By Abigail Rasminsky For Dance Spirit

02 December 2020

Finding the Right Cast

To ensure the show would feel authentic, the creators set out to cast dancers who could act, not actors who’d require dance doubles. The process spanned three months and many continents. It often felt—especially when casting two of the leads, roles that ultimately went to Kylie Jefferson and Barton Cowperthwaite—like “trying to find unicorns,” head choreographer and dance consultant Jennifer Nichols says. “To be at that level of dance skill is already a huge feat, and to be a brilliant actor on top of that is hard.”

Nichols was also tasked with making sure every other element of the production accurately reflected the ballet world. “The team consulted about how the shoe room would really look, how the studio was set up, how to tie a pointe shoe ribbon,” Nichols explains. “These are all dead giveaways unless they’re supervised by someone in the dance world. I was worried we wouldn’t have the time and money to make it all look right, but it was never pushed aside.”

Ballet-World Realness

“Tiny Pretty Things” explores issues many young ballet dancers grapple with: How do you befriend your biggest competition? How has racism stained the ballet world? How does a young dancer figure out their sexuality? How common are eating disorders among dancers? “In the past, entertainment often hasn’t done justice to the dance world,” Nichols says. “Not just the ups and downs of it, but also all the difficult work that goes into it.” Oren, played by Barton Cowperthwaite, struggles with his sexual identity and an eating disorder. June, played by Daniela Norman, is tortured by a mother who doesn’t believe in her talent. Bette, played by Casimere Jollette, lives in the shadow of her more gifted sister, a principal dancer in the company. Shane, played by Brennan Clost, worries that his male lover will leave him for a woman.

Kylie Jefferson, 25, who plays Neveah and earned her BFA at The Boston Conservatory, says her character’s storyline reflects her own experiences with racism in ballet from “top to bottom.” In the first episode, the head of the ballet school, played by Lauren Holly, glibly claims that Neveah, who is Black, was plucked out of Compton (she wasn’t); fellow dancers make fun of a YouTube clip of her dancing hip hop; and her ballet teacher critiques her every move (and clothing choice).

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