Westheights student Emma Cook to perform
in The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition
in The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition
Kitchener CitizenDecember 1, 2017
Emma Cook, a grade seven student at Westheights Public School in Kitchener, has been selected as one of the dancers in The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition on December 28 at Centre in the Square.
After being chosen through audition by Canada’s Ballet Jörgen’s Nutcracker Youth Education Local Participant Program, twelve-year-old Emma is now busy with rehearsals for her role as a Dragonfly.
The local participant program provides the opportunity for young and aspiring dancers from the Kitchener-Waterloo area to perform alongside members of the professional company and gain performance experience.
The holiday classic is choreographed by Artistic Director of Canada’s Ballet Jörgen, Bengt Jörgen, and takes its inspiration from Group of Seven paintings housed at Kleinburg’s world-renowned McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
The costume and set designs reflect Jörgen’s vision of a distinctly Canadian Nutcracker set in Algonquin Park – where Klara meets lumberjacks, Mounties and woodland creatures in her dream journey.
Emma has been dancing since the age of three, and has danced competitively since she was six. She currently dances at IN. MOTION School of the Performing Arts located on Mill Street in Kitchener.
In her spare time, she enjoys practicing barre exercises, making up dances, reading about different ballets and ballet dancers, colouring and playing guitar.
“I dance because I can escape into a world where I feel safe and where I can be free to express myself. I especially love ballet because of how precise you have to be with your movement, but you can still use emotion,” says Emma.
She adds, “I am super excited to dance the role of a dragonfly in this year’s Nutcracker, and am extremely thankful for this opportunity to dance with Canada’s Ballet Jörgen; dancing in the ballet gives me first hand experience into a full scale professional ballet company production on a large concert hall stage.”