{"id":15515,"date":"2018-11-28T15:57:32","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T20:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/?p=15515"},"modified":"2018-11-29T13:47:59","modified_gmt":"2018-11-29T18:47:59","slug":"backstage-magic-glittering-threads-make-for-enchanting-nutcracker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/backstage-magic-glittering-threads-make-for-enchanting-nutcracker\/","title":{"rendered":"Backstage magic: Glittering threads, enchanting “Nutcracker”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Audiences get to experience the magic of “The Nutcracker” on stage, but the true magic occurs backstage, where costumes are stitched, dancers are training, and production is flourishing.<\/p>\n

Columbia City Ballet has been producing The Nutcracker for 51 years, and artistic director William Starrett believes the magic of the play continues to live on.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would never change the smile on the Mona Lisa,\u201d Starrett said. \u201cI take liberty with numbers and the music. I sped up the music and I\u2019ve taken out all the repeats, so it keeps it more current.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Along with the other changes, costumes are something Columbia City Ballet takes liberty in changing up each year.<\/p>\n

Alexis Doktor, the costume designer for The Nutcracker, said her goal this year was to revamp the old and craft the new.\u00a0Staying true to the tradition of the play, Doktor\u2019s job is to also preserve the old costumes. She said that fabrics have a shelf-life, and she does her best to take care of pieces that were made by designers before her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, we have decided to do brand new party scene parents,\u201d Doktor said. \u201cThe colors of the costumes foreshadow the moments that will occur later on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The party scene costumes will evoke the different kinds of candy that will appear in the candy land scene. For example, the most recent costume Doktor has worked on is covered in a Chinese chinoiserie pattern that resembles\u00a0the Chinese tea.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plan for it was to not only find fabrics that will be the correct color, but also ones that have influence on the actual patterns being traditional to that area of the country,\u201d Doktor said.<\/p>\n

The material is made from baroque fabric and Doktor, who is from New York City, tries to travel there twice a year to grab the best fabrics for the show.\u00a0She prefers baroque fabric because of its “depth” and ability to make details shine. It also allows the audience to see the intricate designs in the pattern of the fabric.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaroque fabrics tend to use metallic, and there is a rich texture to the fabric,\u201d Doktor said. \u201cThe thing that makes baroque fabrics really special is they tend to be heavier.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, Grant Show, who acted in the television show “Melrose Place,” will be in the party parent scene. Doktor said that she feels lucky seeing people like him wear her designs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been using the same party parent dresses for a while, so it\u2019s exciting to see what their reactions will be,\u201d Doktor said.<\/p>\n

The costumes play a huge part of the production, especially for the dancers.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach night you\u2019re something different\u2026 so it really inspires you to be that character,\u201d Abby McDowell, a dancer in The Nutcracker, said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

McDowell and fellow dancer\u00a0Bo Busby said each show is going to inspire the next generation of kids in the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can change their lives in a magical way,\u201d Busby said.<\/p>\n

Starrett wants those who come to the Koger Center to feel the same thrill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my 32nd\u00a0year teaching The Nutcracker,\u201d Starrett said. \u201cMy goal is for the [audience] to discover the art each year\u2026 I make it with so much artistic expressions, so the audience sees this high caliber of dancing, and they can discover the art of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Columbia City Ballet will host “The Nutcracker” for a number of performances Dec. 8-9 and 15-16 at the Koger Center. Tickets can be purchased by phone or online at www.columbiacityballet.com<\/p>\n

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The magic of the Nutcracker happens backstage as well as in performance. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":15556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[67,62,42],"tags":[205,406,206],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15515"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/134"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15515"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15696,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15515\/revisions\/15696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}