Huntington First Graders Perform “The Nutcracker” with the Pros
First graders in the Huntington School District enjoyed four glorious days when the youngsters were transformed into angels, mice, soldiers, snowflakes, icicles, Russian Cossack and Chinese dancers and party guests as they took the stage with professional dancers from Ballet Ambassadors for performances of “The Nutcracker.”
The district’s Arts-in-Education Committee sponsored the initiative, which saw Manhattan-based Ballet Ambassadors teach and rehearse students, erect scenery and dress the youngsters in costumes for a performance for the full student body and firs grade parents at each respective school.
Ballet Ambassadors is dedicated to giving children the chance to dance in fully costumed adaptations of the best-loved ballet classics as well as original ballets written and choreographed by founder and artistic director Sondra Forsyth.
This year’s visit to Huntington was a special treat for at least one of the professional dancers. In the lead role of the Sugar Plum Fairy was Jefferson Elementary School graduate, Alice Murphy. Now 24, she is an accomplished ballerina who is an alumnus of the prestigious School of American Ballet, home school of the New York City Ballet.
Ms. Murphy has performed at Lincoln Center with NYCB from the time she was eight years old through her teens. By special arrangement, she left Jefferson Elementary School each day early enough to catch her scheduled LIRR train, but she continued to maintain a superior grade point average at Jefferson and later at J. Taylor Finley Middle School and Huntington High School. She has danced here and abroad and is a founding member of Ballet Ambassadors.
The cast also included Kai Braithwaite, the original Young Simba in “The Lion King” on Broadway and a member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem as well as Ballet Ambassadors. “Working with Ballet Ambassadors is my chance to give back,” Mr. Braithwaite said. “I love being a teaching artist for the children and then performing with them and for them.”
Ms. Murphy agreed with her colleague. “I was just as excited about leading the little Angels in their dance as I was about dancing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” she says. “I was especially thrilled about returning to dance at Jefferson. I have so many memories of my time there.”
As for the first graders who were lucky enough to be in the Ballet Ambassadors “Nutcracker,” boys and girls alike had a wonderful time. Nicholas Allain, who was chosen to dance the lead role of Fritz at Southdown Primary School, summed it up for everyone. He tugged on Ms. Forsyth’s sleeve backstage just before the performance began and whispered, “Thank you. This is the best day of my life.”
“Every parent leaving the performance couldn't stop raving about how impressed they were with the production and how entertaining it was,” said Susan Minson, a Flower Hill parent. “The children were obviously enthralled in the audience and the little first graders all took their roles very seriously in the production.”
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