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FAIRBANKS — It’s a party. It’s a story about growing up. It’s a mystical fairy land. For many Fairbanks families, it is a Christmas tradition.

“This is a big part of our holiday season, this is our Christmas,” said Alison York, whose two daughters perform in the North Star Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” each year.

And York’s family is not alone; North Star Ballet artistic director Norman Shelburne estimated there are 75 young dancers involved in the annual production and approximately 100 volunteers, many of them parents of those young dancers, who bring together each of the intricate puzzle pieces to help create what is now, for York and others, an important element of Christmas.

“It is a very well-oiled machine, and to me that’s what is the genius part about it,” York explained. “The show itself has these separate parts and so many people involved, and it becomes a family thing. It is really more than just watching your own kids; you watch the whole group and get to know these kids and families year after year.”

Practice, practice, practice

While auditions and rehearsals for “The Nutcracker” don’t begin until September or later each year, the many young feet involved begin their preparatory work much earlier, most of them starting in North Star Ballet’s youth Creative Movement class as toddlers. Dancers start in the program at age 4 and continue their hard work and learning until, triumphantly, they are allowed to perform in the school’s productions at age 8. It is a big moment for those dancers, parents agree.

“They’ve had to wait and watch the older kids in the show each year, and they have to work for four years until it is their turn, and it means so much to them,” said Karen Pyne, who also has two daughters in this year’s show.

Pyne’s daughters are a perfect example of that anticipation and reward. Her older daughter, Leah, 16, started in dancing with “Miss Ruthie” — Ruth Merriman, who teaches the Creative Movement class — when she was 4, and Gail, now 8, has been in the class the last four years and is now ready for her first performance in “The Nutcracker.”

“There is definitely an element of little sister looking up to big sister. Gail has the same role her older sister did when she started, so it is a special moment,” Pyne said. “Leah can coach her, tell her what to do and what it will be like. It is so fun to watch, with one daughter just beginning and one more grown and mature.”

York has also watched her daughters, and many other children, climb the ranks within the school. She explained that each year, before school starts in late August or early WSeptember, students audition for each of the hierarchy of companies within the school: junior company, apprentice company, and senior company. Elder dancers, like 16-year-old Leah and York’s oldest daughter Julia, 17, are members of the elder ranking company, while dancers as young as 8-year-old Gail are generally in the junior company; York’s younger daughter, Ellen, 14, is in apprentice company. York said the advancement of dancers correlates with the maturity of the parts they play on stage.

“You have all these parts, and as the dancers get older they become sophisticated, and the parts mature as the kids mature,” she said. “They love to see each other from the wings, because they are thinking about what they may play next year or the year after that.”

Both Pyne and York migrated toward the school after their daughters enrolled in Creative Movement years ago. York said she was skeptical before attending her first “Nutcracker” production because, having grown up in San Francisco, the home of “one of the best ballet companies in the world,” and being new to a small town, she didn’t believe the Fairbanks company could hold up. She was wrong.

“Someone said, ‘We should go to the Nutcracker,’ and I thought, ‘Oh, right small town,’ but within the first act I was amazed, it was just wonderful,” she recalled. “I remember thinking, ‘That is not just a group of talented girls; they have been trained. Someone there knows what the are doing.’”

So about a year later Julia was enrolled, and York “got involved in the government side of things,” serving as a member of the board of directors. She now does a lot of the printing for production and public relations material and is also the dressing room coordinator.

“In each show there are about 30 kids under the age of 12, so you have five little mice, four cherubs, a bunch of elves and soldiers, who all need to be upstairs at the right time,” she said.

It sounds like quite a task, but it is just one of many steps in the process. Pyne is highly involved in another step: Creating the costumes, and her work is hectic before the show opens.

“I started helping with costumes because I liked to sew,” she said. “There are a lot of people involved, and it is fun to work with this beautiful fabric.”

Pyne works closely with another mother, Mindy Gallagher, to coordinate costume days when kids come in to the studio to try on existing costumes, and everything is measured and adjustment plans are made. Then they plan “several sewing afternoons, especially for the tutus,” she said, and sewers work together until the costumes are done.

There are also groups of Elf Mothers and Party Room Mothers and others who act as coordinators during the show to get each child dressed and to the bathroom and fitted with makeup before sending them on to York. Again, York noted the well-oiled machine.

For the Pynes and the Yorks, these undertakings, combined with rehearsals for their daughters, adds up to a huge time commitment. But even for families not involved in the behind-the-scenes work for “The Nutcracker,” just being in the show is a notable time commitment.

“There is a tremendous amount of time involved. Between the three of us, we could be dancing six days a week,” said David Monson, who performs each year as a Party Father, along with his two daughters, Tekla, 13, and Chisana, 8.

Monson said his role mostly involves “wearing Victorian clothing and standing around looking very important,” but his daughters have more technical roles each has “worked up the food chain” to acquire. Tekla will play the role of Clara, the young girl who is led into fairy land and transforms into a young woman in the story. Monson said it “is the epitome of what every girl dreams of” and that it has been fun to watch, especially with the big sister-little sister element; Chisana plays a mouse.

The Monsons’ story is a little different than Yorks or Pynes; David got involved with the show after his wife, well-known dog musher Susan Butcher, started working mostly on set work in 2004. The following year, the entire family had plans to be involved, with Monson cast as the Party Father and the girls dancing, but plans changed; Susan was diagnosed with leukemia two days before the show started. She lost her battle with cancer in August 2006.

“She didn’t get to see us all dance,” Monson said, noting it has been a special part of the holiday season in subsequent years to have that connection with Susan through the show. “That has made it significantly more sentimental for me.”

Regardless of the type of contributions made, or amount time put in, those involved say it is almost like a virus — and too hard to resist.

“You want to help because the kids are nice, but the parents are really nice too and you get to know these really nice families from all over town,” Pyne said. “This becomes the time of year to get together, and everyone pitches in because you want to help make it all run smoothly. It is a big family, and something you really look forward to each year. You get to see your Nutcracker family again.”

Where it all began

Norman Shelburne had been working as artistic director of the Lexington Ballet in Kentucky for seven years when he was asked to come up to Fairbanks to produce “The Nutcracker.” The school had staged the second act of the show the year before and was interested in getting some help doing the full-length production.

“I came and did it, they asked me to come back and I’m still here,” he said, 22 years later.

The show is a success in Fairbanks, Shelburne said, not only because of the wonderful story that is told — “First and foremost it is about Christmas and it really sets the holiday tone,” he said — but also because of the enormous amount of volunteer support that brings all the pieces together. People in Fairbanks appreciate North Star Ballet, he said, because “having a real ballet company is somewhat of an anomaly in a small community like this.”

“It is the fact that we have a school with a very special philosophy of teaching that lets kids connect the education in dance, and it is things that they can use whatever they decide to do,” Shelburne said. “That is why this school has been so successful.”

Pyne agreed, crediting Shelburne’s approach with the success of the school and subsequently its shows.

“I really like the atmosphere of the studio and the school. It is a really healthy environment and they really care about how the kids are developing as people, not just dancers,” Pyne said. “What they are learning there can be translated into whatever they are doing in life. They are working with people that are expecting excellence and they have to put in time and hard work. And the result is really good.”

Showtime

Even though the same ballet has been performed in Fairbanks for 22 years, those involved in its preparation say it is different, and worth seeing, each year.

“You may have seen it, but you haven’t seen it with this cast. There are different kids in each part each year, and everyone brings something amazing and unique to each show,” York said. “Norman gives the kids room to be creative, and he knows what he is doing and he is interested in letting them experiment.”

Pyne agree, noting that watching the kids grow up and take on increasingly challenging roles is a big part of the fun. And even if the story and the dances are somewhat the same, the joy of watching the “gracefulness of the dance” never fades.

“It is just like ice cream. You don’t just eat it once and grow tired of it. You can enjoy it time and time again,” she said.

And with each experience, everyone has that special something they enjoy most.

“There are moments before each show that Norman brings everyone together and asks them to take a moment to think about what they are about to do ad what they are bringing to the audience. He emphasizes that inward thinking and I think that’s where this show really enhances the students involved,” Pyne said.

For Monson, the dancing is the best part, not only because he enjoys being dressed up on stage but also because he gets to do it alongside his daughters.

“There is something magical about being up on stage and being up close to your child when she is doing something she loves so much,” he said. “It is more than satisfying.”

York noted the satisfaction of watching all the hard work come to fruition, knowing there are “lots of people that wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Part of the reason for that devotion to the story, both from audience members and those on stage and behind-the-scenes, is the strong, personal message it carries for everyone. While most agree the story of “The Nutcracker” is first a holiday tradition, its meaning for each individual is unique and strong.

“There is this story of good triumphing over evil, bravery winning in the end, that resonates with us all. There are all these different facets in it, and it really stimulates creativity and brings communities together,” Shelburne said.

York agreed. For her the main message, which resonates both on stage and in the countless hours of preparation for the show, is that “it takes a village to raise a child.” For her, during the Nutcracker season, she and her husband, Brian Barnes, are not solely raising their daughters; the entire Nutcracker family is involved in raising all of the children.

“Fairbanks is wonderful about supporting our hometown kids and that is what you see going on here. It takes a village to raise a child, and this story is about growing up and growing up in a community with adults around that are all there with you, supporting you,” she said.

For Pyne, the meaning is two-fold: There is the family element, similar to York’s belief, and there is a story about finding one’s own individuality and personal expression.

“When you come to the end (after Clara finishes the dance with the sugar plum fairies) there is this idea that she has to go back and work hard and strive for her dreams,” she said.

For Monson, that element of Christmas magic is just too hard to resist.

“I hope the sense of joy and friendship and magic that takes place for children and adults is not forgotten. Those things can still exist today and do and it is an important thing to remember, especially this time of year,” he said. “It is important to appreciate who you are, who you meet, and make sure that magic continues and is experienced.”

Thanks to the North Star Ballet Studio, that magic has been alive in Fairbanks for 22 years — and counting.

Contact Features Editor Erica Goff at 459-7523.