Nuts to Tradition.

Most people think of their first Nutcracker as the "traditional" one. In fact, when Lev Ivanov and Peter Tchaikovsky wrote their two-act version of the story ballet in 1892, it was already translated from a tale related by E.T.A. Hoffmann [Tales of Hoffmann]. In 1934, the Vic-Wells (later Sadler's Wells, then Royal) Ballet staged their production in pre-World War II London under its French title, Casse-Noisette. The same year, Vasily Vainonen choreographed his three-act version of Nutcracker for the Kirov, and four years later it was also added to the repertory of the Bolshoi in Moscow. In 1944, William Christensen set his full-length American version on the San Francisco Ballet; this version moved to Salt Lake City with him and has played there every year since 1955. Meanwhile, George Balanchine choreographed a two-act Nutcracker for New York City Ballet in 1954, then restaged it in 1964. Nutcracker has many incarnations--from the made-for-television classic with Baryshnikov and Kirkland to The Hard Nut devised by Mark Morris. Most retain the Tchaikovsky music and the fantastic journey of the young girl named Clara (or Marie, Masha, or Meisha).

This year Ballet West continues numerous performances of the Christensen tradition with a cast of six Claras, four Fritzes, and four Nephews, ages 9 to 13: Becky Greaves, Monica Chen, Jocelyn Fugit, Stephanie Gamble, Ashley Hanson, and Sarah Sweeney; Rabble Fairchild, Taylor Flint, Colin Fugit, and Guthrie Goeglein; Connor Rickman, Joey Dursteler, C.J. Glover, and Brandon Beales. This company holds open auditions; then promising young dancers are invited to audition further.

New Jersey's American Repertory Ballet includes about 250 characters in their Nutcracker that is choreographed by artistic director Septime Webre. "We like our Claras to have been in our school for a while," says Webre, regarding casting. "We select about three Claras in the age range of 12 or 13 for our many performances. The story is a young girl's rite of passage."

North Carolina Dance Theatre retains the engaging two-act choreography of Sal Aiello with more than 100 children and adults from the community for Clara's travel to the Land of the Gifts. This year, however, all children for the Charlotte, North Carolina, performance are drawn from NCDT's rapidly growing official school, The Dance Place. Claras and Fritzes are young-adult company members: Mia Cunningham, Jennifer Cavanaugh, Heather Maloy, and Bat Abbit.

Different times, cultures, and ethnic communities--all have been settings for the Nutcracker story line, and each generation attempts to make it its own. Choreographers Alison Chase [Pilobolus] and Bill Wade have devised An Urban Nutcracker in collaboration with student dancers from the YARD (Youth at Risk Dancing) and Urban Dance Collective, resident companies at the Cleveland School of the Arts. Meisha, a streetwise Prince, and Uncle Dross, a "way-out" Webmaster, move to Tchaikovsky themes improvised by Ohio musicians Karin Tooley and Nell Chastain. "This is a street production," says Chase. "The kids are really front and center in the creative process."

Catawba College's Swingin' Nutcracker is an all-jazz version of Tchaikovsky's melodies, adapted by North Carolina composer Chuck Farmer to WW II-era sounds of Count Basle, Duke Ellington, and Glenn Miller. Here an aging Marie narrates how she had met a young soldier home on leave and had gone with him to a nightclub. Jason Jonas, a national competition winner, taps her away, and a lady named Sugar glides through sultry Latin and jazz dances by director/choreographer Nancy Kane and tap choreographer Pamela Janas. The evening-length work shows Catawba College's strength as a training ground for musical theater.

Reported by Cindy Ballaro, Nancy Kane, Wilma Salisbury, Teresa Solorio, and Septime Webre.