It’s no secret that the demand for male dancers is high, no matter the age. Often times girls must perform the roles when there are not enough boys to fill them; such as the battle scene soldiers of The Nutcracker or the boys of party scene. This year was our first production of The Nutcracker in which all of the Party scene male student roles were played entirely by our male students! This is due to dedicated boys from the Kansas City Ballet School, such as 8-year-old Gage Chapman from our Level 2 class.
Gage started taking classes at KCBS two years ago, when he saw his older brother dancing and was inspired to give it a try. Already, Gage has had the opportunity to perform in KCB’s The Nutcracker as a soldier and in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as the human child. This was Gage’s second year in The Nutcracker and enjoyed his role in the party scene. He says that he enjoys this role because he has more time on stage, and well… “Its a party!” What more needs to be said?
While Gage and his friends aren’t on stage or in the studio, they like to play games such as Pokemon. In particular, you might catch Gage playing soccer or baseball, doing activities for Cub Scouts, or practicing the piano. Even though all his activities keep him extremely busy, he feels that they are all interconnected. His piano lessons help his musicality in dance, while his dance classes help his coordination and flexibility in sports.
Gage is dedicated to all his activities and plans to continue pursuing them all next year. He would like to one day perform the role of the Soldier Doll played by a Company Dancer in the party scene. Until then, his commitment to dance has helped make this year’s production of The Nutcracker one of the best yet!
