Article December 13, 1999 Issue

Dancers, dances, and dreams

A conversation with Marcia Chapman of Ballet Arts in Minnesota

By Kim Shippey

Christmas Would Not be Christmas in the twin cities of Minneapolis–St. Paul without the Ballet Arts Minnesota production of The City children's Nutcracker. Again this year codirectors Marcia Chapman and Bonnie Mathis have conjured up ninety minutes of sparkling entertainment—as they have done almost every Christmas since they founded the company in Minneapolis ten years ago.

Ballet Arts students of all ages—including about a hundred children who receive free dance classes twice a week through a special Ballet Arts and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board project—are joined in the Nutcracker by professional dancers from other cities, who dance the leads and serve as role models.

But there is much more to this annual venture than sugarplum fairies, rats on rollerblades, and Tchaikovsky's toe-tapping music. It's about joyful participation, self-discovery, self-confidence, and leaving limitation at the stage door, as we learned in conversation with Mrs. Chapman between rehearsals.

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