When the main cast members of this year's edition of The Nutcracker were only children in the party scenes, they had one of their own to look up to. Matthew Cluff performed the male lead role of The Prince in 2009 and many of the kids in the chorus were inspired by his professionalism.
It wasn't misplaced admiration. Cluff went quickly on from Judy Russell's Enchainement Dance Studios to the professional ranks. He is now one of the principal ballerinos with Ballet Victoria and this year on multiple occasions he has been cast as The Prince in southern B.C. productions of the Christmas-time classic.
So did the years of appearances in Russell's Prince George version (he first performed in The Nutcracker at Vanier Hall at the age of five) help his professional handling of the show?
"Yeah. With that familiarity, I can just focus on the details; I can let the character take over because you don't have those first-time jitters," he said in between performances this week. "It's just as interesting for me to see all those young dancers who were 10, 11, 12 when I was The Prince now reach the point that they are the principal dancers."
It was while performing as one of the supporting dancers during a Judy Russell Nutcracker that Cluff decided to turn dancing into a profession. He had been studying the athletic arts since a small child, and had multiple specialties in tap, jazz and other forms of dance. But during the seminal holiday ballet, when he was about 14 years old, something changed in Cluff's mind. He suddenly realized at the top of his mind that all the hard work and rehearsals had a larger purpose. It was more than recreation, more than just that routine he'd had in his life since Kindergarten. This world of dance was, underneath all the theatre and facade, a dynamic profession.
"I wanted that 100 per cent mark, in everything I did," he said. "I made up my mind that year that dance was going to be my future. But I didn't know ballet would become my path. I like the stage side, the tap, the jazz, there are just so many genres within dance. But I was always pursuing better technique, perfecting the technique, so that meant a lot of ballet."
It got the attention of the gatekeepers at the acclaimed ballet program at San Francisco Ballet School at which Cluff attended for two and a half years. That led to a job offer from Ballet Victoria where Cluff has been studying and performing for the past three years.
"Ballet school was not, believe it or not, about me becoming a ballet dancer," he said. "Dance, to me, is about being an entertainer, and inspiring others. I still want to stay in touch with my jazz and tap roots. Ballet is about honing my technique, so I get the best of both worlds."
He would also enjoy acting, instead of each production being exclusively about the emotions of dance. He is privileged to be employed on a full-time basis in the dance field, so he isn't inclined to walk away from a company as rich in opportunities as Ballet Victoria. Yet he still hopes for future opportunities.
"Izaak (Smith, a dancer at Enchainement ahead of Cluff) has really done well with that," Cluff said. "He has done some movies, he has been able to dance on a TV show. I was at a movie theatre and the commercial before the movie started was Izaak doing his thing, and it's going to be exciting where he goes with his career."
He isn't taking anything for granted, but he knows, even at the age of only 22, that he got chances with Russell, at the San Francisco school, and now with Ballet Victoria that many other dancers don't get. He has been able to accelerate through the dance establishment with meaty roles and intensive training opportunities.
"It's been eye opening; it's been challenging, but it has all moved me forward in a relatively short period of time," he said. "I'm very blessed by the growth experiences I've had."
Next up for Cluff, once he is finished with the season's Nutcracker opportunities, is Romeo & Juliet in March and Cinderella in May.
The local production of The Nutcracker, with its cast of, perhaps, future professionals, goes ahead at Vanier Hall this coming week. Tickets are on sale now at Studio 2880.
