Megan Biggs is a physical dichotomy as she moves her way across the practice floor, masking considerable strength and exertion with hard-earned elegance as each limb fights gravity to stay aloft, held just so.
Her black leotard and tutu blend in with the surroundings, highlighting her hardworking pink toe shoes. In a flurry a movement, she’s halfway across the room, twirling and tilting until the choreography provides a brief pause.
And in this split-second of stillness, a smile dances across her face.
Biggs hit the move perfectly, and her instructor Marisa Roth tells her so with a quick cheer. But almost immediately, Biggs is off again.
Playing the Sugar Plum Fairy takes as much charm as it does physical repetition, and both require plenty of concentration.
Biggs will join the rest of the Northwest Ballet Company and students from the Northwest Ballet School in Kalispell for the annual production of the “Nutcracker.” A holiday favorite, this year marks the 17th year it has been performed in the Flathead.
There will be five shows on Thanksgiving weekend at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts: Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Nov. 28 at 4 p.m.
Each year, a new crop of principals take the stage for the production’s most iconic roles, including the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Snow Queen. This year, Mackenzie Heaton takes up the role of the Dew Drop and Olivia Ogle will play Clara.
Holding the coveted role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Biggs is the sole senior in the production. The 17-year-old attends Stillwater Christian Academy, where she is active in multiple vocal ensembles as a soprano and plays the piano.
Dancing, however, is a step above everything else right now.
“I kind of get lost in it,” Biggs said.
A dancer since she was 3 years old, this is Biggs’ ninth iteration of the Nutcracker. She began her young career in the holiday classic as a mouse, and admits she was a little oblivious to the awe surrounding the Sugar Plum Fairy role when she first started.
Now, however, the role stands as not only one of the most recognizable characters in ballet, but also as a sign of Biggs’ dedication to dance.
“It’s just the pinnacle of everything I’ve worked hard to do,” she said, “which is good.”
Biggs, like others in the dance company, will be pulling double duty with another role. She also plays Clara’s mother, an important character who keeps the party scene together, Roth reminded her.
For Roth, last weekend was when everything came together for the first time – the costumes, all of the 55-person cast and the venue. It’s an exciting time, she said, but nothing compares to the buzz backstage on the night of an actual performance.
Audiences help make the show a success, Roth notes, simply by being enthusiastic for the performers on stage.
“If they think something is funny, hopefully they laugh, and if they’re blown away, hopefully they clap,” Roth said.
Seventeen-year-old Keiko Sagami agreed that a responsive audience helps feed her adrenaline. As one of the principal roles – the Snow Queen – Sagami said this year’s Nutcracker has been a bit more challenging.
“I’ve never had more pressure on me, but I’m totally up for it,” Sagami said with a smile.
Dance has been part of the Bigfork High School junior’s life for 14 years; this is her seventh Nutcracker since starting ballet in fifth grade. She’s active in cheerleading and gymnastics, but dancing is special, she said.
“I just love doing it. Just being able to express yourself through movement,” Sagami said. “I don’t even know anymore. Dance is my life.”
One of the best experiences for her onstage is hearing the little girls in the audience “ooh and ahh” as the older girls perform their title roles.
“I love audiences that are really into it,” Sagami said.
As she’s talking, the music rises in the Dance Arts Center rehearsal studio and her attention is pulled to Biggs as the Sugar Plum Fairy’s choreography coincides with the crescendo. Echoes of Sagami’s own childhood adoration come through as she watches the company’s only senior practice.
“She’s so beautiful,” Sagami said..
Tickets for the Nutcracker are available Tuesday through Saturday until show days at The Bookshelf in Kalispell, 756-2665. On show days, tickets will be available at the theater box office one hour before the performances start. Ticket prices are $20 Adults, $17 Seniors 65 and over, and $15 Children 12 and under.