BWW Preview: Ballet Dance Moms Master Hair for ARB NUTCRACKER

Of all of the roles children may play in the American Repertory Ballet's production of THE NUTCRACKER, there is one that brings with it a bit of trepidation on the part of ballet dance moms: Party Child. It's not the rehearsal schedule or the performance commitment that is daunting.

It's the hair.

To be fair, it's the role of Party Girl that brings with it the most labor and precision, and not that of Party Boy, which, as any ballet mom knows, is a role often performed by girls, as well, but necessitates a simple clubbed ponytail or French braid.

It's the Party Girl who must arrive at the theatre for kids call fully decked out in sausage curls, also known as "Shirley Temple" curls, those gorgeous ringlets that only a few seem to come by naturally.

I spoke with one mother who, after two seasons, had the process of hair preparation down to a science. "I put in a Disney movie for her to watch," she said. An hour and twenty minutes later, about the time the movie ends, she's done putting her young performer's hair in rollers.

But it's not only about the rollers, according to children's stage manager, Sara Mahoney, who danced in the production as a child and whose mother initiated the mandatory hair instruction meetings for parents once word of mouth no longer sufficed.

Mahoney is a big fan of Aussie Instant Freeze for holding the curls in place. "One of my stagers told me it was really good," Mahoney told me, referring to her time as a show girl dancing on a cruise ship. "I was able to swing from a rope," she added. And her hair held in place.

With a NUTCRACKER tradition going back to the 1950's, when the Princeton Ballet School and American Repertory Ballet were just taking shape under the creative leadership of Audrée and Bud Estey, it's hard not to find a parent who hasn't performed in the production at some point.

Mahoney remembers when someone donated wigs, which turned out to work for Party Boys. "We called them Lady Clairol wigs and wore them backwards," she said. Another mom, a former Clara whose daughter is now cast as a Soldier, remembers using Aqua Net and gobs of green Dippity-do.

Of course, once a parent has figured out what products work best on their child's hair, how long it takes to prep the curls, which rollers are the right size, and how long it takes to set and remove them gently enough to create the look that passes muster in the discerning eyes of Mahoney, there is yet another concern in the back of a ballet dance mom's mind. Given the number of performances and multiple cast assignments, it's possible to be called in at the last minute if an alternate is sick.

Sausage curls in under an hour?

In that case, Mahoney told me, "They can go on with straight hair. Or we do our best."

The American Repertory Ballet's Production of THE NUTCRACKER runs November 21-December 20. For tickets and additional performance information please visit www.arballet.org

Photo Credit: Leighton Chen

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