on required apparel.” McAllister added, “We’ve helped the dancers at The Taft School be fitted for their Pointe shoes and also get them the items they need for their dance classes. We’ve also helped company dancers from Momix to get items they need for performances. If anyone is looking for a shoe, leotard or dancewear items, we are there to help them get what they need.” Suzan Scott, the shop’s business and communications manager, looks to the future with ideas on marketing and promotional efforts. Her ideas include updating and managing the website (www.danceshopatnutmeg.com), email blasts, tracking marketing results, implementing a rewards program and more. “We need to be responsive, but responsive in an organized, planned way and then track results,” she said in a recent email. The Nutmeg Dance Shop is open Monday through Thursday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. After hours, call 860-482-4413, and someone can usually let you in and assist you, Watson said. Performances of the all-new “Nutcracker,” with new scenery and costumes, are Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. at the Warner Theatre. Performances at The Bushnell in Hartford are Dec. 14 and 15 at 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Tickets are available through www.nutmegconservatory.org/nutcracker.

TORRINGTON - Who has appeared in more performances of Nutmeg Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” than anyone, but has never taken a ballet lesson in his life? It’s not a trick question, even though the character Thomas Evertz portrays, Dr. Drosselmeyer, has performed many tricks during his nearly 80 appearances since 2009. As the mysterious uncle of young Clara at a Christmas party at her home, Drosselmeyer produces bouquets of flowers seemingly from thin air, brings mechanical dolls magically to life and entertains guests with a puppet show. Later, he launches Clara on a fantastical coming-of-age ride to the Land of the Snow and the Land of the Sweets. German-born Evertz said he is eagerly anticipating this, his 11th season, when Nutmeg is celebrating its 50th anniversary and “The Nutcracker” will raise the curtain on spectacular new scenery and costumes. Scenic designer Roger LaVoie of Boston designed the new set and the new Drosselmeyer costume. “I have seen generations of dancers coming and going,” Evertz said in a recent interview. “Each performance is different because I have constantly different partners. When we do a matinee and an evening show, I have four different Claras over the two days.” Evertz is married to Nutmeg’s artistic director, Victoria Mazzarelli. They met in Switzerland when Mazzarelli was dancing with Basel Ballet in 1985. He saw her dancing in George Balanchine’s “Concerto Barocco,” and he was so taken with her performance that he thought, “Who is this? I have to give this person a nice bouquet of flowers.” Mazzarelli studied with Nutmeg Ballet under founder Sharon Dante and launched a professional career abroad after winning a gold medal at the New York International Ballet Competition in 1984. She and Evertz have been married 27 years and have two grown children, Adam and Alma. Evertz studied acting at the National Conservatory for Music and Theatre in Hanover, Germany. He has appeared in German productions of “West Side Story,” “Kiss Me Kate,” and many others. This past summer, he had a singing role in Johann Strauss II’s operetta “Die Fledermaus” (“The Bat”) in Switzerland. Mazzarelli returned to Connecticut in 2003 to become Nutmeg’s associate artistic director, bringing her family with her. In 2009, she said to her husband, “I think you could play Drosselmeyer.” He has been playing the part ever since. “I have not done any other part in my life more often than that,” he said. “For me, the whole thing is the music. Everything I have to do and the attitude in which I do it, everything is in the music. We stage it every year with new dancers, young performers, and of course we have to solve a lot of problems, just like in professional theater. My advice to everyone onstage is to just listen to the music. Everything you are looking for, all the information, it’s all in the music.” Evertz said Drosselmeyer is the oldest character in this 1892 ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, based on a tale by E. T. A. Hoffman. “But somehow he is still a child,” Evertz said. “He is childish in his joy, in his humor, in his fantasy. So he is close to Clara. He understands her, her hopes, her fantasies, her fears, and he tries to gently lead her through the night.” Clara’s toy nutcracker doll symbolizes her childhood. When it breaks, her childhood shatters. It takes the magic of Drosselmeyer to repair the doll, which, in her fantasy, grows to life size and then comes to life. “She falls in love with the wooden nutcracker, and in her mind the wooden nutcracker turns into a very lively young man who is just as adorable as she is,” Evertz said. The story can be understood on many levels, but Evertz said it’s not necessary to focus on all aspects of it. “It’s sweet and beautiful for everybody who sees it and listens to it. Music is so unbelievable. When we help the audience to see the music - they hear it anyway, but to see the music - then we do a great job.” Tickets for the 2019 production of Nutmeg Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” are now available through Nutmeg’s newly designed website, Nutmegconservatory.org. Warner Theatre performances are Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. Performances at The Bushnell in Hartford are Dec. 14 and 15 at 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

By Jack Sheedy | The Litchfield County Times

By Jack Sheedy | The Register Citizen

By Jack Sheedy | The Register Citizen