Hauppauge Dancer Prepares for Spotlight in The Nutcracker

A Hauppauge dancer is preparing to take to the stage this weekend to perform in the holiday classic, The Nutcracker, in Patchogue. 

Alexa Rose Scimeca, 17, will put on ballet shoes and a blue tutu to perform in the American Dance Theatre of Long Island's performance of Clara's Dream The Nutcracker at The Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4.

"The Nutcracker is my favorite production of the year and it's my last," Scimeca said. 

After 11 years of performing in the holiday show, this is her last before graduating from St. Anthony's High School and heading off to college in 2012. Yet, the holiday classic holds a certain magic for her. 

"I love the whole story line, where you get to become a character," Scimeca said. 

Scimeca has been studying classic ballet since she was 5 with Kathy Kairns-Scholz, director of the American Dance Theatre of Long Island, gradually expanding into on pointe, classical, lyrical and modern studies. 

She remembers auditioning to perform in The Nutcracker for the first time, landing the role of an Angel. 

"I remember during my first time I was very nervous. I was very comfortable with the setting but I had never auditioned before," She said. "When I found out I was an angel I was so excited." 

Since then, Scimeca has danced the roles of an Angel, Mouse, Candy Cane, Marzipan, Spanish, Snow, Harlequin, Flower and Blossom to name a few. Her favorite role has been as Snow, because its long choregraphed dance scene involves performing alongside the other girls in her company and shows off what they learn year to year. 

For her final performance, she will perform as a Party Scene Mom, the Columbine Doll and the Lead Spanish. 

"The Lead Spanish is very important to me because I've danced in the Spanish scene before, but now its as lead. It's also a partnering role," Scimeca said, as she prepares to dance alongside a male partner. 

The dancer has been rehearsing long hours with more than 100 others, rehearsing six days as week before the first show on Saturday at 2 p.m. It's a grueling schedule that's become part of her family's holiday tradition, as her mother helps out backstage with hair, makeup, costume changes and props. 

Scimeca said she'll miss the hustle and bustle of the production in the years ahead, calling her final upcoming performances "bittersweet. " 

"These girls are like my sisters, I'll always look out for them," she said. "American Dance Theatre is like my second home and leaving is bittersweet."