On Sunday, October 5, the FWCD ballet department performed at the second annual Fort Worth Dance Festival. Held at I.M. Terrell’s Performing Arts Center and hosting over 300 dancers, the three-day festival aims to “preserve and promote dance in the city of Fort Worth,” according to its website.
On Saturday, October 4, dancers involved in the festival had the opportunity to take classes such as “Broadway Jazz” and “High Kick Technique” from local dance professionals and teachers.
On Sunday, Bruce Wood Dance–a professional company based in Dallas–awarded certain dancers with “Excellence Awards,” which granted one high schooler, one college student, and two dance educators $1000 each. Dancers were selected after a lengthy application process, and educators were chosen via nomination. Carrie Cheng, Director of Ballet at FWCD, won the 2024 High School Educator Excellence Award.
Four dancers from various studios were also awarded acceptances, and in some cases, scholarships, to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City (AMDA) and Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago.
Bruce Wood opened the Sunday showcase with a modern, contemporary dance, and the I.M. Terrell Dance Troupe followed with a contemporary ballet dance. FWCD dancers performed seventh with an original piece by FWCD ballet instructor Natalie Bracken ’05, which was structured as a battle between ballet and jazz dance styles.
“I am so proud of [the dancers] for stepping out of their comfort zones to perform our piece at the Fort Worth Dance Festival,” Bracken said. “They represented our school and our program well.”
11 dancers from FWCD–GiGi Helling ’26, Sophia Jiang ’26, Henry Murphey ’26, Bella Rugema ’27, Olivia Anderson ’28, Morgan Jones ’28, Clara Cimo ’28, Stella Weiskittel, Julia Pham ’28, Catherine Zhang ’28, and Ivy Sullivan ’29–began learning the dance during the second week of the academic year and were excited to perform on Sunday, October 5. Unfortunately, they will not have another opportunity to perform this dance this semester. The next performance by the FWCD dance department will be on Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13 with their biannual rendition of “The Nutcracker.”
“Class at the end of every day gives me a moment of respite and fun during senior year,” Luci Gonzales ’26 said.
A fan favorite, the Nutcracker’s story follows a young girl’s journey through a dream world in which sweets from various countries perform dances in hopes of convincing the girl, Clara, to stay in their magical world. All the while, Clara is protected by a human-sized Nutcracker, representing a gift that her elusive godfather Herr Drosselmeyer gave her for Christmas the night before.
“It is very exciting to see all of the pieces beginning to come together and watch how much fun the dancers are having as they rehearse,” Bracken said. “They are so supportive of each other, and it has created a wonderful atmosphere in the ballet studio.”
Adam Boreland–read more about his story here–will guest star in this production as the Cavalier, who dances with the Sugar Plum (Jiang), and one-half of the Snow Queen pas-de-deux (with Helling and Rugema).
“I am really enjoying the challenge of doing Sugar Plum, as it is a role I have dreamed of dancing for so long,” Jiang said. “Sugar Plum is such a technically demanding role, but I am enjoying challenging myself.
The FWCD dancers have been training diligently in classes and rehearsals, both of which will increase in length and difficulty as the winter performance approaches. All members of the DFW community, but especially FWCD students, faculty, and parents, are invited to attend “The Nutcracker” on Friday, December 12 at 7:00 p.m. or Saturday, December 13 at 2:00 p.m. in the Scott Theater at FWCD. Helling and Rugema will perform the Snow Queen pas-de-deux on different nights, and Sullivan and Pham will play Dewdrop on Friday or Saturday, respectively. Tickets will be sold during December, at no cost.
