Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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Clara hopefuls during the auditions. their steps are solid. If they're nervous, it doesn't show, though the range of talent is evident, as some struggle to lift limbs or simply move with decidedly less polish and grace. Within what seems like a few minutes all the girls have danced. Nissinen rises and proclaims, "I like what I see, and I see what I like!" The girls laugh and the ten- sion dissolves—but only for a moment. The artistic staff gathers to confer. They murmur, point at their notes, and occasionally glance toward the girls. Meanwhile the Clara hopefuls are lined up against the barre, opposite the studio's soaring mirrors. Some of the girls look stricken with abject terror, as if the rest of their lives depend on what the judges decide; others look around with complete insouciance. They're all asked to dance again and then are ushered out of the room. The entire Clara audition is over in less than an hour—and then the wait begins. It will be a week before they learn whether they will be one of the four lucky young women to work on The Nutcracker's most visible role. This year's Claras are literally the first to dance into a new Tchaikovsky dream as Boston Ballet stages an entirely reimagined Nutcracker. Beloved as the Ballet's Nutcracker may have been, ranking among the most attended productions in the world, it had withered with age. "The production was too old. They do have a shelf life," Nissinen says. "So we said let's turn the page and do something even greater." It was Nissinen's goal to re-create the clas- sic with lavish new sets and costumes, mindful, he says, that The Nutcracker is often the first ballet people see. The new production, the first commis- sioned in nearly 20 years, cost $2.7 million. It also marks the completion of Nissinen's own choreography with a newly crafted opening and close to the ballet. "I want the dance to be delicious," he says, and he wanted sets and costumes to match that vision. After a year-and-a-half search for a costume and set designer, Nissinen tapped Robert Perdziola, an award-winning designer who has created sets BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 119 "I SEE A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN THE BALLET WORLD AND DESIGN." —ROBERT PERDZIOLA