Every year, when the holiday season rolls around, ballet companies throughout the Puget Sound area put on a production of “The Nutcracker.”
Emerald Ballet Theatre (EBT) in Bellevue is no different.
“It’s a holiday tradition,” said artistic director Viktoria Titova. “It’s a community event that we love to give to our audience.”
The EBT production, now in its eighth year, will feature about 160 dancers, with students ranging from 5-18 years old. In addition, there will be a few adult guest dancers, as well.
Of the 160 or so dancers, there will be 14 student dancers from Redmond in the company’s production of the classic Tchaikovsky ballet, including 12-year-old Masha Gringauze, who is playing “Little Clara.”
The remaining Redmond dancers are Bella Delgado, Yulia Garaeva, Taylor Ka, Kaelyn Lefferts, Oliver Lefferts, Emily O’Brien, Rachel Seres, Brooklyn Villanueva, Claire Bicak, Natalie Esteb, Lilly Jones, Isabela Lydston and Melody Hanley.
Masha, who has been dancing for about six years, first started ballet while she was a rhythmic gymnast — as a way to improve her dancing skills. But then she injured her back and had to take a break from gymnastics. Masha was able to continue with ballet and she has stuck with it ever since, leaving behind her days as a gymnast.
The seventh-grader from Redmond Middle School said she chose to stick with dancing because, as cheesy as it sounds, ballet helps her express herself and it is always a challenge.
“It takes a lot of hard work,” she said.
And hard work has been just what Masha has put into ballet and the role of Little Clara. A foot injury left her on the sidelines for much of the past year, but she healed just in time for when the EBT directors began thinking about who would play the lead roles in this year’s production.
“I was really excited,” Masha said about learning that she’d been chosen to play young Clara. “At first, I couldn’t believe it.”
She admitted that she “freaked out” when the news finally sunk in and that there was quite a bit of jumping up and down in excitement.
Anna Gringauze, Masha’s mother, was also excited for her daughter.
“It made her very happy,” said Gringauze, who has never done ballet, but used to ballroom dance. “I’m really glad she got (the role).”
Masha has danced in “The Nutcracker” a few times before, playing either a snowflake or a mouse, but this is her first major role in the production.
Titova said their studio is one of the few on the Eastside whose production will feature a live orchestra. The Rainier Symphony Ballet Orchestra, conducted by David Waltman, will be accompanying the dancers.
Masha will be performing in as Little Clara for this weekend’s shows and another dancer will be taking on the role next week.
Madeleine Griffith will be playing “Big Clara” this weekend, the older version of Masha’s character. She had performed as Little Clara in the past and Masha said she would like to follow in the older dancer’s footsteps and play the older role later.
“I would definitely want to try that,” she said. “Everyone wants to be Big Clara or a Sugar Plum Fairy when they get older.”
EBT’s production of “The Nutcracker” will be showing Saturday and Sunday as well as Dec. 13-14. All performances will be at 2 p.m. at the Northshore Performing Arts Center at 23634 Bothell Everett Hwy., Suite B, in Bothell. Tickets are $35 for adults, $31.50 for seniors and $20 for youths.
