On one of Tucson’s less traveled streets and inside an unassuming building 33 adults and more than 90 children are hard at work.
Everyone practices leaping and spinning. They practice walking on their tippy toes. They walk back and forth and practice waving gracefully.
They dance and dance, working on dancing in unison and with grace, getting off on the correct foot, raising the correct arm and keeping the hands and fingers in correct form. When they are done, they do it again. And again and again. It’s all in the name of art.
These adults are the professional company dancers of Ballet Tucson and when they take the stage this holiday season they will be accompanied by the children who are ballet students from all over southern Arizona. This year’s cast of “The Nutcracker” is getting set to perform to live music provided by an abbreviated Tucson Symphony. It’s an annual holiday tradition here in Tucson, having been staged in this iteration for 38 years.
Many who have marveled at “The Nutcracker’s” dancers might not realize the work that goes into the production so on one Saturday practice session artistic director Margaret Mullin explained a few of the details that might be unknown to the general public. For one thing, this is the largest production Ballet Tucson puts on in their year. Dancers range in age from 6 to late 30s. Some of the company dancers also play an instrument in the symphony and even Mullin, a former professional dancer, has danced in Ballet Tucson’s Nutcracker.
In this production, Mullin’s favorite part is the snow scene.
“It’s really beautiful,” she said. “It’s very, very difficult. Our version of snow is very challenging. It’s very formations-driven, there are a lot of really daring crossings of corps de ballet members so you have to really rehearse it thoroughly. The dancers have to know each other well.”
It’s also the sets that Mullin likes, especially since they were designed by a Tucson resident, Joseph McGrath, who is the founding artistic director of the Rogue Theatre.
One of the hardest jobs when getting “The Nutcracker” from the practice studio at Ballet Tucson to the Linda Ronstadt stage is costume master. During one performance of “The Nutcracker,” dancers can expect to change costumes three or four times, so to do that efficiently and get everyone back on stage on time, organization is an absolute necessity. Pat Murphy, who learned to sew when she was 8, shoulders that responsibility.
She works in a well-lit, spacious backroom of the ballet school. At least it would be spacious if not for all the clothes racks that hold costumes galore. There are costumes for gingerbread men, for soldiers, for mice and rats, angels and even a nutcracker. Overhead, flattened tutus, the de rigueur wear of ballerinas, hang like fancy donuts.
And there is the grandest of all, the Sugarplum Fairy costume.
Although Murphy has made, altered and repaired many of the costumes in this room, the Sugarplum Fairy costume was made by former director June Mullin, the mother of the current artistic director. She hand placed and glued all the sparkles. She appliqued by hand the gold trim. She even tacked the tulle layers together so the skirt wouldn’t fall to pieces during a performance. It is a magnificent thing when seen from both near and far but especially under stage lights.
In fact, when she finished putting the sparkles on, she wondered if it needed more.
“We took it outside in the sun and it was, like…,” Mullin said.
“You needed sunglasses,” June finished.
She is currently working on a snow queen costume but has yet to unveil it. There’s a sign on the container that is holding the pieces: Do not touch unless you’re June.
“She’s always been a crafty lady,” Mullin said.
Murphy has a system for knowing what costumes go with which dancers for any given performance. She keeps everything recorded in a simple binder but Excel could take a lesson from her. Take a peek at the pages and it’s clear this job is not for the faint of heart.
“I have the costumes numbered,” she said. “I have the kid’s name and what number pant they’re wearing, what number shirt and what number jacket. (Organization) is a requirement to keep from going insane with all this.”
During a given production of “The Nutcracker,” about 75 different children will perform each time. Costuming them during a performance is no small task since each kid has three or four costume changes. It turns out that June handles the kid side and to help with that she has an army of volunteer parents. They are backstage and know what to do to get a kid ready for a scene.
“She has volunteers that come and help and they see my list on who’s supposed to be wearing what and they’ll know what to put on each child,” Murphy said. “They have their assigned task, like one parent might put these little kids into the angel costume or these kids into their gingerbread, make sure their hats are on. It takes a lot of people to get them all dressed.”
Sometimes former students come back and help backstage, Mullin said.
With all the fitting, altering, organizing and sewing that has to be done for one production, does Murphy wish it could be different? No, not really.
“It’s a lot of fun and I love my job,” she said.
Once the performance is over for the night, costumes must be laundered. Who does that? Murphy for one but parents and the professional dancers see to their own stuff. For special costumes such as a tutu that cannot go into the washer, there’s grain alcohol spray.
Then there’s the music. Since the performances are danced to live music played by members of the Tucson Symphony (the entire orchestra does not fit in the orchestra pit) the dancers and musicians must work together at some point. It actually happens the afternoon of opening night. That means that the dancers, musicians and conductor have only met once before the curtain rises.
This year, and for the last three years, the conductor is Lawrence Golan. This is important because, Mullin said, he is particularly good at anticipating what a performer needs and then leads the orchestra accordingly.
“Some conductors are very thoughtful about what dancers need within the music and some do not care at all,” Mullin said. “I will say that Lawrence is one of the conductors who always checks with the dancers about what kind of tempos they enjoy, especially our leading dancers like the Sugarplum Fairy. … He’s also very good at watching, too.”
He watches because highlight moments such as a leap have to match the music.
“The very last thing that the Sugarplum Fairy and the Cavalier do within their section together is a really huge toss, throw, catch, flip around thing and they finish in a fish (a ballet move) and some conductors might just go and you’re chasing it til the end,” she said. “(Galon) has a very good knack for watching every single moment and emotion so he times his final note with the orchestra with their presentation.”
In the end, all the hard work for only five performances means everything to the performers, those behind the scenes and to Mullin herself, who knows she’s participating in an important Tucson tradition.
“Every year performing ‘The Nutcracker’ is such a highlight for Ballet Tucson,” she said. “Knowing that we are sharing such a treasured classic with our community means so much to all of us, especially our performers. They know that every time they step on stage, they are creating holiday magic for generations of Tucsonans. This production is truly special and a celebrated local tradition.”
“The Nutcracker” by Ballet Tucson
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, 1 and 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 and 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21
WHERE: The Linda Ronstadt Music Hall at Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Avenue
COST: Tickets start at $39.75
INFO: ballettucson.org/performances/the-nutcracker