NPR's Roy Hurst has a new appreciation for classical dance and the holiday favorite the Nutcracker. He gets some help from former ballerina Robin Gardinhire. Gardinhire is founder of The City Ballet of Los Angeles, a professional company designed to teach dance to black and Latino children.
ED GORDON, host: There are those who believe that Christmas wouldn't be the same without      the seasonal ballet known as "The Nutcracker."  But for producer Roy      Hurst, appreciation for this seminal work of art did not come easy.  In      fact, it only came when he met an African-American retired ballerina in      downtown Los Angeles.  But we'll let him explain this Christmas story.</s>ROY HURST reporting: Every child should be exposed to "The Nutcracker," at least that's what      I've been told.  Truth is I never really got into classical ballet, let      alone that famous cornucopia of sight and sound they call "The      Nutcracker."  Once back in the '70s, when I was 11, I was forced into--I      mean I was exposed to a live "Nutcracker" production.</s>HURST: I remember something about the music.  I remember a humongous      auditorium and comfortable seats and my mother slapping the back of my      neck as I tried to get in a good nap.  It wasn't the best experience.      But that's just me.  I was a kid who needed his "Nutcracker" to be what      the wiz was to "The Wizard of Oz."  And didn't James Brown do something      with Tchaikovsky?  No, that's right.  That was Duke Ellington.</s>HURST: Yeah, I might have gotten into something like that.  But this      particular production seemed to drag and all the animated toys and      mountains of sweets couldn't keep my eyes open.  But then again, maybe it      was just me. Robin Gardenhire had a different experience.  First of all,      her mother had more success introducing her to classical ballet.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: She always said, `My daughter's going to be a      ballet dancer,' and luckily, I liked it, you know.</s>HURST: Back in the '70s, Robin's mother was looking to get her involved      in an art form that isn't stereotypically black.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: My mother put me in a ballet class because she was a      singer, you know, and all black people sing, you know, so she definitely      didn't want that.</s>HURST: One day, her mom saw that the Los Angeles Ballet Company was      holding auditions for--What else?--but "The Nutcracker."</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: And she took me to the audition.  I got the job.</s>HURST: Now's a good time to imagine Robin eating up the stage as a      little chocolate fairy.  And whatever it is, Robin had it.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: From there, they invited me to be on scholarship at the      school.  So that's really what began the whole process of becoming a      professional dancer.</s>HURST: It was the beginning of a long career as a premier ballerina for      several reputable companies, including The Joffrey Ballet and      Baryshnikov's American Ballet Theater.</s>HURST: And then there comes a time when every ballerina has to hang up      her leotard and point shoes.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: And then I looked around and I was like, `What am I      going to do with my life?'</s>HURST: She came back to Los Angeles, got married and saw that the city      had no professional dance company.  The one that she had come up in had      folded long ago.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: I decided that I would build City Ballet of Los Angeles.</s>HURST: The idea was to create a company that would develop professional      ballet dancers.  It would focus solely on ballet and it would be      affordable.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: So my thought was I would come to an area in which there      are kids that don't get the proper type of training, because those other      kids, you know, on the West Side or wherever that have money are able to      pursue this career with no problems, with no financial problems.</s>HURST: That was five years ago.  Today, the City Ballet of Los Angeles      is a non-profit organization set in the downtown area known as Peco      Union.  Robin Gardenhire has a state-of-the-art studio tucked away in the      Salvation Army.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: Quiet.  Thump, thump, thump and...</s>HURST: On this day, the studio is packed.  Adult company members stretch      and whisper among themselves as Robin works with a crop of very serious      and well-postured little people.  The kids here are mainly Latino and      black. Everyone is rehearsing for the company's very first production of      "The Nutcracker."  A handful of proud parents peek in from the hall.      Juliet May(ph) is watching her daughter, Melanie(ph).</s>Ms. JULIET MAY (Mother of Ballerina): She says she wants to learn how to      move, how to dance and she work hard.  Right now, she's in point shoes,      yeah. Yeah, she gets point shoes now.</s>HURST: Robin has a great report with the kids and the parents appreciate      it. She's managed to mix discipline with fun.  And what's most amazing to      me is that these kids seem to know all that fancy terminology--plie and      tendu and shontsu(ph) and shontsee(ph) and I'd forgotten my ballet      handbook.</s>HURST: How do you...</s>HURST: PARIS(ph) (Ballerina):  Shontsay(ph).</s>HURST: That's Paris, an adult ballerina who was so kind to work me      through it.</s>PARIS: ...first positions.  Tondu is when your foot is pointed.</s>HURST: Say that again?</s>PARIS: A tondu.</s>HURST: A tondu...</s>PARIS: Your foot is pointed...</s>HURST: I ...(unintelligible) describe Paris through the part she's      playing in "The Nutcracker."  She is Coffee, an Arabian dance.</s>PARIS: Plie, when your knees bend.</s>HURST: Uh-huh.</s>HURST: Before all is said and done, ballet may just win me over after all.</s>PARIS: ...the balls of your toes, your feet.</s>HURST: A few days later, it's showtime, a full house at the Crystal      Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: It's nerve-racking just doing everything.</s>HURST: By now, Robin has just about lost her voice.  She peeks out at      the audience from backstage.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: It's going all right.  Yeah.</s>HURST: You nervous?</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: I am so nervous.</s>HURST: Then she gives one last pep talk to the youngest.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: Fairies, you'll be over here in this area, orphans will      be on the other side.  Got it?</s>Group of Girls: (In unison) Got it.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: Do we all feel good?</s>Group of Girls: (In unison) Yes!</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: We say (foreign language spoken) in ballet, means good      luck, OK.</s>Group of Girls: (In unison) (Foreign language spoken)</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: (Foreign language spoken)</s>Group of Girls: (In unison) (Foreign language spoken)</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: Have a good performance.</s>HURST: And then the show begins with marches and waltzes and the army of      the Mouse King and the Spanish dance and the Arabian dance.  The adults      are marvelous and the kids are adorable in all of their colorful costumes      and their precise coordination and their focus, and then it all ends.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: Applause.  I think they really loved it.</s>HURST: It was a very nice event, even if I found myself wishing Robin      had chosen a holiday production of "All That Jazz."  But while "The      Nutcracker" obviously isn't for me, it certainly does seem to have added      something to the lives of these young children.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: Doing "Nutcracker" I think is something that I think      every child should see, you know, participate in.  The kids these days      really don't get that opportunity to be in a fantasyland and to be young      ladies and young gentlemen, you know.</s>HURST: Robin Gardenhire says even if most of her kids don't turn out to      be classical ballet material, she believes she's offering something they      can always use.</s>Ms. ROBIN GARDENHIRE: I think that my training really is geared towards these      kids knowing how to behave well.  And I think all parents would      appreciate that.</s>HURST: Roy Hurst, NPR News.