RMDT Nutcracker Parent & Participant Information

2024 RMDT NUTCRACKER PARENT / PARTICIPANT INFORMATION

Congratulations and thank you for your participation in Rocky Mountain Dance Theatre's The Nutcracker Ballet. This is a professional production which requires extra practices and rehearsals outside of RMSA dance classes. Please understand, participants in the Nutcracker are not attending a dance class but a rehearsal or practice where the cast will learn steps, formations, and staging in order to perform their roles they were casted into. Auditonees who previously took dance classes at RMSA and choose NOT to take ballet classes in the fall, may be needed to be recast into different roles as continued fall class work and training is needed for specific roles & choreography. If you want to enroll in upcoming summer or school year classes see here. We appreciate the time and dedication participants & parents put into our yearly Nutcracker Ballet. It is all worth it, as this ballet has become a magical, cherished Christmas tradition here in Cody for so many.

On this page you'll find all the general information about Participating in the Nutcracker FOR Nutcracker Participants/Families. Most buttons on this page, including the calendars, are not updated till we get closer to rehearsals starting.

SCHEDULE

2024 performance dates are Friday, Dec 13 (school performances); Saturday, Dec 14 at 7:00 and Sunday, Dec 15 at 2:00. Nutcracker rehearsal schedules will be all posted on the "Younger" and "Older" Nutcracker calendars.  If you do not know if you should look at the "Younger Calendar" or the "Older Calendar", you should look at the Younger Calendar, as dancers and their parents know when they are "older dancers". Please understand due to many moving parts in a production like this and unforeseen circumstances rehearsals/schedules can change. Please check them regularly especially once November begins.

To stay up to date and for easy access to ALL Nutcracker Information, schedules, and updates everyone should download our FREE Studio App. This is for both iphones AND android. Make sure to allow our studio app to send your smart phone push notifications and alerts. After downloading, to receive any push notifications & alerts, you'll need to opt into "groups" by clicking the "Groups" icon on the bottom banner on the app home page. Stay opted into "General RMSA Information" AND "General RMDT Information" AND select or opt into "RMDT Nutcracker Participants" GROUPS. To download AND to learn more about our studio app click here.

Please be aware: ALL schedules, schedule changes, and needed information will be sent through the App.  If you do not download the app, you will be lost most of the season.  If you choose not to download the app, we will not be able to keep you updated of new information.

Since enrolling/registering online for "2024 RMDT Nutcracker" in our portal, everyone received an email about your "parent portal" account. This is the best way to keep track of payments, personal information, see emails we send out, and enroll into RMSA classes. PLEASE link or sync your parent portal to your studio app by clicking "My Account" in your app and signing in as you would your parent portal online.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Participants in the Nutcracker are not attending a dance class but rehearsals where the cast learns their parts, steps, formations, etc. for their roles they were cast into. The success of the Nutcracker is dependent on each person knowing their roles and their interaction with the other dancers in their roles/scenes. Rehearsal attendance needs to be top priority. Dancers are allowed to miss a maximum of 3 rehearsals total for the season due to family emergencies and illnesses that may come up, BUT a dancer is not allowed to miss 3 rehearsals in a row. The following policy will be enforced:

A. Dancers who miss more than 3 rehearsals will be removed from their role(s).

B. Dancers who miss 2 rehearsals in a row will be removed from their role(s).

C. Dancers who miss rehearsals at the auditorium, without prior approval from RMDT, will be removed from their role(s).

D. Dancers who miss DRESS rehearsal will NOT be allowed to perform. This is non-negotiable.

Additional expectations:

1. Disruptive or bad behavior during or outside of rehearsals will not be tolerated.

2. Participants must be able to listen and learn choreography.

MANDATORY REHEARSAL ATTIRE

All participants must wear dance clothes to all rehearsals and adhere to the dress code below starting this fall.

Males: Solid BLACK sweatpants or male dance tights, PLAIN WHITE t-shirt, black jazz or ballet shoes*

Females: BLACK dance leotard, PINK tights, pink ballet shoes*, hair in bun (no bangs). Optional: BLACK dance skirt, BLACK garbage bag shorts, BLACK dance sweater.

Pointe dancers: must have booties and wear AT ALL TIMES when not dancing

*different roles may need different types of shoes; see costume list 

FEES

Fees for Nutcracker is $45 for your dancer’s first role and $25 for each additional role. For example: if your child has 2 roles, their fee is $70.  This fee covers rehearsals and costume rental**/cleaning (fee does NOT cover dance shoes, leotards, tights, etc.). Nutcracker has a flat fee, paid once, due on or before the first day of practice.  Nutcracker fees will be posted to your online account (Parent Portal) the week after casting; families are welcome to manually pay these fees in advance during the summer via your parent portal. If you do not pay them in advance, they will be automatically charged in-full to your payment source the end of August or beginning of September. 

If you cannot remember your email you registered with please contact Jen at [email protected]

**Any Nutcracker costumes not returned on the scheduled costume return day will result in a $35 per costume fine. If a costume is not returned at all, a charge equivalent to the purchase of a new costume will be applied. Costumes range from $65-$500 each.

SCENES AND ACTS

The Nutcracker ballet has two acts.  Within each act, there are several scenes.  On the app, below nutcracker website google calendars, and here you will find the list of roles and which act and scene each role takes part. Please make sure your child(ren) know all the roles they are in as this will be very helpful during rehearsals.

PERFORMANCES

School Performances: Traditionally RMDT has 2 abbreviated school performances back-to-back the Friday before Nutcracker Performances but since half day school days two performances have been hard to fill and recently we have only had one school performance. This is part of our outreach program where we invited local and area schools to bring their elementary kids to watch a live ballet at no charge to them. Nutcracker Performers will need to miss school this day to perform for their peers.

2024 School Performance: Friday, Dec 13 (see calendars for times)

Professional Performances: Traditionally RMDT has 2 full-length performance during Nutcracker weekend; Saturday night at 7:00 and Sunday afternoon at 2:00. Nutcracker Performers must perform and stay backstage during the entirety of both these performances.

2024 Professional Performances: Saturday, December 14 and Sunday, December 15