Via Community News Service, a Mount Saint Joseph Academy internship, for Rutland Herald
RUTLAND – For the first time, Miss Lorraine’s Studio of Dance is collaborating with Miss Jackie’s Studio of Dance for its biannual performance of “The Nutcracker.”
The classic ballet opens Friday at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland, followed by two performances Saturday.
“The Nutcracker” is about a young girl, Clara, whose Christmas gift comes to life and takes her on a magical journey.
The performance is led by directors Heather Brouillard of Miss Lorraine’s and Jennifer Garrow of Miss Jackie’s.
For Brouillard, putting on the show is a family tradition.
“I have been involved in ‘The Nutcracker’ since I was approximately 2 months old,” Brouillard said.
Brouillard’s grandmother, Lorraine Gilbert, started the show at Miss Lorraine’s in 1981. After the business was passed down to her in 2014, she made it her mission to continue the beloved holiday classic. Her dance studio has performed the show every other year since 2017.
Brouillard started helping teach dance lessons when she was 16 and started solo teaching at the age of 20. She said that as the director, her job includes everything from choreographing teachers, overseeing props, backstage, costumes and more.
Together, Brouillard and Garrow bring decades of dance experience to the stage. Garrow has been a dance teacher for 48 years.
“One of my favorite parts of teaching dance is seeing students grow in confidence and self-esteem,” Garrow said.
This year marks the first collaboration with students from both studios. Brouillard and Garrow said they’ve been loving every moment of the collaboration between both dance schools, and that they find the results of the shows extremely rewarding.
One student performing in “The Nutcracker” is 16-year-old Keira McKeen, who has been dancing with Miss Lorraine’s since the age of 4.
McKeen is performing in several of the dances, including “Waltz of the Flowers,” “Snowflakes,” “Arabian,” “Marzipan” and “Candy Cane.”
McKeen enjoys dancing with the variety of ages in the show. She especially loves her role in “Arabian” because she is able to dance with a younger girl playing the same role.
“Every year it is super magical,” McKeen said.