Alex Theatre

By Joyce Rudolph
Published: Last Updated Friday, November 28, 2008 10:22 PM PST

There will be a new ballerina wearing Clara’s crown in Media City Ballet’s production of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.”

After three years, Amara Baptist has passed the crown of the ballet’s lead role to Mira Nastassja for this year’s performances Dec. 6 and 7 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.

Baptist moves into three new roles this year, Chinese dancer, Columbina and Icicle, said Natasha Middleton, company artistic director and choreographer.

“[Baptist is] 18 and grown up,” Middleton said.

A former apprentice with the company, Baptist is a full member now, Middleton said. Baptist performed the lead in the piece Gayane in August when the company presented its Aram Khachaturian Ballet.

Middleton spent six weeks searching for her replacement, placing advertisements in dance and acting magazines and online, in dance centers and dance stores.

She saw 49 people during the search, Middleton said. Most came from Northern and Southern California, with one from New York and another from Milwaukee.

Middleton had all but given up at the last scheduled audition in October. Then Nastassja showed up.

“And there she was. That was it,” Middleton said. “Amara had said she would do it again, but with a sigh. It was time for her to take on a new challenge.”

Nastassja has the perfect look for the role, Middleton said — she is 22 years old but can pass for 12, which is Clara’s age.

“I liked her whole look, her dancing body type and the way she danced,” Middleton said. “She had all the qualities of Clara that I was looking for.”

Playing a 12-year-old has been fun, Nastassja said.

“You get to let go of everything and act like a child again,” she said. “You can’t do that on a daily basis. It’s fun to work with the kids, too, and I try to interact with them and get a feel of how a 12-year-old would act or react to things.”

The Denver native has been dancing since she was 7. She received her training at the Academy of Colorado Ballet and did her apprenticeship with the academy during her senior year of high school.

She took a couple of years off from ballet, and last year she joined the David Taylor Dance Theatre in Denver, dancing the role of Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy.

“I was excited to get it,” she said of her upcoming role with the Burbank company. “I wasn’t expecting I would, but hoping at least to get into this performance.”

Nastassja enjoys dancing both roles because each offers its own unique attributes, she said.

“The Sugar Plum Fairy is more technique and principal ability, but with Clara, there’s acting involved,” she said. “It’s a thrill and a joy to perform as the character and have the interaction with the other characters.”.

Middleton cast Aubrey Morgan, of Hollywood, as the Sugar Plum Fairy.

By Joyce Rudolph
Published: Last Updated Wednesday, November 19, 2008 2:17 PM PST

Alyssa Quiogue zeroed in on what she wanted, and her dream came true — to become concertmaster, or first violinist, of the Glendale Youth Orchestra.

The 12-year-old Burbank native will perform for the first time in the role on Dec. 2 when the orchestra opens its 20th anniversary season at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. The orchestra comprises students from grades six through 12.

While the John Muir Middle School seventh-grader doesn’t usually get nervous, she said she did become a little apprehensive before trying out for concertmaster.

“I kept telling myself a little saying I got from my English teacher, Mr. Senar,” she said. “He got it from a story to inspire him to do better at something. The saying is ‘Focus on what you want, not on what you fear.’”

Alyssa is assuming the role left vacant by Erica Richardson, said Brad Keimach, the orchestra’s conductor.

“Erica finished high school early and went on to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia,” Keimach said. “It’s one of the world’s great music conservatories.”

Alyssa won the seat by competitive audition on Nov. 4. All the violin players in the section competed, but Alyssa scored the highest.

“Alyssa was extra-motivated,” Keimach said. “I found out after the audition from her private teacher that she had worked diligently and tirelessly on the music for the audition.”

Alyssa has been taking violin for five years and joined the youth orchestra in fifth grade. She started in the first violin section and was the youngest player.

“And I still am the youngest,” Alyssa said. “And I was assistant concertmaster last year, sitting next to Erica Richardson.”

The program for the first concert of the season will be Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Coriolan Overture” and Symphony No. 8 in F, Richard Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll” and Aaron Copland’s Hoedown from the ballet “Rodeo.”

“I really like the Hoedown,” Alyssa said. “It’s like the first American contemporary piece we’ve done. We usually play classical.”

Alyssa has a brief solo in the Hoedown piece.

“It goes a little bit high on shifting of the fingering positions on the violin,” she said.

The whole program is an orchestral showcase of the different parts of the orchestra, Keimach said.

“The two Beethoven pieces show off the dramatic, expressive power of the orchestra, while the Wagner shows off the lyrical and passionate side,” he said. “The Hoedown gives the orchestra a chance to kick up its heels and dance.”

The musicians don’t dance, Keimach added, but they all stand while performing. That’s something rarely done by any orchestra, he said, but the sound is noticeably better.

“That’s the unique thing about this orchestra,” Keimach said. “It’s also exciting for the audience. No one can believe the amount and quality of sound coming from an orchestra of that size, but the sound is vibrant, rich, full and strong.”

Standing up while playing took some getting used to, said principal clarinet player Michelle Kim, 17, of Burbank.

“At the first concert, I felt weird,” she said. “I thought it was silly. But I got used to it and my sound got louder, so I think it’s a good point to stand up.”

The Glendale Adventist Academy 11th-grader has been with the youth orchestra for three years.

Her favorite piece for the upcoming concert is the Beethoven Coriolan Overture, she said.

“Because it’s Beethoven, and Beethoven is my favorite composer, because his music has everything in it,” Michelle said. “I can’t explain it, but when I play it, I feel it.”