Noble Dance journeys to the Land of the Sweets

The Noble Dance Performing Co. presents “Journey to the Land of the Sweets,” a lively take on the holiday classic “The Nutcracker.”

Under the direction of Natalie Molter, the eighth annual winter celebration has expanded into four shows in Whitefish on Dec. 7, 8 and 9 at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center.

Not your typical “Nutcracker,” Act 1 begins with Clara entertaining her friends for a holiday gift exchange, where she takes the opportunity to parade her new life-sized doll. After the festivities, she falls asleep and dreams her toy soldiers to life. She startles awake to find herself in the middle of an epic battle between her toys and the house rats, led by the Queen Rat, company dancer Sara Gunlikson of Whitefish. When the commotion of the battle scene subsides, tranquility settles in as dancing snowflakes transport Clara through the falling snow and into the sugary Land of the Sweets. Treat-inspired solos, duets and trios from all over the world occur one right after another. Spanish Chocolate, Arabian Coffee, Chinese Tea, Marzipan and more are led by everyone’s favorite, the Sugar Plum Fairy, danced by company dancer Annie Howeth of Whitefish. The tradition isn’t complete without the “Waltz of the Flowers.”

The production showcases the Noble Dance Performing Co. dancers led by Elise Sabin of Whitefish as Clara. A Montana Dance Arts Association scholarship winner, Sabin trained last summer at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Clara’s friends are danced by Allie Jellison of Bigfork and Olivia Rice of Kalispell, both double scholarship winners for last summer’s training intensives. Both dancers will be dancing many roles in the ballet and are highlighted in Act 2 with Jellison as Russian Trepak and Rice as Arabian Coffee.

Although the workload is placed largely on the shoulders of the company dancers with a massive amount of dancing, every student in the Noble School of Ballet and Storybook Ballet School is also performing during the weekend. The students, nearly 200 children, get to shine in colorful smaller roles such as Royal Frosting, Snowflakes and Chinese Tea.