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“We’re kind of there to make them look good,” said 13-year-old Chris Bernard.
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The Nutcracker Prince, played by Bryan Moore, holds Clara, played by Dot Armstrong, on his shoulders during their pas de deux performance in "The Nutcracker" opening Thursday at Saint Mary’s University. This year, a record number of 20 young men and boys will star in the show, which has a cast of 100. (photo by Katie Derus/Winona Daily News) |
It comes with the territory for male dancers such as Bernard. They might be underappreciated by some, but not to Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts Managing Director Christine Martin.
“They are invaluable,” Martin said.
“The Nutcracker” opens Thursday and can be seen through Sunday at Saint Mary’s University’s Page Theatre. The Dance Repertory of the MCA has presented the holiday classic every other year since 2000. That first year, there were about 10 male dancers. This year, 20 of the 100 person cast are men or boys — more than ever before.
Bernard and 12-year-old Kyle Schneider have been in the production all four years. They’ve worked their way up from playing clowns, party children, Russians and rats. This year, Bernard plays a soldier and Schneider plays Fritz, Clara’s younger brother.
“My mom probably gave me the idea, but I’ve grown to like it quite a bit now,” Schneider said.
Bernard got his start when his 5-year-old sister changed her mind at auditions.
“When I first started, I wasn’t too sure if this is what I wanted to do,” Bernard said. Now, he loves it. Both boys are thrilled to see more guys join the cast, especially veteran dancers like 19-year-old Bryan Moore.
“It pushes me even more,” Schneider said. “It’s kind of cool.”
Moore, a freshman at SMU majoring in theater and minoring in dance, plays the Nutcracker Prince. He was first interested in acting but started dancing in fourth grade. There were only two other boys in Moore’s first dance class. Both quit, so Moore was put in a class of 20 girls.
“I was at an age when girls still had cooties,” he said.
But the teenager from a family of hockey players stuck with it. His dad, Bill Moore, is the SMU men’s hockey coach. Both Moore’s brothers also played hockey. He tried it for about six months and decided he liked competitive figure skating better, a preference that drew teasing from his brothers.
“When they saw how much I improved, they started to shut up,” Moore said.
MCA started a tuition-free program for boys in 2003. The idea was to get more guys dancing. SMU also added a dance minor this past fall. Martin hopes boys continue to discover the world of dance.
“You get such confidence from dance,” Martin said.
Sometimes they get made fun of for dancing. The guys like to point out that many professional football players have studied ballet as part of their training.
“A lot of people don’t understand the athleticism of dance,” Bernard said. “We don’t get a lot of credit. They think it’s a prissy little twinkle toe activity.”
But for those who love dance, there’s nothing else like it.
“It’s an incredible outlet for me,” Moore said. “If I have a bad day, I can put music on and start dancing. It makes my day better.”
