By: Anne Notebaert For a long time the Roanoke area has been blessed to have the Nutcracker performed by our youth, many of which are students at Roanoke Catholic Roanoke. Each dancer, either from RCS or not, have put in countless hours of work for this production. The production is led by Pedro Szalay, the Artistic Director, who has been with the company for 13 years.
Emma Cleveland, a Junior at RCS, when asked how many hours she put into this production, said that practices start mid-August: 5 hours on weekends, in October an addition of 5 hours, Also practicing 4 times a week for at least 2 to 4 hours. The girls don’t do any other sports or activities, because of the amount of time dance takes up. But when asked why they dance instead of doing other activities, Sophia said “ I adore music and having a way to express it. I can’t play an instrument so I use my body to express my love for music.” While interviewing the dancers I was captivated by the care that goes into the performers feet, before, during, and after the performance. The dancers are constantly on their feet and their toes, which can lead to foot pain, bleeding, and the loss of toenails. “It is unbelievable to me, they don’t complain. It’s a right of passage for them to bleed through a point shoe,” said Mother Missy Kay, when asked about her daughters foot pain, “Pedro is the only one who touches the feet.” Keeping the feet healthy and in good shape takes time and money. A dancer with a leading role may have to change her pointe shoes out every week in the weeks leading up to the show. These dance shoes are fitted special to the dance and cost on average $100 a pair. Another fascinating aspect to putting on such a large production, is the volunteers, other wise known as the parents. Starting very early in the morning fathers load up heavy set pieces, mothers spend countless hours driving the kids to the places they need to be for rehearsals, picking up meals and running their households from inside their cars and minivans. Mothers also help design, sew, make, and fix costumes. When we asked these behind the scene helpers about life outside of dance, mother Megan Potter said, “There is no life outside of the school. It’s all worth it thoughI love watching our kids grow up with friends that will be together forever.” It's easy to say that a production takes a long time but one thing that I know for sure is that the girls, and guys, really do enjoy what they do, “I dance because of the little moments, the look in the kids faces,” said Emma when I asked her why she dances. I was amazed at how much time, talent, energy, and money went into making a large production like the Nutcracker. What is for sure is that these kids love what they are doing and would change nothing about what they are doing. They love the company and the friendships they make through dance. By: Dillon Porter Inktober "Wilting Flowers" By: Maggie Meyers There are many talented Roanoke Catholic students, and one is Maggie Meyers. Maggie says, “When I was little, I always had a passion for art.” Maggie says that art always came easily for her. When she was younger, her parents sent her to Fizer Fine Arts School. She attended for about two years and worked with “a ton of mediums.” Maggie wants to attend a VCU arts program over the summer. She has participated in contests. She also won “How to make the world a better place” for two years in a row. She created the Peace poster for two years in a row as well. Her artwork has been featured on two yearbook covers and the registration posters put all over the school. The last piece she finished is currently hanging in the Roanoke Courthouse. It is a huge mural depicting an angel and the town of Roanoke. She worked alongside many other students who also attend RCS. Maggie faced a minor setback when she was diagnosed with epilepsy, but she used art as a coping mechanism. Pictured is an art piece that isn’t finished. She has been working on this for a month, simply in ink pen and watercolor paper. |