The dancers at Vero Classical Ballet are readying their pointe shoes for their annual performances of the perennial holiday favorite “The Nutcracker,” taking place Nov. 27 at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center.
Since 2005, the nonprofit ballet school has offered classes, with a focus on Russian Classical Ballet, to budding dancers ages 3 through adulthood at Leisure Square.
Barry Trammell, founder and artistic director, explains that the program is based on the Vaganova method, a training system that stresses clean, virtuoso techniques devised by Russian dancer, choreographer and teacher Agrippina Vaganova.
Trammell says his own interest was piqued after watching John Travolta in the movie “Saturday Night Fever.”
“Something clicked for me. I thought, I want to do that,” he recalls.
Lest you think it’s a grand jeté [big leap] from disco to classical ballet, Trammell says that as he looked into the ways Travolta had prepared for the film, he discovered that the film star had incorporated ballet into his training.
“Well, if John Travolta is taking ballet, then I have to take it too,” thought Trammell at the time.
His natural affinity for history drew him into story ballet, which incorporates a plot and characters.
He danced professionally throughout the United States for 20 years, working with Ballet Florida, the Oregon Ballet Theatre, City Ballet of Houston, and the Memphis Ballet, and performing principal roles in such ballets as “Sleeping Beauty,” “Giselle” and “The Nutcracker.”
After retiring as a professional dancer, Trammell turned his talents toward developing and teaching ballet to aspiring dancers.
“Ballet piques their intellectual curiosity. Performing alone increases your self-confidence and self-esteem. You feel an enormous sense of accomplishment,” says Trammell. “Whether it’s music, ballet, visual arts or plays, performing increases intellect. It’s just going to make you a smarter, better person.”
Trammell comments on the considerable transition that occurs with students who participate in magnet school arts programs offered in rough neighborhoods.
“They’re no longer interested in joining a gang. They’re interested in playing a musical instrument, doing a play or ballet. It has transformative effects across socioeconomic lines,” he explains.
Trammell’s current protégé is Rylee Green, who will soon turn 18. Over the past 12 years, she has flourished in cabriole leaps, from playing the Lead Mouse and Party Girl at age 6, to the role of Sugar Plum Fairy two years ago, and to now dancing as the Snow Queen. Green has also assumed the position of assistant director and costume director.
Green, who plans to pursue dancing as a profession, says she loves the structure of Russian Classical Ballet because of its grace and elegance. She adds that taking a directorial role has given her a unique perspective and a greater appreciation for how productions are managed, and says teaching the choreography to the other dancers has helped develop her own character.
“Because you’re put into a leading position, you become more aware. It sparks something,” Green explains. “Directing and remembering all this choreography helps when you’re teaching; it sticks more. When I’m teaching these girls to point their toes in the next class, I’m on top of my toes even more.”
When she dances, Green says, all her problems just disappear, and she loves the camaraderie of working with the other dancers. As a homeschooled student, it is where she does most of her socializing.
“Ballet brings me a lot of satisfaction. Whenever I start dancing, I forget everything else. Before a performance, you’re standing in the wings waiting for your cue to go on, and you’re freaking out internally. Then, once you’re on stage for five minutes, you’re like ‘Wow!’ Then you start smiling from your heart.”
Carla King says her daughters danced in their first Nutcracker six years ago, after her youngest, Soraya, wanted to try ballet, and big sister Lindsey joined in as well. Now ages 10 and 17, the girls continue to enjoy pirouetting their way across the stage.
Like Green, King says her daughters’ ballet roles have increased over the years, as they matured and honed their skills.
“It’s a lot of grace and a lot of flexibility but also strength,” says King, noting that the girls had their start in gymnastics. “As they moved over to do more in ballet, they already had those core skills, so it was really just a great way for them to continue to develop their skills.”
Vickie Colon says ballet has helped her daughters, 11-year-old Natalia and 8-year-old Katarina, build confidence and become more outgoing.
“Natalia dances around the house all the time. She enjoys that movement, but she’s a wallflower,” says Colon. “She likes to blend into the background. She doesn’t like a lot of attention on her. With ballet, I see it bring them out into the front and center. This year she is going to be Clara. That’s every little girl’s dream.”
Meg Whalen says she was pleasantly surprised to find a professional ballet program for 6-year-old Rosie, who started at the school at age 4 when she performed in a spring performance of “Swan Lake.”
“The way the classes are structured at Vero Classical Ballet, they’re Montessori-style ballet lessons. The little kids watch the bigger girls. They learn that way a lot; it’s really wonderful. I love the classical method that Barry teaches,” says Whalen.
“I’m grateful that we have this program in town. It’s such a gift for these girls to have the opportunity to be a part of this kind of a program, which is more common in a bigger city. It’s a real ballet school, where they get to grow into the different parts,” she adds.
In addition to the annual production of “The Nutcracker,” students also perform in the spring, alternating between “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella” and “Swan Lake.”
“The Nutcracker is perennial around most of the world because of the Christmas season. It’s the only ballet that the major companies actually make a profit on,” says Trammell, adding that for most other performances, companies need to raise at least half the money needed from funding sources such as grants and donors.
During the pandemic, Trammel closed the school to in-person classes, but continued them virtually. Some parents even installed ballet barres in their homes so the children could continue to practice and participate online.
Still, they lost about half the students, which diminished the number of girls who tried out for “The Nutcracker.” As a result, many of the girls have had to take on more than one role in many cases.
Performances take place at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 27 at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased at verobeachperformingarts.com or at the door.
Photos by Kaila Jones
