This year, two Latino youth dancers take the stage — and the lead roles — in Westchester Ballet Company’s holiday performance of The Nutcracker, a milestone in the company’s 75-year history: Favio Lalvay (Nutcracker) of Croton-on-Hudson and Elisa Schatz (Clara) of Ossining.
WBC is a nonprofit youth ballet company based in Ossining. Each season, the company hosts three to four different ballets, such as Peter and the Wolf in spring and The Nutcracker in fall, in front of as many as 10,000 people.
Auditions and rehearsals for this year’s Nutcracker started in September, with groups of dancers representing various ballet schools and groups organized by age, ranging from 6 to 18. WBC Board President Amy Harte shared that the dancers then demonstrated their techniques and with the company’s artistic directors, a team of four individuals. Once the dancers were assigned their roles, rehearsal took place over 12 weeks.
Favio, who has been with WBC for seven years, said the audition process was “nothing new” to him. “With years of experience, I learned that it is essential to prepare yourself both physically and mentally before auditioning.” Elisa felt similarly; after being with WBC consistently for eight years, she found the experience to be pleasant: “I knew I would enjoy performing any role I could get.”
When they heard they’d been chosen to play the lead roles, both Favio and Elisa were elated. Elisa, who noted that she couldn’t believe the opportunity she’d been given in performing as Clara, does not come from a family of dancers, but has been dancing since she was 2. Favio has been dancing since the age of 6: “When I started, I just kept on dancing and found love for this magnificent performing art,” he shared.
As the dancers rehearsed for the upcoming show, they were still attending their usual dance classes with their own groups, which could be 10 to 15 hours per week, in addition to going to school and doing other activities. “It’s a pretty intense period,” said Harte.
The role of the Nutcracker is historically performed by an adult guest artist, so this year’s casting decision is a big change for WBC. “I was excited to take on the challenge of performing such a significant role,” Favio said. “I knew a lot of work was ahead of me, despite that, I knew that I was ready.”
This year’s holiday performance will feature 83 young dancers coming from different parts of the region and representing different ballet schools. Harte is “especially proud of how hard this cast has worked, how cohesive they are as a group, and how supportive they are of each other. [They are] diverse in every sense of the word.”
Harte has been able to watch both Favio and Elisa grow into the dancers they are today since their start with WBC. In addition to being beautiful ballet dancers, she shared that they are amazing human beings: empathetic, caring and wonderful. “We dance for the higher purpose,” Harte noted, “which is to be more human. Elisa and Favio, they embody that message; they live it. They are more human through their dancing and how they relate to other dance members.”
The Nutcracker will be performed at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx. School and senior groups can attend at a discounted rate on Dec. 12 and 13; general admission shows will take place on Dec. 14 and 15.
“I’m hopeful there will be children who will see the children in our company and think, ‘Wow, maybe I can do that too.’ It’s important to have these shared experiences for the health and wellbeing of the children and families in our community,” said Harte.
