Camille Jackson: A glimpse of the magic in ‘The Nutcracker’
In a fluffy white tutu, dark green top, and well-loved pointe shoes, Atlanta Ballet dancer Camille Margaret Jackson stretched her arms out as the beginning notes of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” streamed out of the speakers in a practice space at the Michael C. Carlos Dance Centre. In moments, she transformed, a smile lighting up her face, as she glided across the room, performing a series of crisp arabesques and pirouettes that hushed the room as she unveiled a glimpse of her performance for this year’s “The Nutcracker.”
Holiday season after holiday season, ballet performances of “The Nutcracker” enchant audiences around the globe. For many people, the Christmas classic is their first introduction to the world of ballet; for young dancers, it’s likely their first chance to feel the magic that comes about from gliding on a stage. At just eight years old, Lithonia native Camille Margaret Jackson felt that magic when she performed as a snow fairy in her first Nutcracker with Atlanta Ballet in 2014. A decade later, at 18, Jackson is in her second season with Atlanta Ballet 2, the highest level of training in Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education, performing various Corps de Ballet roles in this year’s performance, which runs from Dec. 7-26 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.
While Atlanta Ballet nurtured the magic of ballet, it began at home, where she grew up surrounded by an artistic family. Her mother, Mahalia Jackson, is a theatre performer in the Southeast, and Jackson said she would often follow her to rehearsals. She said being a part of so many productions and new works at a young age drew her in and ignited her creativity.
That spark has brought her to 10 years of performing one of the most beloved ballets at the oldest ballet company in America. For her, carrying that legacy and history, especially as a Black ballet dancer, is “incredibly special.”
“Growing up, we knew dancers like Misty Copeland, Michaela DePrince, Lauren Anderson, and Janis Joplin, and we saw them paving the way. We saw their trials and tribulations. So, it’s special to now be that change — be the dancers who are now in those spaces that they’ve created for us. And then to be at the oldest company in America, that’s just the cherry on top,” Jackson said. “It’s special to, at 18, be a part of something important in the arts world and this country period.”
Jackson has experienced her moments of being a source of inspiration for young Black ballet dancers. She recalled a moment last year after dancing as the stepsister in a production of Cinderella when a young Black girl ran up to her after the show. “She just hugged me. She was like, ‘How did you do that?’ It was amazing. And that was such a special moment because I remember being that dancer looking up to these company members. That’s something I’ll never forget.”
For months and hours, Jackson and her fellow dancers have rehearsed tirelessly to bring what is often considered one of the most exhausting and complex stage productions to life for Atlanta. When the Waltz of the Flowers concludes and the curtains close, Jackson said she wants the audience to feel a connection to the theater and dancers.
“I don’t remember a moment when I wasn’t feeling my soul being touched, going to the theater and seeing the theater as a safe place. I feel like a soul connection doesn’t discriminate, and I don’t think it will. I want everyone to leave the theater feeling like they can come back. They should come back. They even want to be on that stage at some point. I want everyone to walk away feeling something, whether that was happiness, sadness, fear, anger.”
