Chappaqua Crossing to Host Local Dance Company’s ‘The Nutcracker’
The aftereffects of Sandy are still being felt in ways both large and small. Just ask Carol Mamara and Zina Michelle, founder and co-director, respectively, of Impact Dance Company, a Chappaqua not-for-profit dance group that stages professional-quality productions at community locations several times a year.
Thanks to Sandy, just a month before they were to present their annual holiday production in Chappaqua they found themselves without a venue for this weekend’s production of “The Nutcracker,” Tchaikovsky’s beloved holiday season ballet. They have staged sold-out performances in Chappaqua the last two years and have for the last three months been readying for this year’s performances that will be this Saturday and Sunday.
Now, on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon the two performances will be at the DeWitt Wallace Auditorium at Chappaqua Crossing.
In the previous two years they had rented the stage at Horace Greeley High School. This year that venue was booked for Seven Bridges Middle School. Their ramp-up for the production began in September and was going smoothly–until Sandy hit. Soon the number of days that the local schools were closed began to mount, which, in turn, led to wholesale changes in school calendars as school events were re-scheduled. Unfortunately, that meant the stage was no longer available for “The Nutcracker.”
“The school offered to find us another date but that simply wouldn’t work,” Mamara explained. “We have all of our advertising and notification out and it would be impossible to ask a cast of 50 people and a production team of another 25 to shift to another weekend in this very busy holiday season. We were left high and dry but somehow, as they say, the show had to go on.”
“We were desperate,” said Michelle. “We didn’t know where to turn and then the mother of one of the members of “The Nutcracker” company had a thought. She said there was an auditorium with a stage at Chappaqua Crossing and she agreed to inquire about it. And that proved to be just the miracle we needed. She contacted Stephanie Filkoski in the property management office. Stephanie then brought the idea to David Walsh, the property manager for Summit Development, and within less than an hour, we had a new venue – and at no fee.”
For the last two weeks, the Impact Dance team has worked feverishly and the production is ready to be held as scheduled. Mamara said the shift of venue resulted in substantial expenses as the DeWitt Wallace Auditorium at Chappaqua Crossing is not set up for stage productions. Special theater lighting and sound systems had to be rented and set up and a special wood floor had to be installed over the carpeting that is on the stage.
“There have been a lot of logistics involved that we normally wouldn’t have had to deal with, but everyone has pulled together and we’ve got a fantastic production for the community,” Mamara said. “The cast ranges in age from five-year-olds to adults. There are a lot of talented people who have studied with us for years. We’re just glad that thanks to Chappaqua Crossing, we aren’t letting our cast and production team down, and that we can bring this timeless production to the Chappaqua area community.”
The performances are scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 2 at 3 p.m. Chappaqua Crossing is located at 480 Bedford Rd., Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the door or in advance by contacting Impact Dance Company at 914-238-3845 or emailing danceemotions@earthlink.net.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
