Arcade Elementary Featuring 'Vignettes from Nutcracker'
by Jessica Dillon, Batavia
Daily News December 5, 2017
ARCADE — A whirlwind of candy canes, a flurry of
snowflakes and a few sparkling fairies will sprinkle their Christmas magic
across the stage of Arcade Elementary later this month, when the New York State
Ballet presents “Vignettes from The Nutcracker.”
Each grand battement, jete
and chasse will raise funds for Charlotte House, a new comfort care home
expected to open in Wyoming County next summer.
The home is named after
Charlotte Smallwood, a former Wyoming County resident, believed to be New York’s first woman district attorney, who was heartbroken to
have to spend her last days in a county she’d never called home. Tim Kibler, president of the Charlotte House
board, hopes to help her legacy live on in the former rectory of Holy Family
Parish in North Java.
“We’ve been in the mode of raising awareness
and raising money,” Kibler said. “We’re always looking for something new and
different that people are going to want to go and do, something that’s not been
done in Wyoming County before.”
And because Kibler happens
to be acquainted with one of the New York State Ballet dancers, inviting the
non-profit, formed in 2014, to perform in an area near and dear to him just
made sense, he said.
“It was just a matter of having all the pieces
fall into place,” Kibler said. “They were
very excited to come out to Wyoming County and we felt Pioneer would be the
perfect venue for us to go to.”
This will be the ballet’s first Wyoming County appearance, but the
willingness of the dancers to venture out in support of a good cause is nothing new, said
Ballet Master Rob Royce.
Just last week, the ballet
performed for a nursing home, and the week before that, visited Golisano
Children’s Hospital
in Rochester.
“The Children’s Hospital is one of the favorite
shows I’ve ever done,” Royce said. “The kids were just so excited.”
Clara, the Nutcracker Prince
and the Sugar Plum Fairy twirled through the halls there. On Dec. 17, they’ll be flanked by at least a dozen more
dancers, each in full costume and makeup, to perform a large portion of the ballet’s second act on the 315 Main St. stage.
To bring out the full crew
and set pieces just wouldn’t be
cost-effective, Royce explained, but added that to get just a taste of the full
performance might not be such a bad thing. They’re bringing out some child
performers, too.
“It’s actually kind of really exciting because
the audience will be getting all the excitement of the ballet,” Royce said.
“It’s really nice when we can go out and kind of show our wares in straight
ballet form, with the big lifts and all of that added stuff.”
Whether performing in a
formal theater or on an elementary school stage, the ballet aims to offer “true classical ballet performances of the
highest caliber.” That’s something Royce happily corroborates.
“It takes decades to prepare for a show like this,” Royce joked. “No, but it feels that way
sometimes.”
In actuality, the dancers
spend six to eight weeks preparing, but the days are long, Royce said.
“These dancers, we work every day,” Royce said.
“We’re in the studio
from 9 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon. Being able to bring a
professional-level production to an event like this is really a pleasure for
us. So often we end up just going to the theater and doing our shows ... being
able to bring the company out and have them interact with another community is
really special for us.”
And it’s something that’s special for local
organizations, too. Java Farm Supply, King’s Agriseed, Creekside Fabrics,
Quilts and Yarns, Empire Distributing, Martin Brothers Chevrolet, Soul 2 Sole, Grace
Worship Arts, Inc. and Five Star Bank all rallied to help sponsor the event.
“One of the nice parts about all of this is that
it has been a great outpouring of support by local businesses and the
community,” Kibler said. “It’s something new and different that we really want to make
sure is successful. The businesses have faith in us and we have faith in them.”
The show begins Dec. 17 at 2
p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for children under 12 and free for
children under 5.
“It’s a holiday tradition for us, and maybe we can help
make it a holiday tradition for others, too,” Royce said. “Anyone coming out will immediately get into the
holiday spirit, and I hope that we can help spread that.”
