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The Nutcracker: A Holiday Tradition

21st annual performance of the ballet to take place on Thanksgiving weekend

By Molly Priddy

When the Northwest Ballet Company’s sole principal dancer Megan Bridwell chats before her rehearsal on a Wednesday night, she is never still, always shifting her weight from pointed toe to pointed toe, stretching her legs, or bouncing on her feet.

She’s warming up and in constant, flowing motion, getting ready to rehearse her role as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the ballet company’s upcoming production of the holiday classic, “The Nutcracker,” taking place Nov. 28-30.

It’s Bridwell’s ninth and final year in the company’s show, a bittersweet event for the Glacier High School senior who has been dancing for the last 15 years.

“It’s just a tradition,” Bridwell, 17, said of the Nutcracker. “It’s just something you grow to love.”

This year is the company’s 21st annual production of the ballet, which has become an entertainment staple in the Flathead Valley over the decades; the Nutcracker is a popular and festive way to transition to the Christmas season in the weekend after Thanksgiving.

For Bridwell, who has danced at least 10 different roles in her tenure with Northwest Ballet starting as a mouse at age 8, this year’s Nutcracker marks a pinnacle of achievement.

“(Dancing the Sugar Plum role) represents everything I’ve worked up to,” she said. “It’s an honor and a privilege.”

To prepare for the production, Bridwell has three classes a week along with three rehearsals, meaning she spends six nights a week dancing. Add to her schedule her involvement with the GHS student council, the Glacier Echoes choir, and performing well enough in her classes to belong to the National Honors Society, Bridwell is a picture of dedication and hard work.

That’s a big reason she makes a great principal dancer, company director Marisa Roth said. Not only is a principal the most-experienced dancer in the group, but she’s also expected to be a role model and a leader for the younger students.

“She’s very loving and accepting and encouraging with the other girls,” Roth said. “She’s a great principal for all the other kids to look up to.”

It’s been fun for Roth to watch Bridwell develop and grow her talent as a dancer, and inspiring to see her overcome obstacles as well.

“I’m really proud of her,” Roth said. “She’s just really come into her own.”

For her part, Bridwell said being a role model for the younger girls is an important job she takes seriously. To her, it means having respect for dance and other people, and being inclusive of all.

“It’s definitely something I think about,” she said. “I know those girls are looking to me and I don’t take it lightly.”

With two decades of performing the Nutcracker for the valley, Roth said it has become a holiday tradition for many, but she still tries to keep it fresh for the audience with slight changes.

Regardless of how many years it’s been on stage, it’s going to be a different production each year, because the students are learning and growing, and each one takes on a new role.

“It’s always new, always,” Roth said.

There was just a week of rehearsals left when the Beacon spoke with Roth, and she said her students were ready to put on quite a show for the valley.

“We’re excited,” she said.

As she continued to warm up, Bridwell said she isn’t quite sure what the future holds for her, but dance will be part of it in some capacity.

“I’ve worked at it way too hard to stop,” she said.

And though she’ll soon be leaving Northwest Ballet, Bridwell said her time there has been important, and she hopes she’s made an impression on the younger students.

“We’re a family here,” she said. “All the little mice matter.”

The Nutcracker will take place on Nov. 28 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Nov. 30 at 4 p.m. at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts. The Sugar Plum Fairy Parade will follow the 2 p.m. matinees on Friday and Saturday. For more information, call the Dance Art Center at 755-0760.