By ELIZABETH ROBERTS-ZIBBEL
BG Independent News
This weekend, “The Nutcracker Ballet… All Jazzed Up” by Julie’s Dance Studio will be performed for the tenth time in a brand new location. And full disclosure: like my other articles for BG Independent News, this one is personal. My seven year old daughter Isobel has been with Julie’s for years, and this will be her third time participating in The Nutcracker, in roles varying from Coronation Princess to Playful Mouse. In June as I scanned through the most highly anticipated email of the year – Nutcracker audition results ! – looking for her assignments, I was surprised to see the following note from studio owner and director Julie Setzer above the list of Snow Angels: “As some of you may know, it has been a dream of mine to ‘someday’ include children who are wheelchair dependent into this piece. I have been chatting with a mother who dreams of seeing her daughter have the opportunity to dance. So…this is the year and I couldn’t be more excited!!”
I would soon learn the details. With our change in venue to BG Schools’ Performing Arts Center, the timing could not have been better for Yulinda Cousino to contact Julie about her dreams of seeing her daughter, Brianna Burkett, dance on stage. Brianna has a disease called Canavan Leukodystrophy, with a usual life expectancy of three to ten years. “Brianna is one of a very small handful that has surpassed that,” Yulinda told me in a recent email. “She is my miracle.”
Brianna Burkett lines up for the finale (photo courtesy of Yulinda Cousino)
Within weeks, Skylar Baker, Tessa Browning, Ireland Clark, Jenna Gallant, and Rylee Hannah joined Brianna in becoming “Cherubs” in one of the Nutcracker’s most beatific and serene scenes: with the gliding Angels and Gabriels in the Land of Snow. Dim lighting and candles illuminate the stage in a peaceful glow, and the choreography is slow and steady. The costuming is shiny white and gold, with the addition this year of chair-accommodating capes made by Jen Myers, mother of two veteran Nutcracker dancers (we call ourselves “Nutty Moms”) as well as Parent Mentor for Wood County Educational Service Center.
The first day the women, ages 18-22, arrived with their caregivers, Nutty Moms Tarla Marovich and Mandy Hemming eased the way. Tarla, who works at Wood Lane Residential, read a book aloud to the children in the Snow Angel cast about accepting and embracing others’ differences. Mandy, a Special Education teacher, chatted with the arriving mothers and daughters to make them feel welcome and comfortable.
“I’m leaning on Tarla and Mandy for my cues and guidance,” Julie told me in October. “I feel so excited and blessed that they are part of it!” She also expressed fear that she would say or do something wrong, or inadvertently make the wheeled dancers feel exposed, or displayed. However, with the assistance of our Company experts Tarla, Mandy, and Jen, the inclusion of Brianna, Skylar, Tessa, Ireland, Jenna and Rylee proceeded as smoothly as the dance itself.
Snow Angels during tech rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center
I asked Yulinda what made her decide to contact Julie about her wish to see Brianna dance. She explained to me that she had come across the Julie’s Dance Studio Facebook page. “It made me think of Brianna and how I often wished there was a way she too could dance. So I contacted Julie and asked if she had ever thought about doing a dance routine that would include those in wheelchairs, as my daughter was in one and it would be a dream come true to see her be able to participate in one. She wrote me back with such excitement as this too was a dream of hers, to include people like my daughter.”
Yulinda continued, “There are so few things in our area that allow inclusion. We cannot express enough gratitude to Julie for doing this. And though Brianna cannot talk with words, she does talk with her eyes… and she has been enjoying this very much. The cast members and parents have accepted all of the girls as not only members of the production but as friends.”
Ireland Clark surrounded by new friends (photo by Sara Whitman)
Other changes this year include adding an additional show (Friday night), more elaborate staging, and lights by Drake Doren. Additionally there will be four very special guests stepping into the high heels of Mother Ginger, traditionally a male role in the Nutcracker Ballet. Sentinel photographer JD Pooley, BG Superintendent Francis Scruci, meteorologist Ryan Wichman, and Otsego Principal Kevin O’Shea will all have their chance to shine while donning Momma’s voluminous skirt.
“This entire Nutcracker season has been the most amazing experience… I am simply bursting with pride and excited to show the Bowling Green community this talented group of dancers. A special shout out to the amazingly talented Drake Doren. You are going to be blown away by what he has created in lighting and special effects!” Julie concluded, “I feel so incredibly blessed to have our new Company dancers and their parents as part of this experience.”
Show times are Friday at 7 pm; Saturday at 2 pm and 7 pm; and Sunday at 2 pm, all at the Performing Arts Center at 540 W. Poe Road. Tickets are available at www.nutrcrackerjazzedup.com or at the door.
