Andalusia Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ takes stage Dec. 12-14

Andalusia Ballet will once again pull the curtains on its annual production of “The Nutcracker” with performances on Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 12-14, beginning at 7 p.m. each of those nights as well as a matinee on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. All shows will be at the LBW Community College’s Dixon Center for the Performing Arts.

This year marks the 34th annual production of “The Nutcracker,” drawing audiences of all ages from across the region.

“The Nutcracker” is based on the story “The Nutcracker and the King of Mice” written by E.T.A. Hoffman. The story is that of a young German girl who dreams of a nutcracker prince and a fierce battle against a mouse king. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in 1892 as a two-act ballet, with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Two of the Ballet’s young performers were selected for the role of “Clara,” the young girl who receives a toy nutcracker as a gift from her grandfather on Christmas Eve.

Karringtin Weaver, 11, and Adalyn Johnson, 11, both sixth-grade students, are excited to play the part of this central char¬acter.

Karringtin is the daughter of Kara and Rob Foreman and has been involved in ballet for as long as she can remember. She said her inspiration comes from her mother, who is also trained in ballet. Her first performance in “The Nutcracker” came when she was just 2-years-old.

“It’s hard to pick a favorite role, but I narrowed it down to two: being a mouse and then a ginger snap were probably my favorites,” Karringtin said.

She said she is excited to take on the role of Clara.

“My pops (Robert Foreman) has been ‘Dr. Stahlbaum’ for a long time and we used to pretend that I was Clara and he was Dr. Stahlbaum. Now I don’t have to pretend. I also like that she gets to be friends with everybody and is kind and sweet,” she said.

While there is a lot of time preparing for the production, Karringtin said she is enjoying the process.

“We are working five or six days a week,” she said. “It’s like a second home to me.”

Adalyn is the daughter of Holli and Griff Johnson and she moved to Andalusia when she was 3-years-old and has been with Andalusia Ballet for about seven years, performing in “The Nutcracker’ for three of those years.

“I loved being in ‘The Nutcracker’,’’ Adalyn said. “My favorite part is the party scene with the soldiers, Chinese and party girls.”

She is especially excited to be one of this year’s Claras.

“I wanted to be Clara because she’s one of the main characters and she is always so eloquent when she dances,” Adalyn said.

Along with the work being done at the Andalusia Ballet studio, Adalyn said she is also practicing on her own.

“We come here and practice most days and my mother bought a disk that let’s me practice at home. I practice a lot so I can learn how to do it,” she said.

Both dancers said they were surprised and delighted to see their roles when the cast list was posted.

“I was like if I’m not Clara, it’s OK, if I am, yea!,” Karringtin said.

“I was hoping I had a chance at it, but if I didn’t get it I was going to be OK. I know there are other roles that would be fun,” Adalyn said.

Andalusia Ballet Director Meryane Murphy said the two young dancers make a great team.

“They both work very hard and have been with us for a long time. They also work very well together. It always makes me happy to see our dancers working together and helping each other to make the performances as good as they can be,” Murphy said.

This year’s performance will be the final one for Eric Lidh, who has portrayed Drosselmeyer since the first “Nutcracker” 42 years ago. In that role, he has worked with all of the young Clara dancers over the years.

“I’ve never had trouble with their names … ‘You’re Clara, right?’,” he laughed. “I always appreciated how professional they are at that age. They do what they are supposed to do. They do get excited and nervous, but that happens to all of us. It’s part of performing on stage.”

Besides “The Nutcracker,” Adalyn said one of her favorite performances with the Ballet was “Cinderella” while Karringtin said she liked all of them and couldn’t pick a single favorite.

When not working with Andalusia Ballet, Karringtin participates in 4H and working on her family’s tree farm where she helps take care of “three cows, three goats, two dogs, seven chickens and a cat.”

Adalyn is an avid swimmer, participating with the Andausia Stingrays during the summer and with the Covington Aquatic Swim Team in the fall. “I also have a couple chickens at my grandfather’s house,” she added.

In addition to the public performances, Andalusia Ballet also performs for local third and fourth grade students.

“‘The Nutcracker’ is our signature performance. We do other things in the spring and summer, but ‘The Nutcracker’ is our tradition. It is fun to see our dancers grow and mature into these roles,” Murphy said.