Mira Nadon Proves You Can Go Home Again to the Nutcracker

When Mira Nadon guests this month in Inland Pacific Ballet’s Nutcracker, she will be dancing the coveted role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, a role she missed out on when she left the studio at age 14 for New York City Ballet’s affiliated School of American Ballet. Nadon returns in the midst of a stratospheric rise to principal dancer at City Ballet in a short six years, cover stories in Dance and Pointe magazines, and glowing reviews from the New York Times that described her as “a once in a generation dancer.”

While many regional companies and pre-professional training companies bring in professional guest artists for their Nutcracker, none can match the long and exclusive relationship that Nadon has with Inland Pacific Ballet and its Nutcracker.

LA Dance Chronicle’s ’s Ann Haskins recently spoke with Nadon about training at Inland Pacific Ballet Academy, how an IPB summer program triggered her love for George Balanchine’s choreography which led her to New York, and the significance of professional dancers returning to their home studios as guest artists.

LADC:  How long were you at Inland Pacific Ballet Academy, and did you study anywhere else before going to SAB?

Nadon: Inland Pacific was my only studio. I started going when I was six, and I went there until I was 14. So, eight years. I was just lucky that Inland Pacific Ballet Academy was the closest school to my parents’ house, and I kind of stumbled upon this amazing training. I feel very grateful for getting to grow up in these productions, dance in the Nutcracker, and go through the ranks of the roles. That makes it really special to be able to come back and do the Sugar Plum Fairy. The dancer in that part was always someone that I really looked up to in the company.

LADC: When you were working your way through the ranks at Inland Pacific, had you made it to the Sugar Plum Fairy before you left?

Nadon: No I hadn’t. My last couple of years, I did Clara, the child lead, but I definitely wasn’t ready to be the Sugar Plum at that point.

Haskins: How long have you been coming back to guest?

Nadon: This will be my third year. The first year, I came and did Dew Drop, the lead in Waltz of the Flowers. Last year I did Sugar Plum and brought a partner from New York City Ballet, and that’s what I’ll be doing again this year. The first year, they offered Sugar Plum. They said that I could either do Dew Drop or Sugar Plum, whatever worked best in my schedule. It was more a logistical thing. Sometimes it’s hard to arrange for a partner for Sugar Plum to be free at the same time. I just knew that I wanted to come back and be a part of the production, so the first year, it was Dew Drop.

LADC: What was it like finally dancing Inland’s Sugar Plum Fairy last year?

Nadon: It’s fun to be back, and there’s so many of the same people still working there, like some of the stage hands are the same as when I was there. A lot of the girls who, in my mind, were the older girls that I always looked up to, are working now as teachers or helping to stage the ballet. There’s a whole new generation too, but there is still that community of people that I knew when I was there. So, it’s a fun reunion to be back.

LADC: Are there one or two teachers at Inland who were major influences in your training?

Nadon: I’d say Victoria Koenig and Jill Vosnick were just really incredible. I was so lucky that they just happened to be at the studio. They believed in me and pushed me. I’m so grateful for them. It’s always nice to return, show them what I’ve learned, and hopefully make them proud.

LADC:  Are there things that they said to you when you were a student that now as a professional, you still hear their words at certain times?

Nadon: There are definitely things that they were correcting me on that are still bad habits that I carry with me and I’m trying to break. But they definitely gave me such a great foundation to build off of. I remember Vicky always giving me a correction about when I jump, about my knee alignment. I feel like Jill was really great about discipline, taking class seriously, and showing up in a respectful way. I think having that experience helped me when I got into a professional environment at New York City Ballet.

LADC:  You did two summer programs at City Ballet’s affiliated School of American Ballet and then stayed for the year round program. Was there something at Inland Ballet that triggered your interest in SAB and New York City Ballet?

Nadon: At one of the Inland Pacific’s summer programs when I was younger, one of my teachers, Allyne Noelle, taught us some excerpts from a Balanchine ballet called Serenade and an excerpt from another Balanchine ballet called Emeralds. That was my first time ever learning Balanchine choreography. It just felt so good in my body and was so musical. That really piqued my interest to go and research New York City Ballet, and then SAB. Yes, that kind of all started at IPB, and they opened my eyes to this other world.

LADC:  Are you the first from Inland to go to SAB or to join New York City Ballet?

Nadon:  I was the first to do both. But what’s fun is Lauren Collette, who I grew up dancing with IPB, now is also in City Ballet. So it’s kind of kind of crazy and fun that we both made it there.

LADC: Was the current artistic director, Zaylin Cano, one of your teachers?

Nadon: Yes, she was one of my teachers. She wasn’t the artistic director at that time, but she was still helping out in a pretty big capacity, so I definitely worked pretty closely with her. She is someone who was just so good at organizing people and treating everyone in a kind and respectful manner while getting things done. And she’s really on top of it, which I really appreciate. It’s been really great to have her kind of step into that position.

LADC: Now that you are in New York City Ballet, do you still find the Balanchine choreography feels as good?

Nadon: Yes, I love it. It’s my favorite to do, and why there’s really no other company I’d want to be in

LADC: The company has widened its spectrum of choreographers, bringing in new choreography. Are there choreographers that you feel similarly about?

Nadon: I really, really love working with Alexei Ratmansky, who’s our new choreographer in residence. I believe that is his title. He has made several ballets on City Ballet, but just joined in an official capacity this year. I think he’s one of the best living choreographers, someone who is incredibly inspiring to work with, and someone who really pushes us to be even better. It’s really exciting to be in the studio with him and have him be involved in the company.

LADC: How do you find his movement different from other choreographers like Balanchine?

Nadon: His movement can feel more physical. You really have to dig in, give it your all and stretch beyond what you think you can do. Ratmansky’s choreography also can be a bit more grounded, but I think there is a similarity between his choreography and Balanchine in that it is very musical, and it really does push you to a higher level just by dancing it.

LADC:  Do you think it’s important for dancers who become professionals to return as you have, to your home studios?

Nadon: Definitely. I feel like when you’re a young ballet student, so much of the benefit is the experience of the studio as a community. I know I definitely felt that I had such close friends at ballet, and when you perform together and are taking class together every day, you form amazing bonds. I really enjoy being able to go back and have those memories, and then, hopefully, be a role model or someone these kids can look up to. I remember being young, and looking up to these dancers, just in awe, to have someone you can aspire to be, whether or not you want to be a professional or not. It just warms my heart every year to come back to the studio that taught me so much, and to be able to give back to that community a little bit too. It is special to come back and feel that full circle moment.

Inland Pacific Ballet brings its Nutcracker to two Inland Empire venues. IPB’s professional dancers are joined by 62 students from IPB’s ballet academy. Guest artists Mira Nadon and Peter Walker from New York City Ballet perform Dec. 21-22 in Claremont. Guest artist Lori Hernández partnered by American Ballet Theatre’s Peter Walker perform Dec. 7-8 in Claremont and Dec. 14-15 in Riverside. Performances at Bridges Auditorium, 450 N. College Way, Claremont; Sat.-Sun., Dec. 7-8 & 21-22, 2 pm, $39-$101. Also at Fox Performing Arts Center, 3801 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside; Sat.-Sun., Dec. 14-15, 2 pm. $41-$136. https://ipballet.org/.

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Written by Ann Haskins for LA Dance Chronicle.

Featured image: Mira Nadon in Inland Pacific Ballet’s Nutcracker – Photo by E.Y. Yanagi.