Beth Fowler Dance Company to debut original ‘Nutcracker Movie’

Pirouetting in light of the pandemic, the Beth Fowler Dance Company of Genoa and St. Charles has converted its 27th annual production of the “Nutcracker” into “The Nutcracker Movie,” which has two weeks of screenings at DeKalb’s Egyptian Theatre through Jan. 30.

For the full-length film, they added dialogue, green screen and other special effects, an extended storyline and exciting filming locations, Beth Fowler, artistic director, stated in a news release. The movie locations include the Ellwood House in DeKalb as the setting of young Clara’s home to which families travel for the annual Christmas Eve party by horse and carriage, provided by Royal Carriage.

There will be 151 performers in two casts that include dancers from the Beth Fowler School of Dance for children ages 3 and older and the Beth Fowler Dance Company for eighth-grade students through adults. The company dancers will perform in both casts, with the Genoa school of dance in one cast and the St. Charles school in the other.

“I hired a movie producer to light the fires in our dancers again after a tough year, and [now] they hit the big screen,” Fowler said.

Working with film producer Dan Kapper and his team, the troupe filmed the entire traditional “Nutcracker” over the course of a week at the Egyptian Theatre, breaking up the performance into manageable sizes to ensure they remained within public health guidelines and kept all involved in the production safe, the release stated.

Before this unusual season, the ballet had been performed live at St. Charles North High School for almost 10 years and in DeKalb for nearly 30. Olivia Brown, 15, of St. Charles is the film’s central character, Clara.

“This is truly my dream role,” Brown said in an earlier interview. “I love the story of the ‘Nutcracker’ and I’ve had a great time working on the film. I think you get to know the characters a bit more in our film. It’s more than just dancing, there’s a great story, too.”

Emily Fox, 16, of St. Charles, agreed. Fox danced the role of the Snow Queen. Dressed in a dazzling white and shimmering tutu, the Snow Queen closes the first act of the show, partnering with the Snow King in a hypnotizing routine with her corps of Snowflakes, setting the stage for Clara to journey on a magical sleigh into the Land of Sweets in Act 2.

Fox stated the long days of filming allowed the dancers to also watch many of their fellow company members’ other roles, and “cheer them on.”

Other featured company dancers include St. Charles residents Abby Lewis as the Rose Queen; Brooke Bend as the Christmas Fairy; Brady McCue as Fritz; Mia Herman as the Arabian Queen; and Kamryn King as the Candy Cane Queen; Brooke Baurer of Geneva as the Spanish soloist; and Emily Belzey of South Elgin as the Chinese soloist.

“Everyone should come see ‘The Nutcracker Movie,’” Fox stated. “It’s a great escape from everything going on in the world at the moment. It can add a little bit of normalcy to everyone’s lives, and also bring so much joy.”

In a socially distanced and masked event, the movie premiere at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 will have the leads and producers arriving by stretch limousine and making an appearance on the red carpet.

The film will be shown Thursdays through Saturdays the last two weekends in January. The Genoa cast can be seen at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 to 23 and 2 p.m. Jan. 23 and 29. The St. Charles cast screenings will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 28 to 30 and 2 p.m. Jan. 30.

To buy tickets, visit the Egyptian Theatre website at EgyptianTheatre.org.

For information about Beth Fowler School of Dance, visit www.BethFowlerSchoolOfDance.com.