Stagelight student Cole Thompson, 11 years old, was one of the performers in last Christmas’ The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker at The Music Center in Los Angeles. This was the 7th year the show ran, and it was produced and directed by Debbie Allen herself. Stagelight Performing Arts caught up with Cole last week to discuss his role in the show:
SPA: What is your favorite part about this role?
CT: It was something so different! I’ve never done anything like it before. It was so great to try something new.
SPA: What was the most difficult thing about this role?
CT: The hardest thing was probably trying to get used to something brand new and starting fresh while not knowing any of the people there. I had to make friends and work with choreographers I didn’t know. Getting used to the new vibe of everything was hard.
SPA: What roles did you play in the show?
CT: I was in the HipHop Candy Cane number, one of the people in the opening party scene, and a toy soldier in Toyland–which was a tap number. I was also in the Flamenco piece!
SPA: What is one special memory you’ll treasure from doing this show?
CT: Probably that I was dancing with Debbie Allen, which is not something many people can say they’ve done! That was an amazing experience to dance with someone who is so highly ranked in what they do.
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