- Goh Ballet's The Nutcracker, Dec. 15-18 at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. Tickets: $28-$90.50, visit www.ticketmaster.ca.
NORTH Vancouver residents Marian and Don Adair are partners in life and in dance.
While Marian, 58, has a strong dance background, the art marks relatively new territory for her husband Don, 61. However, the competitive ballroom couple, members of DanceSport B.C., compete frequently and are currently ranked at the standard championship level.
Apart from preparing for upcoming international competitions in the New Year, the duo is set to take the stage next week as part of Goh Ballet's The Nutcracker, the classic holiday work scored by Tchaikovsky.
The 2011 production, running Dec. 15-18 at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts, is set to feature 200 local dancers as well as principal dancers from the American Ballet Theatre. Also part of the production is music performed by members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. The six performances are produced by Chan Hon Goh, former prima ballerina with The National Ballet of Canada, and choreographed by Anna-Marie Holmes.
"It's a real privilege for us to have been invited and asked to perform with the Goh Ballet Nutcracker," says Marian.
The couple appears in the prologue and Act 1, during the party scene, filling the role of party guests, specifically the parents of the children in attendance. They're joined by three other ballroom couples.
"I guess we're probably on stage for a half hour," says Marian.
This year marks the couple's third with Goh's Nutcracker.
"It really sort of feels like an entree into the Christmas season," says Marian. "It's a classic and one that really, I think, is very much for families. It's got local children that are involved within the production and it has, I think, more of an appeal to a wider audience than necessarily sort of a strictly classical ballet."
Adding to the show is a magician playing the role of Drosselmeyer as well as physical feats performed by gymnasts.
"It gives it just a little bit more entertainment value I would guess," says Marian. "Together, with the stunning sets and costuming, it really is a top-level production. And I must say the dancers are really, really phenomenal."
It's inspirational to see the artistry and the athleticism put forth by the young dancers, adds Don. Watching their performance gives one a feeling that they're among some genuine talent that will likely go on to do great things in ballet companies worldwide.
"It's just fun being around them," he says.
Like Marian, Don encourages families to take in a performance.
"I think it's a good family thing to do at this time of year, to bring the young kids to," he says. "There's a lot of young kids that come . . . and they have fun with it."
Marian studied ballet from a young age and danced to an advanced level. She recalls taking the stage as a young girl in a production of The Nutcracker in Calgary in 1967. She went on to teach ballet, which is how she paid her way through university, though ultimately became a biologist. She's currently employed by the Nature Trust of B.C. on the North Shore.
While Don has lived an active life, having been involved in sports, and played instruments when he was younger, dance wasn't something he had a background in. However, over the years, the couple opted to take some dance classes together through the North Vancouver Recreation Commission, interested in their social component.
"We never thought about competing," says Don.
That was the case until approximately eight years ago when it was suggested they put their skills to the test.
"Of course you really have to practise and work at it," says Marian. "By this time our children were older and so we had more time."
Faring well, they've continued to excel and move up through the competitive ranks.
"It's tremendous, it involves quite a bit of physical activity plus the artistic side of it," says Marian. "We're working out quite a lot to maintain the physicality of the whole dance and it's enabled us, or (given us) an excuse maybe, to travel to different competitions, and the people we've found have been very enjoyable as well. It's been a very interesting experience at this sort of time where one can be involved in dance as a young person and you never know where that's going to manifest or take yourself later in life."
