Day After Day

The Nutcracker

AN: September-December 2028

Please note there are some slight spoilers for chapters of EWYG that haven't been published yet, (or written beyond a basic outline tbh). They aren't major but I really didn't want to wait a year to post this. Feel free to message me @livebloggingkidshows on tumblr if you want know what it is.

"Jude?" Richelle's not even really that surprised to see her here (beyond not seeing her in almost eight years), the company she recently got a job with is one of the very few willing to work with disabled and neurodivergent dancers; and they're hosting open auditions for that year's Nutcracker.

She only got home yesterday after going back to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with Noah's family. Noah and Jacquie are still up in Canada and will be through Yom Kippur the following weekend.

Jude awkwardly waves but doesn't otherwise say anything. She goes back to intently focusing on her phone, Richelle assumes it's probably a video of the choreography for the second half of the auditions. She gets it, they'll have time to catch up later, if Jude wants to, once the stressful part of the day is over.

The audition itself flies by, and even though it's an open audition most of the people there she recognizes as part of the company. The cast lists will go up by the end of the week and so Richelle's doing her best to not stress about it until then.

"Hey," Jude comes up to her in the parking lot after.

"Hey. Do you live in New York now?" Richelle mentally kicks herself after asking that. Why would she be auditioning for a company in a city she didn't live in?

Jude nods, "Yeah, Cleo and I just moved a few weeks ago. This company is actually part of the reason we moved. I, uh, I saw that you posted about getting the job a few months ago, and I'm sure you know how hard it can be to get a job with the dance world being what it is. But I saw they were holding open auditions so I took a chance, I figure, even if I don't get this job I can probably get a job teaching somewhere and audition for the company next season."

"That's awesome! This company's pretty cool, there were a couple others I joined for a season, but they usually didn't last. If you don't have anywhere you have to be, I'd love to get coffee and catch up."

***

When the cast lists go up, Richelle and Jude go together, being in the company Richelle is guaranteed a spot, but Jude isn't, and really, exciting or disappointing, it's always better to have someone with you. They both breathe a sigh of relief when they see Jude's name on the lists. Even though she's been with this company for a few months now Richelle still doesn't really have any friends, so it'll be nice to have Jude there too.

They each find their names listed a few times, Richelle as the maid, chocolate and Mother Ginger (she's pretty sure that one is at least partially because "the powers that be" have seen her interact with the kids at the studio more than the adults and she even recognizes a few of the kids in her classes listed under the mice, party children, and polichinelles) for both casts. And Jude as chocolate and a flower for one cast, and a parent, coffee, and another flower for the other.

The Mother Ginger rehearsals are one of the first places where she sees just how different this company is from others she's danced with (for her personally, she's seen plenty of physically disabled dancers in the months since she started, and Jude at auditions. But this is the first time she's used her own accommodations, and there's something drastically different about knowing abstractly that she's allowed accommodations and actually using them). She's allowed to wear her earplugs to block out the noise of the tap and character shoes on the wooden floor. There's a girl in one of the casts, Aly, who wears ear defenders during their rehearsals, she'll wear more subtle earplugs during the show (her choice), but Richelle's talked to her and apparently she likes the fact that her ear defenders are more obvious so people know she's not ignoring them on purpose. And it really hits her how much having a studio like this would've helped her when she was younger. As great as TNS was she was constantly masking at the studio and she didn't often have access to accommodations until after Emily became studio head, and even then she didn't have as many as she probably needed. She certainly would've never been allowed to wear ear defenders at rehearsals and she was only rarely allowed to wear earplugs. Or take breaks when she starts to get overstimulated, which doesn't happen often if she has her other accommodations. Knowing she has the option though is huge.

***

Dance became one of her special interests within a few years of joining TNS, she would often ask to go early or stay late to watch the older kids. As soon as she learned to read she could almost always be found with a book about dance, dance history, or an encyclopedia of all the styles, anything she could find. Her special interest is part of the reason she's pretty good at picking up new styles and moves, she taught herself some of the movement kinesthetics to better understand ballet, but knowing how and why your body moves the way it does is certainly helpful in picking up new styles and tricks. But also just watching other dancers, and paying attention to how they all danced their own styles.

It's also why, when the Mother Ginger and Party Scene rehearsals are over, Richelle joins the kids to watch the rehearsals that are still going. Most of the other adults head straight home but anytime the view area is open most of the kids ask their parents to stay late and watch. And the days when Richelle goes straight from a Mother Ginger rehearsal to a Chocolate rehearsal almost all the kids stay to watch. They don't get to see her dance and show off in her other roles, and the kids in her classes especially like getting to see their teacher do the same things they're learning how to do.

***

During one of their final dress rehearsals at the studio Richelle brings a giant container of sufganiyot to leave on the front desk for anyone who wants one. Despite having moved out almost a decade ago Noah still makes the full recipe he used to make with his family, which was even more than their family of five needed, so it's more than enough for Noah and Jacquie with plenty to bring to work or share with friends (Noah makes Richelle her own mini batch that she doesn't share with anyone).

"Do you know who brought these? They're amazing." Jude asks when she sits down next to Richelle on their break between acts.

"Hmm? Oh, I did. Noah always goes overboard making food. And since it's just him and Jacquie eating these—" Richelle stops herself. They're more or less completely out now, or at least they've stopped hiding it, but she's not sure how the parents of the kids in her classes would feel about it. But then she forces herself to keep talking because people are likely only going to notice if she makes it a thing "I thought I would bring some in. That's only about half, I'm planning on bringing more tomorrow for the other cast too."

They talk for a little longer until they're interrupted by Aly climbing onto the bench with them, "Miss Richelle, will you help me with my hair for Mother Ginger?"

"Of course." There are plenty of parents around who usually help with hair and makeup, but the younger autistic girl has always gravitated towards her in the months since Nutcracker rehearsals have started. "I'll meet you back at this bench after Chocolate. And make sure you have everything you need."

***

Every show they do together Aly seeks her out for help with her hair, the parents try to talk her into letting them do it, but Richelle waves them off. The only thing she needs to do between Chocolate and Mother Ginger is change costumes, so helping out with the younger dancer is easy enough.

Jude sits down next to her when Aly runs off after Richelle finishes her hair. "She seems to really like you."

"There aren't a lot of autistic dancers at the company. And I think I'm probably the only one she interacts with on a regular basis. I know when I was her age I would've loved seeing someone like me. And I hope that by seeing me and being here, she's not going to struggle as much as I did."

"I know what you mean." And Richelle doesn't say anything in response, because yeah, Jude probably understands better than most people. As much as Noah and Jacquie can support her through everything, they don't really get it.

AN: Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Happy Sunday to those who don't! For anyone who doesn't know sufganiyot are kind of like jelly donuts and are a traditional Hanukkah food. Yes I am aware that both this and "Christmas at Home" take place at more or less the same time, but I love Nutcracker season as a former ballet dancer, and I really wanted to write a fun and inclusive company. Also it's been a hot minute since I've done the Nutcracker (13 years) so please forgive me if I've forgotten anything.