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arts & culture
KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, DEC. 5, 2016
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Nutcracker to get Kansas spin in Lawrence Arts Center production
A scene from the 2015 production of "A Kansas Nutcracker," performed by the Lawrence Arts Center. This year, "Nutcracker; A Kansas Ballet" will incorporate more of the original story.
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Contributed Photo original story
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▶ ALYSSA HOEDL
@AHoedl
though many people may know the story of the Nutcracker, the Lawrence Arts Center is putting a new twist on it.
Unlike the traditional version of the Nutcracker, in which Clara and the Nutcracker journey through her house, "Nutcracker: A Kansas Ballet," will intertwine Kansas history with the original Nutcracker.
The ballet, which debuts on Dec. 9, is different than what the center has been doing for the past decade. Originally, the performers there produced a show called "A Kansas Nutcracker" that was not a full ballet and focused more on the area's history
than on the original Nutcracker story.
Our Nutcracker has always embodied the element of freedom and being an advocate of standing up for what is right."
"This year the 'Nutcracker: A Kansas Ballet' has taken a major evolution since 'A Kansas Nutcracker,'" said Hanan Misko, the center's
Hanan Misko Dance school director
dance school director. "One of the things that has happened is that this is a full ballet with no dialogue. We are exploring the concept of the Nutcracker and how it would interact with it happening in Lawrence in 1864. In this year's production you will see that what I've done is create parallels between E.T.A. Hoffman's story and potentials."
The center's production has always been based around the time of the Civil War.
"Our Nuteracker has always embodied the element of freedom and being an advocate of standing up for what is right," Misko said.
The Lawrence Ballet Theatre, the center's pre-professional ballet company, is
performing in the show along with guest performers.
"We use all of the dancers in the Lawrence Ballet Theatre in the Nutcracker," Artistic Director Cynthia Crews said. "We have open auditions for the Nutcracker as well, for those younger roles and older roles."
"The first act has completely gone to being dance, so that has been the biggest difference I think that changed the rehearsal process," Crews said. "The battle scene has been reworked and more involved, and even though the second act has always been more dance,
Changing the show from having dialogue to being a complete ballet has been a different sort of challenge for the dancers, Crews said.
we fine-tuned it to make the transitions and scene changes smoother."
Even though Misko has been involved in many versions of the show since he was a kid, when he got to the center, he found something special about their version.
"The wonderful thing is that the ballet has the ongoing potential to evolve," Misko said. "There is no limit to what it could be next year or down the road. If we become curious and see potential we can change it."
"The Nutcracker: A Kansas Ballet" opens Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. and will be performed through Dec. 18. Tickets are available online.
- Edited by Chandler Boese
Students to direct Rock Chalk Singers concert
The Rock Chalk Singers concert will be held on Dec. 6 in Swarthout Theater
▶ SAVANNA SMITH @SavSmith27
The student-directed choral group Rock Chalk Singers has been working all semester to prepare for their concert next week, which will include several different languages and musical styles.
As a course requirement for a choral methods class instructed by Melissa Grady, senior music education students at the University prepare the Dec. 6 concert themselves.
The class and the concert allow the students to acquire experience in teaching music. The students build the choir by recruiting members from around campus and in the community. They draw from friend groups as well as local middle and high schools.
Andrea Ringgenberg/KANSAN
For example, Erin Bonifield, a student director, said she recruited members from the marching band.
other," Bonifield said.
"We're a close group, so it's fun to bring them from one musical setting to an-
With approximately 55 members, the choir ranges from fifth grade to college age, according to Fern Stevermer, another student director.
The Rock Chalk Singers are an established part of the curriculum for the class. However, year-to-year the choir is always changing. Each new year means new seniors enroll in the class; therefore, both the directors themselves are new and the people they recruit are personalized to the new group of students.
We all blend really well together. You'd be surprised with such a wide variety of range or of age ... it's still a really good choir."
Erin Bonifield Student director
Having a wide range of musical abilities, knowledge and age can be a challenge, especially in a group this size. The student directors work to learn ways to instruct the group as a whole, while also figuring out how to work with the different levels of ability and age in order to create a well-adjusted choir and make sure each piece is done to the best of their
abilities.
Each choral student chooses a piece to direct and teach, while instrumentation students direct warm-ups, all receiving teaching experience to apply in their future careers as music educators. Each rehearsal, the directors get eight to 10 minutes to work as individuals with the singers to conduct their pieces
"We all blend really well
together. You'd be surprised with such a wide variety of range or of age ... it's still a really good choir," Lauren Martens, another student director, said.
The concert will be held Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. in Swarthout Theater inside of Murphy Hall. Admission is free.
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