By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
A Beaufort County performer is seeing a Christmas wish come true as she dances in the Dance Arts Theatre’s production of “The Nutcracker” this weekend.
Brea Moore, 13-year-old daughter of Brian and Kendra Moore of Washington and granddaughter of Phyllis Moore Johnson of Blounts Creek, is cast as a Polichinelle from the Kingdom of Sweets.
“There are eight of us, four boys and four girls,” said Moore, an eighth grade student at Chocowinity Middle School. “They’re characters who run around teasing the character, Ginger. I wear a long, pink dress with blue stitching and pantaloons.”
Matinee and evening performances of “The Nutcracker” are scheduled for Saturday, and a matinee will be performed Sunday afternoon. For ticket information, call 1-800-ECU-ARTS. Proceeds benefit the Children’s Miracle Network program at Pitt County Memorial Hospital. The show is being presented in Wright Auditorium on the campus of East Carolina University.
Moore and her family moved to Beaufort County from California in August to be near relatives, so this is her first Dance Arts Theatre production. But she’s hardly a stranger to the stage, having danced for nine years.
“My best friend in kindergarten invited me to a party at her dance studio, and then another friend got me to take dance lessons with her,” Moore recalled.
She later performed as part of the Rhythm Machine Company at Retters Academy of Dance in the San Fernando Valley. The Rhythm Machine Company won gold and platinum team awards and was selected to appear during a dance gala in New York City.
“We traveled to different conventions to perform, and at one of them I won a tap scholarship,” Moore said. “I’ve done a lot of workshops and competitions in other states and in Canada.”
Moore began studying at Dance Arts Theatre, located in Greenville, in September. She is currently enrolled in five classes there, taking pointe, ballet, modern, jazz and, her favorite, tap.
Dance occupies much of her time away from school, but she doesn’t mind.
“It’s a way to express your feelings without having to say anything,” she said. “I also like to sing, and I want to pursue acting. I just like entertaining, I guess.”
Moore has also dabbled in modeling, appearing in a catalog for Stagewear L.A., a dance costume company in California.
Moore’s family attends Ware Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Blounts Creek. She calls her brother, Cody, her best friend.
“He protects me a lot. He’s always there for me,” she said.
And, when she finds the time, she enjoys cooking.
“I like to cook with my mom and my grandmother,” she said. “I can cook about anything, but most of the time we make sweets, like cookies and cupcakes. And I just made sweet potato souffle.”
But the stage is her first love. She said she’s looking at performing arts high schools and her dream is to attend the Juilliard School in New York. Her goal is to perform on Broadway.
In the meantime, Moore is ready to take her place on stage this weekend.
“I’m looking forward to a new experience,” she said. “I get to see ‘The Nutcracker’ and be a part of it. I’m excited to perform and I’m thankful I have a lot of experience.”