This holiday season, eight ballet companies are performing “The Nutcracker” 27 times across Southwest Florida. Gulfshore Ballet in Fort Myers will be responsible for four of those performances.
Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” has become a tradition in Southwest Florida. Ileana Lopez, the Artistic Director at Gulfshore Ballet, says a big reason for the dance’s enduring popularity is its common appeal.
“It's about a little girl that gets a gift and that gift is a nutcracker given to her by her godfather, Drosselmeyer. So, it could be anybody's life up there on that stage,” Lopez said.
Everyone can relate to receiving a treasured Christmas gift from a favorite relative or friend. And everyone’s had at least one sugar plum dream.
While the story may be standard, this year’s “Nutcracker” will be different. That’s because Lopez and husband Franklin Gamero alter the ballet’s choreography to suit the strengths of their dancers.
“It's a very happy moment for Gulfshore Ballet to have alumni performing the lead roles in the 'Nutcracker.' We have Anna McKinney, who's performing the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Dew Drop, and the Arabian Pas de Deux. We have Skylar Fry, who's performing soloist in Snowflakes and the principal dancer in the Spanish dance. And we have Isabel Donato performing Marzipan, Christmas Fairy, and Dew Drop. So, it's very, very happy to have them back.”
Of the 27 performances in Southwest Florida this season, just five include an orchestra. Gulf Coast Symphony will be in the orchestra pit for three performances at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall on Dec. 20 and 21. Lopez said that elevates the performance for both the dancers and the audience.
“It sounds so beautiful, especially when you're doing your warm-up before the performance and you hear the musicians also warming up, I love that sound of the music and it gets the dancers very inspired.”
MORE INFORMATION:
Gulfshore Ballet presents “The Nutcracker” at Saint John the Evangelist Church in Naples at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6. For tickets, visit https://gsballet.org/shows-and-events/ or telephone 239-590-6191.
Gulfshore Ballet and Gulf Coast Symphony (Maestro Andrew Kurtz conducting) present “The Nutcracker” at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20 and at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21. For tickets, telephone 800-440-7469 or 239-481-4849 or visit https://www.bbmannpah.com/events/detail/symphony-nutcracker.
More on Alumni Dancers Appearing in This Year’s “Nutcracker” Ballet
In addition to elevating the complexity of the choreography that Lopez and Gamero have prepared for this year’s performances, the presence of three more professional dancers in the troupe will benefit Gulfshore’s student dancers.
“It's going to be very inspiring to the young generations of students to see these girls that have performed with professional ballet companies come back to Gulfshore to perform in their ‘Nutcracker,’” said Lopez. “It’s very inspiring for them and for us just to share the stage with them and our students.”
Anna McKinney studied at Gulfshore Ballet for eight years before leaving for the University of Florida. Midway through her four-year degree, she was accepted into the San Francisco Ballet School. Two years later, McKinney landed an apprentice contract with the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto before an injury forced a hiatus.
“So, she’s getting in shape before going on with her auditions for next year,” Lopez noted.
Skyler Fry first appeared in “The Nutcracker” at age 8. She performed as an angel for Miami City Ballet when MCB came to Artis-Naples. She tackled additional roles in “The Nutcracker” after joining Gulfshore Ballet as a sixth grader. Following graduation, Fry was accepted into the University of Arizona’s dance program, landed a job as a dancer and head of education and community outreach at Roxey Ballet and eventually relocated to New York City to pursue opportunities there.
“Isabel Donato is in college here in Fort Myers,” Lopez noted. “She was here since she was maybe 6 years old, and now she's, I believe, 19.”
“It's very inspiring to see Gulfshore Ballet students who went through the same process in ballet, in classical dance, to see them succeed,” Lopez added. “It says a lot about our training, and I think it says a lot about these girls who keep their focus and their commitment to this beautiful art form.”
Performing with Full Orchestra
Not only will Gulfshore Ballet’s student and pre-professional dancers benefit from McKinney’s, Fry’s and Donato’s example, experience and work ethic, the opportunity to perform with a full orchestra is rare, even for some professional companies.
“Even professional companies sometimes don't have a full orchestra because it's expensive,” Lopez observed. “So, I think just it's a wonderful treat for our students and I hope that one day they go back and think, 'Oh, my God, I was so lucky that I was able to perform to live music at that beautiful Barbara B. Mann [Performing Arts Hall].' Even when my husband and I danced as professionals with Miami City Ballet, we did not have an orchestra all the time.”
There’s more involved than just prestige and an adrenaline rush. Dancing to live music requires both concentration and adaptability.
“With recorded music, you always get the same tempo,” Lopez pointed out. “With a live orchestra, maestro can get excited and play faster or slow the tempo. The dancers have to adjust to these changes.”
Greater focus and the added inspiration that results from hearing the orchestra warming up prior to the opening curtain results in an even more uplifting experience for both the performers and the audience.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
