Taking on one role in a staged production is challenging enough; now imagine taking on three separate roles within one show. That’s exactly the task Nicole Bugge of West Windsor has undertaken, not only with enthusiasm but with the grace befitting a ballerina. The 18-year-old freshman fine arts major at Rider University juggles a full course load of academic subjects in addition to all of the classes required for her dance concentration. And now, during the upcoming holiday season, she will perform alongside professional company members from the American Repertory Ballet in the second-longest consecutive running Nutcracker in the United States. The ARB’s Princeton Ballet School first performed “The Nutcracker” in 1964.
“I would not trade the long days of practicing for anything else on the world,” says Bugge. “I am so lucky to be part of an amazing production. Our Nutcracker is special because it’s a good integration of professional dancers and students. It’s a learning experience for the students to be able to look up to the professionals.”
Graham Lustig’s “The Nutcracker” will run at McCarter Theater on November 19 at 7 p.m.; November 20, 25, and 26 at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.; and November 27 at 1 p.m. On November 20, a Nutcracker Children’s Tea Party, with photo opportunities with the characters, will take place at 11 a.m. Bugge and two other Rider dance majors will also perform with the production at the State Theater in New Brunswick, the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton, and the Bernie Center at Ramapo College in Mahwah.
One of Bugge’s three roles is that of a Keppel sister. “There are two of them in the show,” she explains. “They are very prissy upperclass children who are concerned with their image. We get brushes and combs so we’re primping on stage and acting snobby. There’s a lot of acting required for this role.”
She also plays a Russian dancer in what is traditionally a Nutcracker crowd favorite. “It’s a partner dance involving two couples and a soloist, very upbeat, fast, open, and proud. I’m one of the partners in the couples dance, and I’m happy to be on stage and dancing with everyone. The audience always gets into it. It’s such an energy booster.”
Her third role is as an Arabian dancer. “There’s a lead couple, then two of us come out wrapped in a chiffon scarf and do a lot of movements that are slinky and sensual. The girls I dance with, we’re all very close, we’ve been dancing together for years, so we smile at each other on stage and have a lot of fun.”
Bugge has been taking dance classes at the Princeton Ballet School for the past 13 years and has performed in the Nutcracker before, but this is the first time she is performing as a dancer in Rider’s fine arts department.
The school’s partnership with the American Repertory Ballet’s Princeton Ballet School is distinctive in that it enables students to study with conservatory level faculty while receiving a liberal arts education. Bugge is one of 48 dance majors and minors trained by both Rider faculty and such renowned ARB faculty as Douglas Martin, Mary Barton, Maria Youskevitch and Kyra Nichols, a principal dancer with the New York City ballet.
Bugge graduated from High School North where her father, Greg, still teaches American history. Her mother, Michelle, gives private piano lessons and also works as a teacher’s aide at Village Elementary School. An older sister, Danielle, is a junior at Wesleyan in Connecticut, studies art and physics and plays ice hockey. Brother Joshua is an eighth grader at Community Middle School, and plays ice hockey and the oboe. Another brother, Benjamin, in sixth grade, at Community, also plays ice hockey on a travel team and is a competitive swimmer.
The family moved to West Windsor 14 years ago, but Bugge’s mother, Michelle, says that her daughter’s interest and talent in dance was evident almost from the day she was born. “We would look at her, only about five pounds or so, and she was so petite, so tiny, we would look at her and say there’s our dancer. Her kindergarten teacher used to say, Nicole, stop walking on your toes! I think she would rather be on stage, be able to make people feel good in a world that can be so unpredictable these days.”
Bugge says that while she misses her family being away at college, she loves the independence of what she’s doing, and the freedom to dance hours a day. Her dream is to dance in a professional company. She’d also like to choreograph, an art that’s always been a passion of hers.
As for now, she’s focused on getting all her schoolwork done in a responsible manner, rehearsing, and gearing up to give holiday audiences a joyful experience. “At McCarter the audience is right there. You can see out the first few rows and even see the outlines of people in the balcony. It’s amazing when you see little kids in the front row and when you make eye contact, they smile. We bring the magic directly to them and it’s a wonderful feeling.”
– Euna Kwon Brossman
The Nutcracker, McCarter Theater, 91 University Place, 609-258-2787. Opens Saturday, November 19. $28 to $40.
