Reply to Has Anyone's Child Participated in Washington Ballet Nutcracker?

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Reply to "Has Anyone's Child Participated in Washington Ballet Nutcracker?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The whole thing is adorable and every kid has a blast!

The roles for the little kids are supposedly all comparable except for the party kids. Those are the most elite roles, but as a PP stated go to the political kids, who's-who kids, and donor kids. After that, I would say for the 1A-1B kids best roles are soldiers and mice bc have more stage time. The mice tend to be smaller kids. Next come the cherry blossoms bc there are fewer (only 4) per show, along with mushrooms and bees. Those are the itty bitties. Snow angels are probably the most kids bc there are 12 per show. I wish the snow angels danced more. 
Since it's the role with the most kids. [/quote]

The kids recognize the stronger dancers in some of the main roles, including Clara and some party girls.  Rightly or wrongly, the kids also make assumptions about the roles (particularly party girls) and cast decisions for the visibly wealthier families, the donors listed in the playbill (which kids understand) and one lovely girl whose last name unfortunately gives her away as extraordinarily wealthy.  There certainly does seem to be a much closer connection between wealth and donations than with talent and attention span, at least for some roles/casts.  The kids recognize it, talk about it, and there's very little respect for the kids who are thought to have gotten their parts not based on merit (not that there is so much of a merit difference in 8-12 year old ballet).  I don't think this preferential casting helps the kids who are selected in the long run.  Instead, it seems to undermine their accomplishments.  n the scheme of things, though, the nutcracker is a terrific experience, and a few bumps are to be expected with anything.  [/quote]

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