Harlingen students prepare for ‘The Nutcracker’ at Performing Arts Conservatory

Actors perform during a dress rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center at Harlingen CISD Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, as Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory and HCISD Schools present Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)

HARLINGEN — Clara dances delightfully across the stage, her blue velvet dress shining beneath the lights, the music seeming to conduct her every move.

Uncle Drosselmeyer dashes by, delivering a smart nutcracker to his darling niece at the Performing Arts Conservatory at 3217 Wilson Rd.

And Kaylinn Reed brings to life the actual Nutcracker, the toy, in the fantasy life of Clara created by the Russian Composer Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky. The favorite Christmas piece will open Friday and continue until Sunday.

“I’m the toy,” said Kaylinn, 11, a sixth grader at Gutierrez Middle School of Arts and Sciences.

“I feel like it’s an honor being I’m only in my sixth-grade year and not a lot of people get to play the Nutcracker until their seventh grade year,” Kaylinn said. “So, it is an honor that I was chosen.”

This year’s presentation of “The Nutcracker” by the Harlingen school district under the direction of Illiana Cantu combines talent from the elementary, middle school and high school levels … and even beyond.

Meet James Gracia who plays Uncle Drosselmeyer in this year’s Nutcracker at the PAC. By the time he graduated from Harlingen High School South in 2018, he had already made a name for himself in the school district’s performing arts program. He went to New York where he attended the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, from which he graduated in 2022.

And then …

“I was acting professionally, and I got a bunch of great roles, a bunch of great jobs,” said James, now 24. “But after two years, I think I got to a point where I realized, ‘Maybe I need to take a step back.’”

He had discovered the glass ceiling of the music theater business which says success in the profession requires more than just talent. A performer must be in the right place at the right time to meet the right people and make the right connections.

And so … that step back brought him back to his roots in Harlingen, where he was hired in August as a teaching assistant at Harlingen High School. And he has brought a wealth of experience and training to the theater students at the school district.

Actors perform during a dress rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center at Harlingen CISD Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, as Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory and HCISD Schools present Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)

And more specifically to “The Nutcracker” at the PAC.

“It feels great,” he said. “Ms. Cantu is a champion of a director for taking this on like she’s done every year, and I’m happy to jump in and be a part of it. All of these kids have, you can just tell, they are so hungry and so smart and intelligent.”

He has especially enjoyed the opportunity to deliver the Nutcracker to Clara, played by Vesper Garza, 12, a seventh grader at Gutierrez Middle School of Arts and Sciences.

“I am enjoying it really well,” said Vesper, a young lady with a small frame and the energy and heart and soul of a firecracker — and a passion bigger than an entire symphony.

Like many of the players, she has faced the challenge of some complex dance moves requiring the skill of a ballerina.

“I haven’t done ballet in awhile, but I’ve started getting back into it,” she said. “Overall it’s been a really amazing and influential time.”

She seemed to absolutely love Clara.

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Actors perform during a dress rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center at Harlingen CISD Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, as Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory and HCISD Schools present Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)

Actors perform during a dress rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center at Harlingen CISD Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, as Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory and HCISD Schools present Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)

Actors perform during a dress rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center at Harlingen CISD Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, as Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory and HCISD Schools present Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)

Actors perform during a dress rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center at Harlingen CISD Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, as Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory and HCISD Schools present Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)

Actors perform during a dress rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center at Harlingen CISD Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, as Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory and HCISD Schools present Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)

Actors perform during a dress rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center at Harlingen CISD Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, as Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory and HCISD Schools present Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)

Actors perform during a dress rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center at Harlingen CISD Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, as Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory and HCISD Schools present Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)

“I love how she’s more elegant and more well poised and she’s very dramatic,” Vesper said. “I love dramatic and that’s really why I love her.”

The dancing has been a challenge for even veterans of the PAC like Nadia Vento, 15, who plays a parent.

“I don’t dance so I’m stepping out of my comfort zone,” Nadia said.

But … “This is my first year doing Nutcracker,” Nadia said. “I haven’t done it before, and I am really enjoying it.”

Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.hcisdpa.org.

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