Christmas Classic

It's as much a sign of the season as chestnuts roasting on an open fire or Jack Frost nipping at your nose.

But the annual "Nutcracker" tradition extends from eager audiences to enthusiastic dancers onstage -- and beyond, to dedicated artists behind the scenes.

As Nevada Ballet Theatre launches its annual production of "The Nutcracker" -- which begins a 17-performance run tonight in the Judy Bayley Theatre at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- new elements and hallowed traditions blend to create a holiday tradition that's fresh, yet familiar.

"It's always good to add something new every year," says artistic director Bruce Steivel, whose choreography has enlivened the holiday ballet since his arrival six years ago.

This year's production introduces a variety of elements, including tonight's first-act cameo from Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and his wife, Carolyn, who are expected to ride in on a sleigh.

The sleigh will return in the ballet's second act, flying high above the stage for the first time since "The Nutcracker" returned to UNLV following two years at the Rio's Samba Theater.

"The sleigh is a big thing," Steivel acknowledges. "It's a big sort of finale. I'm glad we were able to put that back in."

Other fresh features of this year's "Nutcracker" range from the maniacal Mouse King's exploding castle to the debut of almost 100 students from Nevada Ballet's new Youth Company.

Also joining the dancers: Kelly Roth, artistic director of the College of Southern Nevada's Dance Ensemble, plus CSN students Ryan Bondhus and Damon Lasiter.

Despite the additions, audiences will see a "Nutcracker" that celebrates the same things audiences have loved since the ballet's 1892 debut in St. Petersburg, Russia -- from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's beloved score to the equally treasured tale of a magical Christmas Eve during which toys come to life and whisk dreaming children to an enchanted Snow Kingdom.

"Several choreographers try to completely redo it," Steivel says of "The Nutcracker." And while "sometimes we will change some of the choreography," overall, he says, "I'm a traditionalist."

After all, "it's one of the most successful ballets in history -- especially in America," he points out. "If it's not broken, don't fix it."

Besides, Nevada Ballet Theatre has its own "Nutcracker" traditions -- some of them embodied in the graceful figure of Clarice Geissel.

A fixture for two decades, Geissel performed a variety of "Nutcracker" roles, from the Arabian and Spanish ensembles to such solo showcases as the Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy.

Geissel, who retired in 2004, has been the company's ballet mistress for three years, supervising rehearsals -- including those of "The Nutcracker" -- at the company's Summerlin headquarters.

Poised adjacent to the sound system, Geissel launches Tchaikovsky's lilting "Waltz of the Snowflakes" and observes Rebecca Brimhall (as the Snow Queen) and Grigori Arakelyan (the Snow King) in action, while other dancers (portraying the snowflakes) whirl and twirl around them.

As a sequence concludes, Geissel informs the dancers that "we need to stop" and pauses the music. "Let's work out the spacing for the foursome," she suggests.

As the dancers gather, she reassures them: "That's OK -- that's what rehearsals are for."

Counting, clapping her hands in time to the music, crouching and rising on her toes, Geissel observes the dancers and offers suggestions: the proper foot position to prepare for a turn, the proper arm position to avoid hitting the adjacent dancer's tutu, the proper neck position to extend the classical line, how Brimhall and Arakelyan can speed up the Snow Queen's finger turns.

Overseeing the dancers as they rehearse steps she once danced triggers an unavoidable sense of nostalgia, Geissel acknowledges.

"It's always going to be there," she says, because "I know how I felt when I was onstage." And what, exactly, was that feeling? "At home," Geissel replies. "By the time I got onstage, I felt at home."

Nevertheless, "I'm excited for them," Geissel says of the current dancers. As a result, "I want to give as much as I can," passing steps along to a new crop of dancers.

And while "The Nutcracker" remains a staple from year to year, it never gets routine, Geissel says.

In part, it's because it's "The Nutcracker."

Beyond its status as a Christmas institution, the fanciful story line adds to the ballet's ageless appeal, Geissel suggests.

"A little girl finally gets to meet her prince," she points out. "She gets to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy -- or be the Sugar Plum Fairy."

Proving that, whether you're in the audience or on the stage, holiday dreams really do come true.

Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0272.