Countless hours in the studio, experimenting with choreography, new dances and new roles, made the Nutcracker a difficult but rewarding performance. This year’s 40th anniversary Nutcracker was the largest and most innovative in Campbell Hall history.
Lee Wilhoite, the director of the show, has been planning this year’s 40th anniversary Nutcracker since August. She opened auditions for the show in early September and has been working with the dancers weekly since then. She’s spent extensive hours choreographing and blocking each dance to perfection. Despite all the work this production requires, she finds the process extremely rewarding. After long days teaching curricular classes and even longer nights of rehearsals, she often felt discouraged, however, her love for the Nutcracker and her dancers gave her the energy to continue.
“When dancers come in so ready to go, excited to learn what’s coming next, that’s so fun for me,” Wilhoite said. “They really give me so much energy and inspiration. Also, being part of this for so long has allowed me to watch the dancers grow into who they are. Especially seeing the 13-year students progress through all the different roles feels so rewarding.”
One of this year’s leads, Luna Jacobelis ‘26, has enjoyed her role as the Snow Queen more than any other role she has performed previously. Jacobelis has been participating in the show since fourth grade and has been one of the dancers in the ensemble for the snow scene three times. This year, she performed as the Snow Queen, the most physically demanding role she’s ever prepared for, but one that only motivates her further. The pressure of being a lead and a senior makes Jacobellies nervous for her role, however, her past makes her determined to succeed: in eighth grade, after only getting an ensemble dancer, she felt extremely discouraged and considered quitting dance altogether.
Yet, after performing in The Nutcracker that year, she understood that the show was her favorite part of dance, not because of her role, but because of the whole experience and the community it facilitated. This year, being able to perform as the Snow Queen felt full circle for her as she grew an even deeper love for the show.
“The Nutcracker is honestly the reason I still dance,” Jacobellis said. “I’ve made so many connections through it. I’ve danced at Campbell Hall every single year since kindergarten and being able to dance with my best friends from kindergarten to 12th grade is something that’s really special. It’s my favorite part of being a dancer.”
Another lead in this production was Silas Rowland ‘27, who was honored to play the Nutcracker. Taking on this role for the show was especially unique for Rowland because, in all previous years, the Nutcracker didn’t get to dance. This year the Nutcracker became a true dancing role involving new choreography. Rowland spent many afternoons and evenings in the studio practicing and creating his own dances. He felt rewarded with his performance because he was able to bring such a significant part of most professional ballets to Campbell Hall.
“I’m proud to be the first dancing nutcracker because I truly love dance and it’s one of my passions,” Rowland said. “You would think after doing the Nutcrackers for so many years that you’d get bored with it, but I love it more every year because you get to experience new roles and watch the ones you’ve done in the past get filled by the younger dancers.
