‘The Nutcracker’ is back, launching ballet company’s 50th season

The workplace astatine Nevada Ballet Theatre’s Summerlin offices buzzes with enactment arsenic the company’s dancers rehearse “The Nutcracker,” the yearly vacation extravaganza that premieres Saturday astatine The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Roy Kaiser watches from the hallway, loving what helium sees and remembering what helium didn’t spot past twelvemonth erstwhile the COVID-19 pandemic enactment “The Nutcracker” connected hiatus.

It was “surreal,” says Kaiser, NBT’s creator director. “I would travel into the bureau from clip to time, and the spot was conscionable bare and bittersweet due to the fact that truthful overmuch large enactment happens successful there, and there’s truthful overmuch creativity and truthful overmuch fantastic creation that gets created successful that room, and it didn’t hap for a agelong time.

“This workplace was bare for truthful long,” Kaiser says, smiling. “It feels truthful large to person them back.”

And it’s a comic happening astir “The Nutcracker,” but adjacent if it’s conscionable a rehearsal without the elaborate costumes and the jaw-dropping scenery, watching NBT dancers bring the vacation classical to beingness inactive is beauteous remarkable.

This year’s variation of NBT’s “The Nutcracker” volition tally Saturday done Dec. 26 astatine The Smith Center. Tickets commencement astatine $30.95. (For info: 702-749-2000 oregon nevadaballet.org.)

NBT has been gifting “The Nutcracker” to Southern Nevadans successful 1 signifier oregon different since 1981. The mentation that audiences astatine Reynolds Hall volition spot this play is the fourth, created by then-NBT creator manager James Canfield for the company’s Smith Center debut.

“This accumulation is 1 of the largest I’ve seen successful each my years performing and directing,” says Kaiser, who became NBT’s creator manager successful 2017. “It was built specifically for the Smith Center stage, which gives you an thought of the scope of this production.”

Resuming “The Nutcracker” aft past year’s hiatus wasn’t easy. First, “everyone was astatine the beck and telephone of theaters, truthful whether we wanted to spell backmost oregon not, we had to hold for theaters to reopen,” Canfield says. “There are truthful galore elements. … Every time was fluid.”

Then, figuring retired what mightiness beryllium required to instrumentality was “difficult,” Kaiser says. “You plan, but past you propulsion those plans distant and replan. There were truthful galore unknowns. And adjacent erstwhile we did get back, what was that going to look like? Having an assemblage of 25 people? Being capable to execute onstage without masks? (There are) immoderate fig of unknowns, and adjacent present I inactive consciousness similar it’s inactive changing a small bit.”

From an creator standpoint, “the biggest alteration we’ve had to marque is we person nary students successful the formed nether 12,” Kaiser says.

There are 32 students successful the production, and erstwhile auditions were held successful September, determination was nary COVID vaccine disposable for children nether property 12, helium says. So, it was decided that lone older children would perform.

“I felt unspeakable making that decision, but it was truly the lone determination to make,” Kaiser says. “So, the enactment country children volition beryllium a small older. It’s much of a teen party. But the choreography is inactive fundamentally the same.”

Vaccine protocols besides required altering the ballet’s Mother Ginger portion a bit. But, Kaiser says, “I deliberation it’s going to beryllium great.”

Such indispensable tweaks notwithstanding, Southern Nevadans again volition spot “The Nutcracker” they’ve travel to cognize and love. Good thing, too, due to the fact that — peculiarly during a vacation play that finds audiences longing for the acquainted and comforting — messing with a Christmas contented would beryllium a unsafe thing.

“Tradition” fundamentally means “don’t marque changes,” Canfield says. “It’s similar grandmother’s mincemeat pastry is simply a accepted thing. Alter it and astir everybody doesn’t similar it.”

“I deliberation the bones of it, the skeleton of the ballet, we should support intact,” Kaiser agrees. “It isn’t a mistake ‘The Nutcracker’ is arsenic palmy arsenic it is for ballet companies. It’s due to the fact that it’s bully and the euphony and choreography are exciting. I don’t deliberation we should tweak it truthful much.”

But that doesn’t marque “The Nutcracker” the creator equivalent of, say, a Christmas fruitcake astatine Easter.

“Live show — and it isn’t conscionable dance, immoderate unrecorded show — is ne'er the aforesaid twice, whether you’re doing a play, a philharmonic unrecorded performance. Any unrecorded show is ne'er the aforesaid doubly due to the fact that these are quality beings and there’s variation,” Kaiser says.

“The different happening that keeps ‘The Nutcracker’ caller is formed changes,” Kaiser continues. Whether it’s caller dancers oregon seasoned dancers taking connected caller roles, “each idiosyncratic brings differences to a role, a antithetic interpretation. It mightiness beryllium thing truly subtle, but that’s what keeps it live and interesting.”

Meanwhile, performing successful a accumulation of “The Nutcracker” is some an creator and nonrecreational milestone for galore young dancers, and that, too, is portion of the ballet’s allure. Canfield recalls dancing arsenic a younker of astir 13 successful the relation of the Nutcracker prince. During a cardinal moment, helium turned to look the assemblage and “they applauded for me,” helium says.

“When I heard that, an icy chill came implicit me. I was successful the close place. I emotion this,” Canfield says.

Kaiser suspects that helium could locomotion into NBT’s rehearsal studio, canvass dancers and find that conscionable astir each dancer’s archetypal vulnerability to ballet was seeing “The Nutcracker” and that galore dancers’ archetypal performing acquisition was with a accumulation of it. “The Nutcracker” has “grown into a instauration for the creation form,” Kaiser says. Same for assemblage members — galore of them were nary uncertainty archetypal exposed to ballet done “The Nutcracker.”

“It’s timeless,” Kaiser says. “Everybody tin subordinate to the story. The timing of the show astir the vacation play is not a mistake. It has go a vacation contented successful cities crossed this country. Generations of families travel to spot it.”

Kaiser besides offers appreciation to the behind-the-scenes professionals who are helping to propulsion disconnected what amounts to a insignificant Christmas miracle, peculiarly astatine a clip erstwhile perfectly thing is routine.

“Things ever travel up, but if you person existent professionals who cognize what they’re doing and are comfy successful their roles, they cognize however to accommodate and inactive get the occupation done, Kaiser says.

“The 1 happening that’s for definite is that astatine 7:30 (Saturday), that curtain is going to spell up. There’s nary alternative, truthful we’re truly fortunate present that we person a batch of truly bully radical some onstage and down the scenes that marque it happen.”

It’s astir apt apropos that the instrumentality of “The Nutcracker” kicks disconnected NBT’s 50th day season.

It’s been a agelong time, Kaiser says, “and I’m gladsome we’re coming backmost with this.”

Contact John Przybys astatine jprzybys@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JJPrzybys connected Twitter.