Michaela Panhofer: “The Nutcracker” Performer

Sixteen-year-old Michaela Panhofer is in her eighth year of performing in the Tulsa Ballet’s The Nutcracker. She’s danced as a Party Scene Girl, a mouse and this year as a soldier. Michaela is a student in the Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Education, dancing 30 hours a week, and will be graduating from ballet school and virtual high school in the spring. I talked to her about dance and her future plans.

TK: How long have you been dancing?

Michaela: I started dancing at the Tulsa Ballet school in 2017, but started dance at age 3.

TK: This is your eighth season performing in The Nutcracker. What is your favorite thing about the ballet?

Michaela: It’s the feeling of the holidays, the music and getting to do the same thing every year. It’s a tradition. I’ll meet some new people. I get to see the people backstage and see my friends. It’s just fun.

TK: What is the worst thing?

Michaela: It’s a big time commitment. My family might have to give up travel during the holidays. You have to plan around it.

TK: What happens if you make a mistake during a performance?

Michaela: I learn to hide mistakes. There’s not a single performance when you haven’t made a mistake. You learn what to do if parts of the costume fall off or you slip. Even the professional dancers make mistakes.

TK: You are currently enrolled in the Tulsa Ballet school. What are your future plans regarding dance?

Michaela: I would love to continue dance, preferably in Europe. I have family in Austria and London. I would audition for that. The Tulsa Ballet has a training program for dancers that I can audition for, but training programs are less common in Europe. Whatever I do, I want to focus on dance. Planning next steps is a little stressful right now.

TK: You’ve danced in some other Tulsa Ballet performances like Cinderella. Tell me about that.

Michaela: I do like getting to see the professionals. You get to watch backstage rehearsals. It makes me think, I want to do that. I want to be that. The professional dancers are so encouraging.

TK: Who inspires you?

Michaela: I think my friends inspire me. My teachers inspire me. We’ve been together a long time. Dancers in the school are not in competition. It’s inspirational. I want to be like my dance teachers. We’re very close. If you look at a professional career, you have to trust the people you dance with, so it helps that they’re supportive.

TK: What advice do you have for other kids who might want to try out for The Nutcracker next year?

Michaela: Just do it. And keep doing it. It’s a fun thing. If you’re scared you’re going to be alone, you’re going to make friends. The teacher doesn’t assume that we all know the dance. They’ll reteach it. You’ll learn it and you’ll be fine.

TK: What do you like to do besides dance?

Michaela: I like to bake – soufflés, pound cakes, bread, banana muffins.

TK: Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

Michaela: I like to bedazzle rubber ducks.