Magic, Intrigue, Adventure, Princes and Princesses, Dancing Snowflakes, Waltzing Flowers, and … a Rat Queen!

State Street Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’ Comes to Santa Barbara This Holiday Season!

Snow scene | Photo: Zach Mendez

The internationally acclaimed dancers of State Street Ballet (SSB), together with the Opera San Luis Obispo Grand Orchestra, a live chorus of students from the SING program of Music Academy of the West, and more than 100 children, all students at the State Street Ballet Academy, combine to bring this 130-year-old holiday spectacle alive, December 21-22 at The Granada Theatre.

The Nutcracker is a ballet with a long history. The original 1816 story by ETA Hoffman, called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, was a rather dark and sinister fairy tale. Rewritten by Alexandre Dumas in 1844 as a more lighthearted tale called The Story of the Hazelnut Cracker, it was proposed to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1891 to compose music for a new ballet based on the Dumas version. Tchaikovsky collaborated with master choreographer Marius Petipa, and the first Nutcracker ballet was performed at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, one week before Christmas in 1892. The ballet appeared in England in 1934, in New York City in 1940, in San Francisco in 1944, and began its first annual performance by the New York City Ballet in 1954, choreographed by George Balanchine. Since then, The Nutcracker has become an annual holiday favorite in cities and towns across the U.S., Europe, and Russia.

State Street Ballet’s masked Nutcracker | Photo: State Street Ballet

The story begins with a Christmas Eve celebration at the home of the Stahlbaum family — Mr. and Mrs. Stahlbaum, and their children, Clara and Fritz. The party is interrupted by the entrance of Clara’s eccentric godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer — danced in SSB’s version by Sergei Domrachev — who gives gifts to all the children. He gives an especially beautiful gift of a nutcracker, painted like a toy soldier, to Clara. In a fit of jealousy, Fritz tries to take the Nutcracker and breaks its jaw. Clara is heartbroken, but Herr Drosselmeyer bandages the broken jaw, and the children go to sleep.

When the clock strikes 12, Herr Drosselmeyer appears, and the magic begins! The rats come out, and a fierce battle between the rats and the toy soldiers, led by the Nutcracker, ensues. The traditional leader of the rats is a Rat King with seven (or more) heads. In State Street Ballet’s version, the Rat King is replaced by a Rat Queen. “Our villain is a female!” said Cecily MacDougall, State Street Ballet’s Executive Director. I cannot wait to see this.

The rat army is defeated, and from the wooden Nutcracker emerges a handsome prince, who escorts Clara to the Kingdom of Sweets. Clara must first pass through the land of the dancing snowflakes before she can take her place beside her new love, in the magical kingdom. The Kingdom of Sweets is presided over by the Sugar Plum Fairy, danced by Akari Kato and Saori Yamashita, and her Cavaliers, Harold Mendez and Ryan Lenkey. The Prince recounts his adventures to the courtiers, and then he and Clara are entertained by a series of performances that include the famous Spanish (“Chocolate”), Chinese (“Tea”), and Arabian (“Coffee”) variations, the “Waltz of the Flowers,” and the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.”

State Street Ballet’s Nutcracker was choreographed by Founding Director Rodney Gustafson. Gustafson danced with American Ballet Theater during the time when the legendary Mikhail Baryshnikov had just defected to the West. Gustafson says his own Nutcracker choreography was heavily influenced by Baryshnikov. “I had the utmost honor to work directly with Baryshnikov as he created a new Nutcracker. It was a joy to be part of that process and enjoy those golden moments in dance. I was very influenced by his version as I created my own Nutcracker for SSB.”

Gustafson made certain key changes from tradition: “I used a woman to do a Rat Queen (traditionally a male role), much along the lines of the Cruella de Vil character.”

An interesting bit of Santa Barbara cultural history: Gustafson’s role in Baryshnikov’s Nutcracker was as one of a quartet of Court Buffoons, a virtuoso, acrobatic choreography that replaced the traditional “Mother Ginger” character, from whose copious skirts children emerge to dance. I found a video on YouTube of Baryshnikov’s Nutcracker, with the variation of the Court Buffoons here (bit.ly/3ZA5QvP). Gustafson, a gymnast before he became a ballet dancer, is the one doing the spectacular tumbling pass diagonally across the stage, and also the one “singing” center stage.

SSB Founding Director Rodney Gustafson as a Court Buffoon in Mikhail Baryshnikov’s 1978 production of ‘The Nutcracker.’ | Photo: Captured from YouTube by Jatila van der Veen

Gustafson’s original choreography has been supplemented this year with new Arabian (“Coffee”) and Spanish (“Chocolate”) variations, choreographed by SSB Rehearsal Director Tigran Sargsyan, and a new snow pas de deux choreographed by Nilas Martins, son of the legendary Peter Martins of New York City Ballet. Aimee Le and Maria Rita Rapisarda will dance the Snow Queen, with Ethan Ahuero and Ryan Lenkey as the Snow King.

Gustafson has created a great many works for SSB in his 30 years as director, but he found that his niche is working with the stories. He said, “I have always been a dreamer and believe the world to be a place of wonder if we allow ourselves some moments to find the magic that life brings. The magic of the moment, and the individuality of the dancers with whom I work, are my inspiration. I see [The Nutcracker] as the one ballet that almost everyone will attend at some point in their life.”

“[The Nutcracker] inspires young people and ignites their passion for dance. There is something really magical about it, especially seeing so many kids on stage. For the kids in the production, they get to graduate to different roles as they get to move up the ranks, from littlest angels to larger roles, and even to Clara,” said MacDougall.

Catalina Brace will dance the role of Clara on Sunday afternoon | Photo: Cecily MacDougall
Chanel von Yurt will dance the role of Clara on Saturday afternoon. | Photo: Cecily MacDougall
Noam Tsivkin and Emma Matthews as the Prince and Clara | Photo: Cecily MacDougall
Anna Carnes as the Rat Queen in the 2019 production. | Photo: David Bazemore

This year’s production will feature two very special students who will dance the role of Clara: Chanel von Yurt (Saturday matinee) and Catalina Brace (Sunday matinee). Company dancer Brenna Chumacero will dance the role of Clara Saturday evening.

The Nutcracker is a timeless fairy tale with a great deal of resonance today. It is more than a Christmas tale; it is a story of a young girl coming into her own and falling in love for the first time. But look beneath the surface, and you will find further nuances that poignantly relate to our struggles today. In the original Hoffman story, Clara feels imprisoned by the regulations of her family. Her escape into the fantasy land represents her going off into a world of her own choosing. And Gustafson’s choice of a female to play the evil Rat Monarch is a brilliant twist on traditional gender roles.

A quote from the legendary Mikhail Baryshnikov, which was given to me by Gustafson: “They say the arts are the soul of humanity. They shift our perspective. They challenge our assumptions. They provoke our emotions. It’s a form of positive extremism.” I will keep this in mind as I enjoy the performance Saturday night!

Tickets to State Street Ballet’s Nutcracker are going fast! The Nutcracker will be at The Granada Theatre (1214 State St.), December 21-22. See ticketing.granadasb.org/events.