“Nutcracker” spotlight on Meindersee, Chen

The Nutcracker’s long December run give just about every Milwaukee Ballet dancer a turn in the spotlight.

Janel Meindersee, for example, will dance the Snow Queen, a big solo, on some nights. But in this egalitarian company, she will also be another queen’s Snowflake. In addition to those two roles, Meindersee will appear as a parent at the party in Act 1, a corps flower, and the Arabian and Spanish pas de deux.

“But that’s how I like it,” Meindersee said, of her six roles. “I like to feel like I’m working hard. Once I get on stage and the adrenaline kicks in, I’m fine. I love The Nutcracker. We get 17 shows!”

Meindersee, in her second year with Milwaukee Ballet, spoke in a joint interview Wednesday with Mengjun Chen, who was promoted to the main company this fall after a year with Milwaukee Ballet II. Chen will play a parent in Act 1 and do the Spanish in Act 2 in most performances, but sometimes he gets the coveted role of Fritz, the show’s prankster little brother.

“I saw the casting and thought ‘Oh my god!'” he said. “This is the first big role of my career. I’m very happy and excited to be doing Fritz.”

Both dancers understudied their bigger roles last year, but did not perform them in 2011. Both found that experience extremely helpful to them this year.

“I didn’t have to learn the steps, but to perfect them,” Meindersee said. “I had something to build on and could add character. I had danced as a Snowflake, but I never really knew how much is going on in that scene until I did Snow Queen. Fritz and Clara are running around in this crazy snow storm having a great time. I play a part in their comedy. I’m the one in complete control, leading them through the land of snow so the don’t get lost, and laughing at their playfulness.”

Fritz spends a good deal of the ballet tormenting Clara, his slightly older sister. It wasn’t that much of a leap for Chen.

“When I was young, my parents were both very busy, and I spent almost all my time with my sister,” he said. “She’s two years older than I am. So I just pretend that Clara is my sister, and I’m not Fritz, I’m just Mengjun. Sometimes he’s mean, but that’s just because he’s a boy. In their hearts they love each other.”

Chen owes his career to his sister. He tagged along with her to dance classes from about age 7. After a year of that, the teacher asked who is that kid and why is he sitting around? The school kindly allowed the family a two-for-one discount. Needless to say, the young fellow took to dancing.

All this occurred in Wenzhou, in southern China, by the way. At 9, Chen auditioned for the government-run Beijing Dance Academy, but was cut in the second round of auditions.

“That was in March,” he said. “In August, my mother got a phone call.”

The Academy wondered whether Mengjun was still interested. Another Wenzhou kid had dropped out, and policy dictated that the replacement had to come from the same city.

“It’s like ballet chose me, I didn’t choose ballet,” he said. “But I’m not tall, and the academy likes tall men. So I felt like I had to work harder than everyone else.”

Seven years later, he graduated from the academy. By now, his sister had moved to New York for graduate study at NYU. Chen was about to start an MFA course of study in Beijing, but Big Sister asked him to think about coming to America to dance. She researched apprentice programs and found that one was still open for applications. Chen went online, filled out the Joffrey Ballet apprenticeship application, and didn’t have to wait long.

“They answered the next day,” Chen said. “The magic happened again.”

After a year in the Chicago company, he auditioned for Milwaukee Ballet II and spent one year with that training company. Artistic director Michael Pink promoted him to the main company in the fall of 2011.

Meindersee grew up in Vancouver, Wash., an across the border suburb of Portland, Ore. She started dance classes at 8, at a neighborhood dance school with low ambitions.

“I didn’t fall in love with dance until I got my first pair of pointe shoes,” she said.

That happened at 12. At 14, her mother finally took her to see her first ballet — Nutcracker — in the Oregon Ballet Theatre production.

“I remember telling my mom: ‘I want to dance on that stage,'” she said.

She switched to OBT’s school and spent every possible hour taking dance classes and practicing. OBT took Meindersee into its apprentice company. Some Oregon dancers recommended her to James Canfield, who had recently moved to Nevada Ballet after a long tenure as OBT’s artistic director. Canfield hired her.

“Crossing from pre-professional to professional is difficult,” she said.”Once you pass that, opportunity opens. I had met a few dancers who’d been in Milwaukee Ballet II and said this is a good company.”

Meindersee did some research and liked what she saw. She auditioned in early April, amid the company’s spring mixed-rep run at Uihlein Hall.

“I auditioned on the stage,” she said. “The great thing was that I got to see a performance. I have to be someplace where I can respect the dancing. I saw that concert and knew that I would love to dance here.”

The Nutcracker opens at the Marcus Center Saturday, Dec. 8, and runs through Dec. 26. See the full schedule and purchase tickets online ($30 to $78) or call 414-273-7206.

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