The holidays season means different things to different people. But to ballet dancers—professional, amateur, kids young and old—it means one thing: Nutcracker season. Nearly every person who's ever laced up a pair of pointe shoes has performed in the winter classic, whether it's as a child in the party scene, a soloist in the Land of Sweets, or someone scurrying around in an unwieldy mouse head at the end of the first act.
New York City-based ballerinas Isabella Boylston, Sara Mearns, and Courtney Celeste Spears, are no exception. If I had to guess, they've collectively performed nearly 1,000 shows of "The Nutcracker," starting off in their home towns theaters and now on some of the most prestigious stages in the world (you can catch Mearns at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City and Boylston at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA this season). Year after year, I love watching these women dazzle as Dewdrop, stun as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and make us smile as Clara, decked out in their dreamy tutus and the twinkliest hair accessories you've ever seen. And thanks to social media, you can see all of the tulle and tiaras up close and person.
All of it got me thinking. This year, instead of showing the holiday hair accessories on models, or scattered as a flat lay on a white background, why don't we show them on these women—women who wear hair accessories for their jobs, who strap on crowns, clips, and diadems on a daily basis. So that's what we did. Before Nutcracker season officially started, we took Mearns, Boylston, and Spears off the stage and into the CondéNast Studios, and had them ditch their tiaras for the chicest holiday hair accessories making it on our wish-lists this year.
Courtney Celeste Spears, dancer - Alvin Ailey Dancer Theater, Ailey II
Necklace, Fallon; Earrings Wwake and IHPR
How she keeps her hair healthy: “Making sure that my hair’s really moisturized—I’m really big on coconut oil—combing it out [after rehearsal] so it doesn’t get matted from the sweat, and washing it enough, but not too much. With me, it’s really about keeping it moisturized and clean because once it gets too dirty or brittle, then I won’t have any hair.”
Her rehearsal style: “I usually pull my hair straight back in a ponytail with a headband, but sometimes I’ll put it in braids, the long box braids. I usually put them in for shows, too, especially when we’re on tour. They help me with versatility. When I do wear my hair natural for shows, I get one of those little donuts to give my bun or French twist some volume.”
Her headpiece security system: “Lots of bobby pins. I personally like the larger ones than the smaller ones because I can use less of them and I feel I can strategically put them in my hair without having to rip them out, especially when we’re changing headpieces in between a piece and maybe have a minute or two to do it. You can go to any beauty supply store and they have them. I live in Harlem and they have them at every beauty supply there.”
Headpiece, Jennifer Behr; Rings Mega Mega
Her favorite holiday tradition: “My family is from the Bahamas so I go there almost every Christmas and see them. And in the Bahamas there’s the annual Junkanoo celebration, which is where everyone on the island dances and performs in a parade on Boxing Day (December 26th). I think they start rehearsing in the summer so I’ve never participated, but I have family who are in it. But it’s a really good time to slow down from the fast pace [of New York City], regroup, rethink, and rest my body. And since we’re talking hair and stuff, it’s also when I take a break from putting anything on my hair or skin.”
Her fondest holiday memory: “When I was Clara in my old dance studio’s Nutcracker. I went to a small studio in Columbia, Maryland called Arabesque Dance Studio and this was the only time I was short enough to dance the role. And so Clara and all the other party children have dolls and my mom was like, ‘I guess we have to get you an American Girl Doll,’ so we came to New York City and went to the America Girl Store. We got a doll and picked out a dress to match mine and got her hair done and I freaked out.”
Isabella Boylston, principal dancer - American Ballet Theatre
Headpiece,Jennifer Behr
How she keeps her hair healthy: “I’m a fake blonde, and my colorist told me I need to stop washing my hair every day so I’ll actually go a few days without washing, but sometimes I cave in within a couple days. I use a lot of natural and organic products that I get at Whole Foods. I never blow-dry it, unless I’m on a shoot and I absolutely have to. I don’t even own a blow dryer. I just let it be natural as much as possible.”
Her rehearsal style: “I normally start class with my hair down because I’m usually running late, it feels very ballerina somehow. Then I put it in either a bun or a French twist. I usually do a low bun with no product or anything because I don’t like to have my hair super tight in high bun.”
Her headpiece security system: “I have a phobia about my hair piece falling out because that happened to me onstage and it just ruins your performance. I usually get help from the hair and makeup the department because I trust them more than I trust myself.”
Hair Barette, Jen Atkin X Chloe + Isabel; Earrings Eddie Borgo
Her favorite holiday tradition: “My mom is Swedish, so I like drinking Glogg around the holidays. They also have something called St. Lucia Day, which I’ve only celebrated once as an adult with another friend who’s from Brooklyn and who’s Swedish. We made the crowns and I don’t think this was correct but we made them out of eucalyptus and we lit actual candles. It was a major fire hazard but it was fun.”
Her fondest holiday memory: “For me it’s the first couple times I did the Nutcracker as a kid. I played the mouse princess that’s not in many versions I think, but that was my first real interaction with performing and being in the theater. I guess that was also before I had been exposed to the really hard and athletic sides of ballet, so back then it was just like magic and fun. I try to remember than now even though ballet is a lot harder as a professional.”
Sara Mearns, principal dancer - New York City Ballet
Comb, Jennifer Behr
How she keeps her hair healthy: “I don’t use a lot of products, my shampoo and conditioner are Pantene because I found over the years that’s best for my hair. And I remember one time we did a shoot and someone recommended this type of oil to put in my hair like when it gets really dry but I can’t remember what it is. It’s so bad, I should be much better about it. After a season is over I usually go and get my hair cut and have my hairdresser make it nice again.”
Her rehearsal style: “Honestly, the easiest thing for me is a French twist because it goes up really easy and I only have to use four pins. Or sometimes I’ll do a bun without having to start with an elastic—I just take all my hair, twist it into a bun, and then pin it that way around.”
Her headpiece security system: “It’s all about the bobby pins that you use. Certain bobby pins work better than others for certain headpieces. I probably have five or six different kinds of hairpins that I just kind of try out and see what works best. We have a hair person here and she’s really great but I tend to do my own hair most of the time and put my own hairpieces in. I really know my hair; I know what I can do with it when it’s either dirty or when it’s clean. It’s pretty easy for me because I’ve been in all certain situations with my hair so I know exactly what to do and how long it will take. I feel like by now I really do have it down to a science.”
Hair Barettes, Preston & Olivia
Her favorite holiday tradition: “I’ve done The Nutcracker [with New York City Ballet] for the past 12 or 13 years, and Christmas is our only day off, so that doesn’t leave much time to do anything else. My mom usually comes up to visit because I can’t get home and we cook on Christmas day. We started to try and get a Christmas tree, but I don’t think I have any real traditions yet. I’m sure I will create some.”
Her fondest holiday memory: “When I think about our Christmas tree at home, how we used to decorate it, how much stuff we’d put on it and how you wouldn’t be able to see the tree anymore—it was just ornaments and lights, and bells chiming and a little train that went around the tree. It was like an obscene amount of stuff and it makes me really happy to look back on it. And now when we start doing our tree, I want to get all those things that we had put on our tree so ours will look the same.”
More holiday hair ideas:
- 19 Holiday Hair Ideas For Every Type of Party
- The Best Statement Earrings (and Hairstyles) to Wear to a Holiday Party
- Why You Should Still Care About Last Year’s Hair Foiling Trend
New York City Ballet dancer, Lauren Lovette, shares her ultimate foot care routine:
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