Emma Vogelmann of Evanston has to dress up like a boy when she joins the other children who dance in the Joffrey Ballet production of “The Nutcracker,” but the 10-year-old doesn’t mind.
The part she plays was written for a child who uses a wheelchair. That gives Emma–who was born with spinal muscular atrophy and has never been able to walk–a chance to test her wheelchair dance skills in front of an audience.
“I was really excited and nervous on opening night, because a lot of people come to see it,” Emma said. “It’s fun, and it’s really cool.”
For seven years, the Joffrey Ballet has recruited children who use wheelchairs for the role of a little boy in the party scene of “The Nutcracker,” which opened this month at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.
“The party scene was re-choreographed to include a child in a wheelchair,” said Carla Graham-White, children’s ballet mistress with the Joffrey.
This year, Emma is among four children recruited to play the part on various nights, Graham-White said.
This is Emma’s second year playing the role. She wears pants, a jacket, a red bow around her neck, and she puts her long, dark hair in a bun with a hat over it.
The 4th grader at King Lab School in Evanston has taken wheelchair dancing classes, and she said she enjoys dancing along with dozens of other children in “The Nutcracker.”
“I get to do a lot of stuff with the company, and I get to see all the other dancers,” Emma said.
“The Nutcracker” runs through Dec. 28.
