Playing Clara, the central character in The Nutcracker, should be no big deal for Morristown High School sophomore Diandra Marks. She’s been doing this ballet since the sixth grade, after all.
Yet it will be different when she glides on stage Saturday afternoon with the New Jersey Ballet.
That stage happens to be inside Morristown’s Community Theatre. And many of its 1,200 seats will be filled with family, friends and neighbors.
“A lot of people I know are coming,” said Diandra, 15. “We haven’t rehearsed too much” at the Community Theatre. “It’s very, very scary.”
She’s counting on experience–she started dance lessons at age 4–and the helpful pros of the New Jersey Ballet to ensure success on Saturday and again on Dec. 23, when she returns to the role.
“Once I’m on stage, it feels natural. It flows,” she said.
Ten performances are scheduled from Dec. 17-26. Other actresses will rotate through as Clara, a character who dozes off and dreams of scary mice, soldiers and a nutcracker that is transformed into a dashing prince. Diandra, the youngest of this year’s Claras, will play other parts when she isn’t Clara.
She said there is one key requirement for the Clara role.
“You have to be short,” Diandra said, modestly. “She’s a little girl.”
Diandra lives in Morris Township and has studied at the New Jersey School of Ballet in Livingston. Her parents, Aurora and Ron Marks, own the Salon Botanique Eco-Chic in Morristown. Ron also has a lemon juice importing business. Diandra’s older sister, Adrianna, is in college and her big brother, Justin, is a Morristown High student.
Twelve dance classes a week don’t leave much time for high school activities beyond the Dance- and Interact clubs, Diandra said. Her boyfriend, a baseball player, isn’t crazy about her busy dance schedule, either, she said. And her bruised toes need lots of taping.
But she’s not quite ready to quit dancing.
“I like that it’s graceful. It keeps you in shape. I like moving and dancing with the music. I like rhythm,” she said.
Ballet, on the other hand, is not her dream gig–despite her dreamy stint as Clara.
“I don’t want to be a ballerina,” said Diandra, who considers ballet “strict” and technical. “But maybe I can do something that incorporates dance, like choreography or modern dance.”
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