Thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication. We know that The Nutcracker is a major commitment for not only the dancers, but the entire family.

Dancers: Thank you for your ambition! We see you juggling school, homework, your ballet classes, band, cheerleading, work, social life, family obligations, etc. and you still slip on those ballet shoes and smile. We are impressed with how organized and dependable you are.

Parents: Thank you for your time and support! We know it is hard enough to get your children to and from ballet classes, let alone rehearsals. The Nutcracker puts you to the test – buying tickets, sweatshirts, videos, sewing costumes, working backstage, and helping as you can. All of your help, contributions, and talents are greatly appreciated.

Backstage Parents: We need 2-3 volunteers per dance to help backstage. There is a lot going on backstage with costume and hair changes, entrances and exits, and little dancers who may be newer to performing an it is important to have your support to ensure they are safe, calm, and poised when it is time to go onstage. It is also important to make sure the dressing rooms and backstage remain quiet and organized. Please sign up to help with any dance you are able, even if it is not the class or cast in which your dancer performs.

Ticket Sales: Continuing The Nutcracker as an annual tradition relies heavily on ticket sales. Please recommend The Nutcracker to your friends, neighbors, coworkers, your church group, etc. Many families in Bakersfield have made this an annual event of their Holiday season and we encourage you to share ticket information as much as possible.

Costumes:

1. During studio dress rehearsals, dancers should arrive at the studio with performance hair done in time to change into their costume. During theater dress rehearsals, dancers should arrive at the theater with performance hair and make-up done in time to change into their costumes.
2. If you do not share your costume, you will be asked to bring it to the theater after studio rehearsals. Please make note of the directions that will be sent home with you regarding caring for your dancer’s costume. All other costumes will be transported to the theater the week of the show and will be hung in their designated location (dressing rooms or otherwise). Some costumes may be lightly steamed.
3. Every dancer must arrive and leave the theater in their street clothes and shoes. No costumes may ever be worn outside of the studio or theater. Once you are dressed and ready for rehearsal, wait in the audience. For the performances once you are dressed and ready for the show you will wait in your designated character location backstage.
4. Make sure you bring tights, including extra pair, and leotards for warm-up and practice and anything needed for under your costumes. If your costume requires and undergarment, please note the color required for your dancer’s costume. Undergarments should not be visible or peeking out from under the costume.
5. Shoulder and shoe straps should be securely stitched. We do not want dancers distracted by broken or loose straps. Please check costumes an shoes before each performance – they can become loose after a single dance!
6. Everyone must have elastic sewn on their ballet shoes with shoestrings tucked into the toe.
7. Ballet shoes must be in good condition – touch them up with polish or Calamine lotion.
8. Party Guest Boys and Overture Boys will need black ballet shoes. Mice will need painted pink ballet shoes; Arabian Queen and Harem will need skin tone ballet shoes.
9. LABEL EVERYTHING you bring to the theater that belongs to you. All costumes and hair pieces will be labeled by the costume committee.
10. Please wear deodorant. We understand many younger dancers may not be used to this, but because these costumes will be worn over and over and shared between dancers throughout this Nutcracker season without being washed, we need them to smell fresh and remain clean.
11. In the even that anything gets on your costume, bring it to the costume table and let a committee member know immediately so we can ensure it gets cleaned properly.
12. After your performance, please change out of your costume and hang it carefully and return it to the appropriate rack. If you share a costume, please make sure it is hung on the correct rack for the next dancer.

Absolutely no eating or drinking while in costume. It is incredibly important that we work to preserve the integrity of our priceless costumes. Many have been lovingly hand sewn and worn by generations of dancers, and we need to ensure they remain in excellent condition for future dancers. Immediately following the last performance, everyone must return ALL COSTUMES and PROPS to the studio. If for any reason you cannot make it to the studio, please make sure you have coordinated with another reliable parent to return your dancer’s costume. DO NOT take anything home to wash. We will check-in all costumes immediately after the final performance to get them professionally cleaned. No costumes may leave the theater until after the final performance on Sunday afternoon.

MAKEUP
Full makeup, including red lipstick, should be applied before you arrive at the theater and worn to all final dress rehearsals and performances. This includes darkened eyebrows, brown eyeshadow, extended thin eyeliner beyond the eye, mascara, and blush. Please purchase a lipstick that will not smear on costumes. Some suggestions include:
-Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink in Dancer or Pioneer
-NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP Shine Loud, Long-Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Rebel in Red
-Ruby Woo by MAC

For stage makeup tutorial watch Kathryn Morgan Stage Makeup Tutorial – Easy AND Advanced Looks for everyone!

No necklaces, bracelets, anklets, facial, or body piercings. Only small diamond/rhinestone earrings are permitted. Only one pierced ear hole can have an earring. Only clear, or French tip nail polish. No excessively long fake nails. No shiny hair clips. Tattoos must be covered. Dancers with drastic hair cuts or color changes will not be allowed to perform.

HAIR
Each dancer should bring a small bag or makeup case to each dress rehearsal and performance packed with hair bands, hair nets, pins, hairspray, makeup, safety pins, bandaids, a small sewing kit, makeup remover, etc. It is always a good idea to have an extra pair of tights as they can easily be torn between changes.

FOOD AND DRINK
Absolutely no food or drink is allowed in the audience during rehearsals. As we do not pay for custodial service during the week, it is extremely important that we keep the audience area clean and free of food debris. We recommend your dancer eats lunch or dinner at home before arriving. If your dancer needs a small snack, please make sure they are nutritious and not messy. Snacks and water may only be consumed at the designated backstage tables and cannot be eaten while in costume. Ideas include: apples, wheat thins, cheese sticks, etc. Do not send anything that could stain or cause messes.

Dancers may never eat in costume and no food or drink may ever be brought into the dressing rooms. Leave all food and drink items at the designated tables downstairs before going to your dressing room.

PICTURES AND VIDEO RECORDING
For the safety of your child NO pictures or video recording during rehearsals or performances will be allowed. Flashes from these devices can temporarily blind your child, distract or disorient your child, and/or cause your child to trip or fall and get hurt. Also the light emitted from these devides are extremely distracting to audience members. Abstaining from taking pictures during rehearsals and performances allows you to be in the moment and appreciate your child’s milestone. It is also respectful of the choreographers, fellow performers, and audience members. Pictures and videos can be taken before or after rehearsals and performances in the front of the theater or backstage.

Professional digital photos will be taken for each rehearsal and performance and will be available for purchase for a nominal fee. Professional vidoegraphy will be taken for each performance and will be available to purchase.

SAFETY
No extended family or friends will be allowed backstage to visit with the dancers before the performance. There are over 250 performers, symphony members, and backstage workers. During dress rehearsals, there will be no supervision of younger dancers, so please plan on staying the entire rehearsal with your dancer or connecting with another dance parent to help watch your child. Backstage parents will be supervising during the performances.

Do not bring any money or valuables to the theater.

Please instruct your dancer to never leave the building without you. They must wait inside the building to be picked up – not in the parking lot. It is very important that dancers are instructed no to wander around the building, inside or out. Please have your dancer go in pairs to the restroom and do not go to their dressing rooms alone. This is a very large building with many doors to the outside; we want our dancers to be safe!

A NOTE TO DANCERS

Please stay with your own group in the dressing rooms and backstage. The backstage helpers need to be at their designated area, ready to dance, and not wandering around backstage or in other dancers’ dressing rooms. Even after you have performed your dance stay with your group!

REHEARSALS
Rehearsals: Please be on time! A rehearsal scheduled at 7:00 means to be dressed, warmed up, and ready to dance at 7:00, not walking in the door at 7:00. Everyone must be on time. Please plan to stay with your younger dancers until they are called into rehearsals at the studio and throughout the entire rehearsal at the theater. Dancers with major roles and those in Snow Scene or Flowers may arrive early to warm up and/or have work done on your costumes.

Final rehearsals at the studio will be full hair for all characters. Costumes may be worn for designated characters. Dress rehearsals and performances at the theater will be full hair, stage makeup, and costumes for all characters.

All rehearsals are closed rehearsals. Only the Parent/Guardian of the individual dancer is allowed to stay for theater rehearsals. Do not invite friends, extended family, ‘guests’ (this includes bringing friends backstage or in the dressing rooms), or small children who cannot sit and be quiet to watch, as they will be asked to leave.

The only people allowed backstage are the dancers and those who have volunteered to work backstage. Parents who are not volunteering backstage for performances can assist their dancer in getting dressed and ready for the performance and join us for Cast Call. Immediately following Cast Call any parent who is not listed as a volunteer must leave.

We cannot utilize the Marriott parking lot to gain access to the backstage area unless you are staying at the hotel. It is important to arrive early enough to find nearby street parking and walk with your dancer to check them into rehearsals and the show. The theater parking lot is quite a walk, so plan ahead to ensure you arrive on time.

Rehearsals may run over time. When we make the rehearsal schedules, we are guessing as to how long each rehearsal will take. Although we try to make allowances for problems, we sometimes still run long. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause, but please be patient. We are working hard to produce the highest quality show. Some common problems that cause us to run over include: dancers not arriving on time and delaying our start, too much noise from parents, unruly children, and dancers in the audience causing us to pause the rehearsal, costume changes not working, technical problems, etc.

No one may leave a rehearsal until they are specifically excused by the director. After we do a “run-through,” everyone must be present so the directors can provide critique, instruction, and any changes. Leaving rehearsal before you have been excused will result in you losing your role(s).

We know that the rehearsals in the last two weeks before the show can be extremely long, but we feel that the hours that your children spend in rehearsals provide them with a valuable learning experience. At these rehearsals, the younger and/or less experienced dancers can benefit from watching the advanced level dancers at work and, most importantly comradery develops when dancers work together to create a production of this magnitude.

PERFORMANCES

Dancers must arrive prior to cast call to check in and get in costume (please note the rehearsal schedule). Dancer’s should arrive in street clothes and shoes with all stage makeup applied and hair show ready. They will be able to dress in their costumes and stow their dance bags and clothes in the dressing rooms. Dancers should find their group and backstage parent helper before heading to cast call together. After parents have dropped off their dancer, they must go outside and around to the front of the theater and enter through the front doors with a ticket. Doors will open 1 hour prior to performance time.

Dancers will remain with their backstage parents throughout the entire performance. Parents seated in the audience cannot collect their dancers until intermission.

If you are not watching the performance, and your dancer is only in Act I, you may pick up your dancer after their scene is completed. Please let the backstage parent know if you will pick up your dancer at intermission.

Meet and Greet: After curtain call, guests are invited to come around behind the stage to meet and greet dancers and take pictures in costume.