November is a time when most young ladies are thinking about what fun they’ll have during the upcoming Holiday Season. But Sydney and Ariel Finks, the daughters of Shana and Adrian Finks, know exactly where they will be this Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since the first of September, their schedules have been filled with dance classes and rehearsals for Gwinnett Ballet Theatre’s exciting production of The Nutcracker. Their Holidays will be spent dancing!

Gwinnett Ballet Theatre (GBT) has produced this popular event since 1986. GBT’s The Nutcracker has been performed at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center in Gwinnett Center since the theatre opened in 1992. And for the third year in a row, there will be a live, professional orchestra to accompany the dancers for most performances. This massive production includes 85 young students, 20 company members, three professional male dancers, a professional magician, and approximately 15 adult performers, mostly parents, in “character” roles. Over 120 costumes, plus lavish sets, are a part of this magical event.

This year is especially exciting for Ariel Finks. Her dream of performing as one of the “Party Girls” in the first act has come true. Ariel, 10, will be one of four young ladies in her cast who play the parts of friends of the young heroine, Clara. Ariel will enjoy a very substantial role of dancing and acting, plus she wears a beautiful costume! But that’s just in Act One. In Act Two, Ariel will perform as a “Chinese Ribbon Girl.” Ariel says, “I love being in the Nutcracker because I get to learn different roles and the costumes are really fun!” Ariel should know all about roles and costumes. She has been in The Nutcracker since she was four years old, starting as a Baby Mouse and Arabian Princess, then a Polichinelle and Soldier. Ariel is very motivated. She is currently the youngest apprentice in GBT’s pre-professional company.

Sister Sydney, age seven, will return this year as a Polichinelle. This very entertaining dance in Act Two has “Mother Ginger” in a huge costume coming onstage with a dozen young gymnast/dancers under her enormous skirt. It is a very fun role to perform. Sydney loves being in The  Nutcracker every year because, in her own words, “It’s fun! I love when we’re on stage and the audience claps for us!” She also likes to “become” her character. This is Sydney’s 5^th year in Nutcracker. She also started out as a Baby Mouse and Arabian Princess at the tender age of three. In subsequent years she was a Page and an Angel.

Don’t count out Mom and Dad! Shana will appear this year as a Party Mother. Adrian was a Party Father in 2006. And watch out for ballerina number three, little sister Alexis who is now just two and a half years old. She should be making her first appearance in 2010! After all, The Nutcracker is a Finks Family Tradition. “Each year brings new challenges to balance schoolwork and dance, but it’s worth it,” says Shana.

Gwinnett Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker will be performed December 6^th through the 21^st for eleven public performances. Eight of these shows are accompanied by the live, professional Gwinnett Ballet Theatre Orchestra conducted by Predrag Gosta. Outreach and school shows are also available as well as great group rates. For more information about The Nutcracker, visit www.gwinnettballet.org or call 770-978-0188.

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