It’s that time of year where traditions abound.
One of the most memorable is being part of the audience delighting in Judy Russell’s The Nutcracker.
Matthew Cluff, who grew up learning dance at Russell’s Enchainement Dance Centre, has spent many years as a professional ballet dancer and now he has taken up the role as the Prince in the Nutcracker during this year’s performance set for Dec. 17 to 19 at Vanier Hall.
It started for Cluff when his brother, Stephen, who is three years older, was dancing at the Enchainement Dance Centre and because big brother was there, Cluff wanted to be there, too. He was two years old.
“I started to take dance a bit more seriously and joined the competition team when I was about eight years old,” Cluff said.
“When I was about 12 years old I was getting a haircut - and it was around Nutcracker time - and I decided I wanted to be a professional dancer - but I never thought I’d be a professional ballet dancer. I was just really inspired by good technicians and people with flexibility - as cliche as it sounds - like people on shows like So You Think You Can Dance.”
Cluff said he graduated with a really strong group of dancers and back when he was 12 or 13, he had felt like the weakest link.
“So over the next couple of years I really worked hard and things got a lot more serious with dancing,” Cluff said. “There were a lot of out of town competitions.”
Cluff finished high school a year early so that he could attend ballet school sooner.
“My reason to attend ballet school was just to gain technique,” Cluff said. “I just wanted that so I could be the best that I could be.”
During his time at Enchainement, he also explored all manner of dance including hip hop and tap.
“At Judy’s you’re not just a one-trick pony,” Cluff added.
During his time at ballet school, other students in their second and third year were auditioning at ballet companies. So he did, too.
“I wasn’t expecting to become a ballet dancer,” Cluff said.
He joined the Ballet Victoria dance troupe where he also taught children on a recreational level.
He’s taught tap and ballet and done choreography as well over the years.
“I feel very comfortable in those roles so I did a little bit of everything everywhere because of my training at Judy’s,” Cluff said.
The leap from San Franciso Ballet school to dancing lead in a professional ballet company was massive, he added.
“I was fast-tracked from ballet school to dancing the lead roles with Ballet
Looking back at his career, Cluff said the time at Ballet
He attributes his preparedness for the stage to Judy’s training and the many performance opportunities she provides to any dancers who are interested.
“It wasn’t just the year-end recital but also The Nutcracker and you’re always performing and while I still get nervous in the wings, I still feel very comfortable once I hit the stage,” Cluff. “So ballet was the main thing that I did and then I did smaller gigs and passion projects.”
When COVID-19 hit, Cluff’s performance opportunities dried up and that was a problem for someone who lived to be on the stage.
He decided to turn to another love and now Cluff is a filmmaker. He discovered he had a knack for it when Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal spent time performing in
“I think that’s a nice way to cherish the memories - little videos like that,” Cluff said.
He took an online fiilmmaking course that felt like it got him on the right path, he added.
“It’s been a great ride - I’ve filmed some music videos, I’ve filmed a couple television advertisements and some luxury real estate and it’s totally a U-turn from ballet and I don’t know where it comes from - I just think that it’s kind of fun - it’s creative in a different sense - how you want to shoot it, how you want to edit it, the planning going into it.”
The ironic part of it is that his brother went to film school but didn’t pursue it, Cluff didn’t go to film school and is now pursuing it.
So is Stephen going to ballet school now?
“That would be really funny,” Cluff laughed.
During a summer intensive he taught at Enchainement this year, Cluff was offered the role of the Prince and decided it would be a nice to perform at home once again. Cluff, now 28, hasn’t been home for the holidays since he left high school to attend ballet school.
“It’s so nice that I can be here to perform in the Nutcracker and spend time with my family over Christmas,” Cluff said.
Looking back on his history with The Nutcracker, his first performance in the classic holiday ballet was when he was four years old.
“And now 24 years later it’s still going strong,” Cluff said. “The last time I performed as the Prince was my last year in high school and coming back 12 years later is exciting. I remember being four years old and seeing the Prince and he’s leaping around the stage and it’s kind of an inspiration and to have gone through a career in ballet and to be able to come back and do that - especially for your home studio as well - it’s going to be really special. “
