2024 Student Registration
for “The San Jose Nutcracker”
Enrolled Student Participation Requirements
Students must be currently enrolled in the Jr. Pre-Professional Division of New Ballet School, Levels 1A-3B.
Students ideally will have 100% availability for all Theatre Rehearsals and Performances. We plan to have multiple casts and students are not intended to be cast in all performances or theatre rehearsals, but they should be available to be cast and called to all of them. All performing students will serve as understudies for other students in the same role, and potentially other roles, so they must be available for all rehearsal and performance times.
If you have a maximum of one Theater Rehearsal conflict and a maximum of two Performance conflicts, please email school@newballet.com immediately to see if that conflict can be accommodated and we will let you know before you register and pay the registration fee if your conflict(s) will prevent you from participating in “The San Jose Nutcracker.” Any Theater Rehearsal or Performance conflicts that are brought to our attention AFTER the registration fee has been paid may result a student not being cast to perform, and at that point we will not be able to refund your participation fee. It is possible that students who list one or two conflicts for Theater Rehearsals and Performances will not be eligible to participate, so please email school@newballet.com immediately to see if we can accommodate your conflicts. Be sure to look at your schedule for choir performances, school activities etc., as if we learn of these conflicts later we may need to remove your student from casting. If we know about these conflicts now we can let you know if we can work around them or not.
If your student is selected to participate and they miss rehearsal for any reason, casting may be changed, even if that absence is excused or unavoidable. Please see specific rehearsal and performance schedules before committing to participate. If a student ends up not performing because of any type of conflict or missed rehearsals, the participation fee will not be refunded.
If you have a sibling and/or carpool partner that you would like your student to be cast with, please email school@newballet.com with that information immediately. We cannot guarantee to accommodate these requests but we will try to do so, and may be able to only partially accommodate these requests, or may not be able to accommodate these requests.
Please indicate any conflicts with Studio Rehearsals in your student’s registration form. (As stated above, please let school@newballet.com know immediately about Theatre Rehearsal or Performance Conflicts, before you turn in the form or pay the fee, to see if you are eligible to participate.) Up to two In-Studio rehearsal conflicts may be accommodated with approval for rehearsals in October and November. More than two In-Studio rehearsal conflicts, even if noted on your form, may prevent you from being cast. If you have any questions about conflicts, please email info@newballet.com immediately and we will let you know if they can be accommodated. If you are not cast in Preliminary Casting due to excessive noted conflicts, your Performance Fee will be refunded. Conflicts brought to our attention after Preliminary Casting has been posted may result in a student not being able to participate, and in that case we cannot refund the participation fee. Please check with us immediately about any known rehearsal conflicts and we will let you know what might be possible.
Conflicts, even if noted on the conflict form, may affect casting. Absences, even due to illness, injury, or unforeseen circumstances may also affect casting, i.e. students who miss rehearsals whether or not these absences are their fault and whether or not those absences have been listed on their conflict form may be ultimately unable to perform if they have trouble learning or performing the choreography.
The number of shows in which a student ends up performing is based on a number of complicated logistics, costumes available, choreography, and the number of students who participate. Please be prepared for your student to perform in likely between three and five of our ten scheduled performances, depending on the role they are cast in and how many students register to perform.
Preliminary Casting (which role(s) a student is learning) will be emailed to families by September 23. Please note that we may modify Preliminary Casting after the first or second rehearsal.
Performance Casting will be announced by November 1. Please do not purchase tickets to watch your student until Performance Casting is released to ensure you purchase for the correct show(s). Performance Casting CANNOT BE CHANGED by request once announced. We cannot alter casting for other extracurricular activities, family events, performance preferences, etc. Please review schedules carefully before completing the Nutcracker Student Registration Form. “The San Jose Nutcracker” is a large time commitment and we understand that not all families can commit to this schedule.
Performance Casting may be changed after posting by our staff due to illness, injury or other unforeseen circumstances. In that event the box office will work with families regarding exchanging any purchased tickets. Please continue to keep your schedule clear and your student available for all performance dates, even after Performance Casting is posted.
Students may be called last minute to come to the theatre to perform in the case that another student performing the same role is suddenly not available. Please be fully ready and prepared for this.
Students may need to purchase additional shoes, tights, and/or leotards if they are cast, depending on the role.
Roles in “The San Jose Nutcracker”
Students in the following levels will be generally considered for the roles listed on the links below under “Schedules by Class Level.” Casting is based on a multitude of factors, including but not limited to ability, maturity, and appropriateness for the role. Casting is at the sole discretion of the Artistic Staff, and requests to reconsider casting will not be considered.
Some students may additionally be cast to understudy roles along with learning roles they will be cast to perform. Understudies are very important, and understudies should attend all rehearsals for the role they are understudying even if they are not scheduled to perform.
Please remember that all roles danced will contribute to the performance. We encourage families to help students frame casting announcements positively and to help students understand the contributions of each and every role to the production as a whole. If you feel that your child or that you yourself will not be able to negotiate the casting process in a positive way, please consider whether or not to participate in “The San Jose Nutcracker.”
Rehearsals will be scheduled to take place on the days and at the times listed on the webpages linked below. Times and days may change as rehearsals progress. Students should be available for all times listed for roles for which they may be considered in order to commit to participate in “The San Jose Nutcracker.” They should be able to shift rehearsal times on Saturdays and Sundays, October through December by up to a few hours in case of changes, although these changes are not anticipated.
