East Aiken School of the Arts student to perform 'The Nutcracker'

Stephanie Hill, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·3 min read

Dec. 11—The Nutcracker and Sugar Plum Fairy are about to come to life in Aiken.

The appearance comes courtesy of 30 third grade students at East Aiken School of the Arts who are preparing for their upcoming performance of "The Nutcracker." Morgan Hanna, the music teacher, and Mary O'Conner are in charge of the show, which is taking place later this month.

They were suppose to hold a performance of the "The Nutcracker" previously, but COVID changed the plans. Since they had items ordered already, they decided to go forward with it this year.

"I just figured it was pretty basic and it didn't require a whole lot of extra stuff and it would be a good introductory piece to get the kids back into performing," Hanna said. "These children in third grade, they have not seen a performance nor have they been in a performance since COVID. This is like a big deal for the school."

The third graders had to audition for the show, and not all of them made it, Hanna said.

Tanner Walp is playing the Rat King in the show and said he wanted to be in the show because it's "fun."

"I like music a lot, and we get to do it everyday," Walp said.

Walp said his favorite song is the Russian Dance and he's excited for the show.

Londyn Hill, who is playing Clara, auditioned because she thought it was fun.

"I like music a lot and I really wanted to be in the show," Hill said.

Preston Landaverde, who is playing The Nutcracker, said he wanted to be in the show because he and his parents like to go to Hopelands Gardens to see the Christmas lights. He added that his favorite song is the March.

Anna Hagan, who is playing one of the rat soldiers, auditioned for the show because she wanted to try something new.

"I'm scared of everything and just to turn over a new leaf," Hagan said.

To get ready for the performance the kids rehearsed during school two days a week until recently when it changed to everyday, Hanna said. The kids have also been putting in work at home to prepare.

"For the most part the kids have really been working on their own to learn the music at home," Hanna said. "We put music up on the website, I made cd's for them to take home, so they've had to learn most of that on their own. Then we work on the choreography and finishing touches whenever they come here in class."

As time gets closer to the show the kids are getting more and more excited, Hanna said. She is too, especially when it comes to seeing the kids dressed up.

"They're going to do awesome," Hanna said. "Just to finally get out there and finally be able to perform for the community again is always one of our favorite things."

"The Nutcracker" will be performed Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at Hopelands Gardens. There is no cost to attend this performance.