I saw “snow” in Winston-Salem in November.

The snowflakes — some dressed in black leotards, some in sweats, some in pastel tutus — moved with carefully choreographed steps, each dance unique in what looked like the graceful abandon of nature.

I was watching rehearsals for the UNC School of the Arts’ rendition of The Nutcracker — a production that seems effortless at first glance, but belies countless hours of work for the dancers involved.

Dean of the School of Dance Ethan Stiefel nods at his dancers. “Not too high.”

Stiefel watches the class intently and doesn’t say much while I’m there sitting by the barre in the far corner of the room. Yet even with few comments on this fall afternoon, the command he has is clear. His students, graceful as cheetahs, respond to him, and they support each other with applause when one of the dancers completes an especially challenging combination.

“The choreography is all new,” Stiefel says later in his office. It’s going to be a real mix of where the art form of classical dance is, but at the same time … showmanship, he explains. “Our mission at the School of Dance is to create the future.”

This year’s Nutcracker will have some subtle references to the previous production performed here for more than 40 years, which was choreographed by Robert Lindgren, the school’s founding dance dean, and his wife, Sonja Tyven.

“There are certain things that inspire as well,” says Stiefel, a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre who became UNCSA’s dance dean in July 2008.

Stiefel’s goal has been to provide a show on an emotional level that is energizing and appropriate for 2009. “I just wanted to take things forward for my students’ education,” he explains. “I’m inspired, and it’s genuine. All I need to do is celebrate that, and at the same time be willing to learn from others. I have to maintain the honor of the art form and at the same time be able to provide a production that is accessible to everybody.”

Stiefel and three other UNCSA School of Dance faculty — Nigel Burley, Warren Conover, and Susan McCullough — developed the new choreography.

Stiefel explains that it was designed to incorporate an understanding of how dance functions in the world today. For students in his program, “That’s out of survival,” he says. “This is a challenge for everybody on every level, but it’s a good challenge.

“When the students are behind it,” he continues, “that’s kind of the thing that makes it all make sense.”

Changing the choreography caused a trickle-down effect, requiring adjustments in the lighting, in the costumes, in sets and props — even resulting in a new batch of baby mice.

“At the end of the day, you just want to have a rockin’ show,” Stiefel concludes.

New costumes

This production marks the 31st Nutcracker for Carolyn Fay, director of the Dance Costume Shop. In that time, she has mended, tweaked, and refitted the costumes for new casts, the preservation a necessity due to the cost of the costumes.

But, she says, “It’s exciting to make new costumes. Ethan came into this with a really wonderful, fresh vision.” Clara’s new rose-colored party dress will complement her brother Fritz’s brilliant blue corduroy shorts. Some of the performers’ costumes have been adjusted to enable more active performances: Their headpieces are a bit more compact, and some of the hoop skirts no longer have hoops.

Larger-than-life Mother Ginger will be endearing as ever with Ryan Hill, School of Dance assistant dean and general manager, playing the comic role. “His new blouse will make him ever so much more special,” Fay says.

She’s been working on Nutcracker costumes since June, and the shop still buzzes with activity. “Put the shoes on,” Fay directs NCSA high-school junior Nicole Krasnodebski as she tries on a costume to measure its length. “I want the height.”

Nicole, who is originally from Chicago, admits that her schedule is rigorous as she balances schoolwork and rehearsals. “I’m a snowflake; I’m a flower; I’m also a mirliton.

“I’m a bit overwhelmed,” she continues, smiling. “But I’m having a blast doing it.”

New characters

The mice and Mouse King will be back in force this year, but this time they’ll be joined by baby mice from UNCSA’s Preparatory Dance Program. Stiefel added the baby mice so that more students could perform. “What I enjoy most is bringing people together,” he says.

Two mice stop by the costume shop for their fittings.

“I think I’m very lucky to be one of the girls chosen to be one of the baby mice,” Kyla Stephens, 11, says.

The youngsters wear tufted gray-brown gauze with pink tights, gloves, and pink-and-white-striped tails. 

Gabrielle “Gabby” Zeigler, 9, jokes, “Squeak, squeak.”

“I feel wrinkly,” Gabby announces as she pulls on her pink gloves and starts to sit on a nearby chair.

“Always put your tail out over your chair,” Fay directs. It’s clear that every detail must be considered — even the risk of a broken baby mouse tail.

Would Gabby like to perform as Clara someday? “That’s one of my dreams,” she reveals. “I’d like to be one of the princesses.”

And she offers some sound advice for aspiring students: “I think if you want to do dance, I think you should do it here.”

New sweets and a new tree

Technical Director Andrew Bodd takes a break from welding a super-sized fork to explain the magic of the new Christmas tree that grows during Clara’s dream.

The tree, painted with greens and yellows on black velour, will not only stretch an imposing 26 feet tall, but also will grow wider and wider and wider, with candles lit with fiber optics. Ensuring that the tree would expand as planned was a challenge, but Bodd was encouraged when he got a call that confirmed the success of the evergreen’s engineering during a test run.

“I’ve had a great time working with Ethan,” he says. “He’s very concerned about the art and very excited when it starts to come to fruition.”

Marguerite Gilewicz, the production’s props director and member of the project run crew, pauses from painting glitter on super-sized candy.

“The entire second act of The Nutcracker is covered in glitter,” says Gilewicz, a fourth-year student in her third year working on Nutcracker.

I notice my mouth feels dry, and I realize that the candy discs she’s coating with sugar-glitter are chalky, pastel Necco wafers that look so real I can taste them.

The new Nutcracker

In the end, the newly revamped Nutcracker is for both the students and the community, Stiefel says. Approximately 82 percent of the ballet performers are in high school. “These students are phenomenal,” he says. “When you’re buying a ticket, you’re contributing to the lives and to the futures of these young boys and girls.

“The students are really at the cusp of professional careers,” he continues. “I’m truly proud to work with them as well as the faculty.” The 50-piece UNCSA Nutcracker Orchestra conducted by Ransom Wilson will perform Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet music. Utilizing student musicians is expected to net $80,000 for music scholarships at UNCSA.

The new Nutcracker has required long hours for the performers and for Stiefel, who is sometimes on campus for upward of 13 hours a day during the week, and Saturdays, too, as the performance nears.

“The work is immense,” Stiefel acknowledges. “You have the energy because they believe.

“We all believe in it, and I’m grateful for that.”

Performances of The Nutcracker will run December 5–13 in the Stevens Center at 405 W. Fourth St. For tickets, go to uncsa.edu/performances, or call the box office at 336-721-1945.