Dustin Staggs

NWA Democrat-Gazette

This holiday season, Ignite Dance Arts will light up Eureka Springs with its debut production of “The Nutcracker Sweets.”

Melanie Pierce, the owner and director of Ignite Dance, describes bringing “The Nutcracker” to the historic Victorian city as a dream come true. She said she’s excited and nervous at the same time.

“‘The Nutcracker,’” there’s a lot that goes into it,” Pierce said. “There’s no words to the songs, so everybody has to really be listening to the music and know the storyline. There’s just so many components that go with it. So, there’s the nerves that go along with the excitement.”

Ignite Dance, previously Elite Dance Studio in Berryville, has been serving Carroll County for more than 25 years by offering a dance program for youth. Pierce took over the studio from the Mock family eight years ago.

The studio has expanded greatly in recent years, according to Pierce, allowing them to handle a larger production such as “The Nutcracker Sweets.”

This production includes dancers as young as 3 years old, as well as adults around age 45. Some of the adults who are a part of this big production are staff members and parents of the dancers, according to Pierce.

“It’s adults onto littles and teenagers, and it’s just really cool to see everybody kind of coming together like a family to do that,” Pierce said.

While this is Ignite Dance’s first “Nutcracker” performance, Pierce hopes it becomes an annual tradition for the nearby community in Carroll County.

Ignite Dance hosted an audition to cast the parts of the show and opened it up to people from outside their studio as well. Pierce’s vision is for this production to expand into a bigger community effort over the next few years, maybe involving local musicians to play a live score for it.

For this year’s production there are about 60 performers, with six choreographers collaborating to bring the piece to life, according to Pierce. The legendary story of Clara, played by 12-year-old Layla White, and her famously known voyage through the land of Sweets is brought to life through lavish costumes, Tchaikovsky’s music and Baryshnikov’s choreography.

What Ignite Dance is hoping to bring to Carroll County is a family tradition in seeing the “Nutcracker” performance, where neighbors can attend locally and not have to drive an hour away to go see the production, she said.

Pierce said she feels that “The Nutcracker Sweets” is an easy introduction to ballet for people who are unfamiliar with the theatrical dance.

“You get to see amazing vintage costumes,” she said. “You get to see beautiful backdrops. You get this amazing orchestra sound from the music. It’s just storytelling. You can’t get bored watching it.”

But above all else, Pierce wants to continue to instill a love for ballet in her students.

“Ballet has kind of gotten out of being the cool dance to take over the years,” said Pierce. “Hip hop and all those other bigger contemporary [dances], that kind of stuff has taken over. I just want my students to really, truly know that ballet is kind of what started the foundations of dance.”

With one performance in The Auditorium of Eureka Springs, don’t miss the chance to see Ignite Dance’s production of this famous holiday classic.

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FAQ

“The Nutcracker Sweets”

WHEN — 6 p.m. Nov. 30

WHERE — The Auditorium, 36 S. Main St., Eureka Springs

COST — General admission is $21; Children (12 and under) is $11; and Seniors (60 and older) is $16.

INFO — visiteurekasprings.com/event/the-nutcracker-sweets