Local dancers grace the stage in 'The Nutcracker'
By Krista Allen
Special to the Times
PAGE, Ariz., Dec. 8, 2011
(Special to the Times - Krista Allen)
Left, Bronté Curley, 18, from Kaibeto, Ariz., and Burgundy Begaye, 13, from Page, Ariz., performed last weekend in The Dancespace's "The Nutcracker" at the Cultural Arts Building on the Page High School campus.
Bronte Curley and Burgundy Begaye performed in the production.
Curley and Begaye are part of The Dancespace's pre-professional dance company called "In Spiritus." Both are planning to study performing arts at a university.
"We had a lot of technical difficulties," said Jan Kocjan, an instructor for The Dancespace. "We were thinking of cancelling."
Because of the snowstorm that hit the night before, water leaked through the roof causing a dilemma on the theater's stage.
Kocjan said there was so much water on the platform that it was a hazard for the dancers.
Nevertheless, outside the auditorium the audience was waiting to be seated.
"By the time we were able to start, things settled down a little bit," Kocjan said. "There were a lot of tense moments at the beginning.
"But we all decided the show must go on," she added.
At 7:25 p.m. the lights dimmed in the 801-seat auditorium.
"In the party scene, Clara has a Christmas party and all her friends come over and they celebrate Christmas," Curley said. "Then it goes into the midnight scene (second scene) where she's dreaming.
"Then the prince takes her through the world of candy and sweets," she added. "Clara wakes up at the last scene and she finds out that it was all a dream."
Curley says it takes confidence to act.
The audience got a taste of Russian verve when she took the stage as the Snow Queen in the 18th annual Nutcracker performance, one of her many feature roles since joining company 13 years ago.
"It's a hard role for me because everything is on point," she said. "There's a lot of turning, balance I have to control, and jumping."
But on Saturday night, Curley showed what she could do.
Influenced by her father, the late Sgt. Darrell Cervandez Curley, she said she dreams of dancing with Brigham Young University's "Living Legends," a performing group that celebrates American Indian, Latin American, and Polynesian dances.
"Dancing was our dream," she said. "I mean, of course, my dad wouldn't dance, but he wanted me to go to college and to dance for 'Living Legends.'
"He's always encouraged me to dance even if I didn't want to or when I wasn't up for dancing," she added. "Lots of times I thought, 'I don't want to do this anymore, I feel like quitting.'"
Curley dances three times a week at Coconino Community College where she attends school for general studies.
Likewise, Begaye is a rising star. She portrayed a party guest in the first scene, a snowflake in the third scene and a flower and a Chinese doll in the last scene.
"Burgundy's really, really coming," Kocjan said. "She's a beautiful dancer Ð lots and lots of potential. I can see her doing starring roles in the next couple of years."
Begaye has danced since she was 6 years old when her mother placed her in a dancing program.
"I like dancing because it's fun," the shy 13-year-old said. "I feel happy that I'm performing for a lot of people."
In Spiritus will be performing Dec. 16 and 17 at 7 p.m. in the Cultural Arts Building on the Page High School campus. They will be presenting their traditional Christmas concert featuring contemporary and sacred dances.