Guttenberg ballerina to perform in The Nutcracker
Chianne Behrend, daughter of Mike and Bert Behrend of Garnavillo, is performing in The Nutcracker this Christmas at the Grand Opera House in Dubuque. (Photo submitted)
By Molly Moser
“Professionals are good, not because they don’t make mistakes, but because they don’t make the same mistake twice.” Chianne Behrend remembers these words, once stated by her dance instructor. Behrend, a sophomore at Clayton Ridge High School, has been practicing ballet in Dubuque at The Grand Opera House for over a decade. This Christmas will mark her sixth performance in The Nutcracker, put on every year at the Grand Opera House.
Behrend has danced various parts in The Nutcracker, which include toy soldier, mouse, party girl, snowflake, and this year, principle snowflake and marzipan court. She has performed in other productions as well, including Sleeping Beauty, Bellissimo, Swan Lake and The Fairest of Them All.
“Ballet is a classical form of dance that demands perfection,” Behrend explained. “Ballet requires you to defy physics, but yet, do it effortlessly… When ballet dancers do a leap or a large jump in the air, the goal is to stay in the air as long as you can. When we do a stationary turn the goal is to do as many turns in a row as we can without coming down and finishing the turn. The teachers always want us to go against gravity and use different tricks to make it look like we are flying.”
The pressure to be perfect, she says, is the most challenging part of this form of dance, and leads to a high level of competition between dancers. Her classes are 90 minutes in length, focusing on technique and brain-to-body communication. “Our teacher likes to challenge us with hard combinations and steps with very fast music to dance to. There is so much to think about at once and it is very hard to concentrate on everything,” said Behrend. “I always look forward to class because my teacher is very helpful with correcting my mistakes.”
Rehearsals for The Nutcracker vary from 45 minutes to as long as five hours. “The rehearsals are my favorite even though they cause me the most stress. The choreographer is strict and demanding,” Behrend told The Press. I love everything about ballet, including the brutal rehearsals and pain that comes after.”
Part of that pain comes from dancing en pointe, when ballerinas wear special shoes to allow them to dance on the tips of their toes. This technique enhances the sense of lightness Behrend describes as a goal of ballet.
“Ballerinas are typically taught to dance in pointe shoes when they are young so their feet have the special form we want. There is a lot of padding required,” she explained. “There are special gel-like coverings that go over our toes; there is lamb’s wool which is very fluffy and gives us protection.” If a dancer has oddly-shaped feet, making it difficult to dance en pointe, rubbery spacers are held between the toes. “To avoid getting blisters, some girls use medical tape to wrap around their toes. Once you get used to it, it doesn’t hurt as much anymore unless you get a bad blister or ingrown toenail.”
Excitement for the final production motivates Behrend through rehearsals. I enjoy the dance and the experience. I enjoy dancing and performing with my friends. I just look to the future and think about how great the performances will be,” she said.
Behrend’s opening night for this year’s performance of The Nutcracker was Saturday, Dec. 10, and performances continue through Sunday, Dec. 18. A show schedule and tickets to see the Clayton Ridge sophomore are available online at www. thegrandoperahouse.com
“The best part of dancing is that you get to express yourself freely without being judged,” Behrend reflected. She plans to continue her dancing career with a performance of Cinderella this spring and a minor in college. “I love dance too much to let it go after all of the years I have put into it.”
