“Wait a minute! I’m going to do the MOST work as a snowflake,” first grader Zachariah explains while 4th-grade twins Harper and Harmony break down the roles they are playing in the upcoming performance of The Nutcracker.
Zachariah, Harper, and Harmony are joined by two other Madison Elementary students, 3rd grade Ryleigh, and 5th grade Omari. All five students currently take ballet class either at the House of the Carpenter or with Oglebay Institute directly. Their class is taught by local legendary dance instructor, Miss Cheryl. They all recently auditioned for and were subsequently cast in the touring rendition of Nutcracker Magical Christmas Ballet, taking place at the Capitol Music Hall on Monday, November 11th.
“The auditions are split by ages,” Harper explains, “There are little ones…we call them The Peanut Gallery,” she giggles, “and that’s Zachariah. The rest of us are a little older, so we’re playing mice this year.” Zachariah adds, “I really wanted to try out ballet because I also like baseball, and I just really liked it!”
The students have a combined 19 years of dance experience among them. They enjoy the moves, the costumes, and the chance to be social with friends.
When asked what they would say to a student considering trying out dance for the first time, they all agreed on the advice: “JUST GO AND DANCE!”
