Dancer Travels to Romania for 'Nutcracker' Rehearsals

Dancers of the Central Florida Ballet are about to cross the Atlantic for the upcoming performance tour of "The Nutcracker" in Romania, but one dancer got an extra special head start on the group. Kailey Withee, a trainee of the Central Florida Ballet, traveled to Romania in mid-November to assist in 'Nutcracker' rehearsals with the dancers of the Ballet Sibiu. She spent nearly two weeks in Romania to teach the soloists and the corps dancers the choreography of the Central Florida Ballet's Nutcracker. From crossing the ocean for the first time to understanding the Romanian language - there were many firsts. Check out Kailey's experience below in our exclusive interview!

This is me on one of my only days off during the trip. We went to shops around Sibiu and to one of the tallest buildings in the city...

1- Describe your typical rehearsal day...

KW: My typical day started at 10:00am with a warm-up class. We started rehearsal at 11:00am and went until about 7-8pm during the first couple of days and by the end of the trip we were ending around 3-4pm. We started with long individual rehearsals with the soloists and by the end we were running the entire show all the way through with the entire cast. We even got to rehearse at the theater which is in the same building as the rehearsal studios.

2- How were the classes different from regular classes at Central Florida Ballet?

KW: The only class I had was a warm-up class every morning. But it was pretty similar too what we have here. The combinations had a lot of back and forth, so it took a little getting used to versus the classes from our regular teachers at CFB.

3- Did the dancers speak English? What other languages did they speak?

KW: Pretty much all the dancers spoke fluent or knew a lot of english, A group was from Japan (so they spoke Japanese). The rest were American or Romanian (so they spoke Romanian). 

This is the view from the top of the building. I went with a coach from the Ballet Sibiu and we could see nearly the entire city from the top...

 

4- Did you have time to go sight-seeing? If so, where and what did you see?

KW: Didn't really have time. We went to an old church - it was very beautiful and we went to the top of one of the tallest buildings (as you can see in the picture above). Each floor had art work to look at and at the top you could see the whole city. That's pretty much all I had time for.

5- How long were your flights? Did they have good food on the airplane? Were there any annoying passengers?

KW: The first flight was to Paris. It was about 9-10 hours long. The food was ok. The had a good variety of things (such as chicken and vegetables or pasta). But it wasn't that great. There weren't any annoying passengers, in fact on the way back I had the whole row to myself, so I could stretch out along the seats.

6- Tell us about your grocery shopping experience..Did they have normal shopping carts? Any of the same brands as in the USA?

KW: They did not have carts but they had shopping baskets. The only US Brands were coke products and lays chips products.

7- Was it cold?

KW: It was cold but manageable. The studios sometimes felt colder than outside, lol. You always had warm-ups on (jackets, sweats, scarf) versus in Florida where we regularly just wear a leotard and tights. 

This is another view from the top of the building where you can see 

how high we were from the buildings and street below...

8- What do you wish you brought to Romania - but did not?

Nothing I really felt like I had everything. The item I used the most outside of dance was my computer to watch movies and to pass the time. Also, I used my camera to take pictures.

9- What do you want to see when you go back this December for the 'Nutcracker' performances?

KW: When we were there, they were putting up all of their Christmas decorations along the streets and lights on all of the stores. The day we left they started a Christmas/holiday market and that lit everything up. So I want to see the market and how beautiful all the streets look lit up. 

10- What is a key item to have in Romania for a dancer?

KW: A key item(s) would be warm-ups; you need to stay warm in order to be able to dance to your fullest and to be comfortable dancing. The theatre especially was cold. 

11- Did you have soda there? Or Powerade/Vitamin Water?

KW: They had coke products. No powerade or vitamin water. I mostly drank water and sometimes "Coca-Cola Lite" - their version of Diet Coke.

12- As a CFB Trainee and just sixteen, were you intimidated or scared to be teaching the professionals the choreography from the Central Florida Ballet's "The Nutcracker"?

KW: I think I was at first, just because I didn't know them or know if they knew English. I also didn't want to mess anything up or teach them something wrong. But when I arrived there they were all so welcoming and sweet. So those feelings quickly went away. 

13- What was one thing that surprised you the most about Sibiu or Romania in general?

KW: One thing that surprised me the most was how comfortable I felt there. I wasn't scared to go out on my own or kinda explore a little. As long as you are careful, and smart of course. It is a great city!!!

Want to see this 'Nutcracker' production but not in Romania? The same production with guest dancers of the Ballet Sibiu will be presented in Orlando - next weekend (December 10 & 11) at the Linda Chapin Theater in the Orange County Convention Center. For information and tickets, visit http://www.CentralFloridaBallet.com or call the Box Office at 407.849.9948. Central Florida Ballet's production premiered in 2001 and since been highlighted by USA Today, CNN Headlines News, and named Top Pick by the Orlando Sentinel for 2011!