"Nutmeg Nuggets: Dress a snowflake, put a mask on a mouse"

Jun 18, 2019
By Jack Sheedy | The Register Citizen
Averie Brooks, 12, and her mom, Amy Brooks, of New Hartford, pose at the Nutmeg Conservatory June 15 during orientation for the 2019 Professional Summer Programs. Averie has studied with Nutmeg for six years and will take part in two summer sessions totaling six weeks. A total of 260 students have signed up for the three summer sessions, running now through Aug. 10. For information, call the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory at 860-482-4413.
TORRINGTON - Have you ever wanted to dress a snowflake?

Seriously, you can. Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” features a “Waltz of the Snowflakes,” when dancers in white represent snowflakes. When the Nutmeg Ballet presents that annual performance this coming Christmas season, they will dress the stage with a new set and their dancers with new costumes.

“‘Nutcracker’ is such an important part of Torrington. I mean it’s a tradition for a lot of families,” said Vicky Mazzarelli, Nutmeg’s artistic director. “And this is a big deal that we’re doing a new one. You know, we’re putting ourselves out there, so if the community could be a part of that, it would be so wonderful.”


She said it’s easy to support the building of a new set - which is already designed and under construction - and the purchase of new costumes by calling the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory or donating on their secure website.

“And they could even contact us if they wanted to donate to a particular piece of the set,” Mazzarelli said. “Call the Conservatory if you’d like to donate the star drop or the little pieces of the set or in honor of someone. Maybe someone would say, ‘Wow, I’d love to do that in honor of my mom!’ Or the snowflakes’ costumes ... or the costumes of the mice.”

Since 1996, Nutmeg has used a set designed by Campbell Baird.

The new set was designed by Roger LaVoie, a renowned scenic designer from Boston. The public got a sneak peek at it during a Business After Hours networking event sponsored by Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce in November 2018. Now it is being built by the scenic shop at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass.

“We are looking to the future,” said founder Sharon E. Dante. “The ‘NEW Nutcracker 2019’ brings in fresh new and breathtaking scenery, lighting and special stage effects that could not have been realized back in 1996. This new production will carry Victoria’s artistic vision into the ’20s and ’30s and maybe even up to the 75th-year celebration of Nutmeg. And, by the way, I fully intend to be here cheering the current and future staff and students on.”

“By the time Thanksgiving rolls around and we move into the Warner Theatre, and then The Bushnell, the set will be done,” Mazzarelli said. “It will be really great to have a big reveal.”

Dress a snowflake, or dress a mouse, or point to that colorful new backdrop when you attend “The Nutcracker” this year and say, “I helped make that happen.”

To donate from the secure website, go to www.nutmegconservatory.org/support-us, or call the Nutmeg at 860-482-4413.
See Original Article on The Register Citizen

IN THE MEDIA

By Jack Sheedy 31 Jan, 2020
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.
06 Dec, 2019
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.
More Posts
Share by: