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

The studio at Nevada Ballet Theatre’s Summerlin offices buzzes with activity as the company’s dancers rehearse “The Nutcracker,” the annual holiday extravaganza that premieres Saturday at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Roy Kaiser watches from the hallway, loving what he sees and remembering what he didn’t see last year when the COVID-19 pandemic put “The Nutcracker” on hiatus.

It was “surreal,” says Kaiser, NBT’s artistic director. “I would come into the office from time to time, and the place was just empty and sad because so much great work happens in there, and there’s so much creativity and so much wonderful art that gets created in that room, and it didn’t happen for a long time.

“This studio was empty for so long,” Kaiser says, smiling. “It feels so great to have them back.”

And it’s a funny thing about “The Nutcracker,” but even if it’s just a rehearsal without the elaborate costumes and the jaw-dropping scenery, watching NBT dancers bring the holiday classic to life still is pretty remarkable.

This year’s edition of NBT’s “The Nutcracker” will run Saturday through Dec. 26 at The Smith Center. Tickets start at $30.95. (For info: 702-749-2000 or nevadaballet.org.)

NBT has been gifting “The Nutcracker” to Southern Nevadans in one form or another since 1981. The version that audiences at Reynolds Hall will see this season is the fourth, created by then-NBT artistic director James Canfield for the company’s Smith Center debut.

“This production is one of the largest I’ve seen in all my years performing and directing,” says Kaiser, who became NBT’s artistic director in 2017. “It was built specifically for the Smith Center stage, which gives you an idea of the scope of this production.”

Resuming “The Nutcracker” after last year’s hiatus wasn’t easy. First, “everyone was at the beck and call of theaters, so whether we wanted to go back or not, we had to wait for theaters to reopen,” Canfield says. “There are so many elements. … Every day was fluid.”

Then, figuring out what might be required to return was “difficult,” Kaiser says. “You plan, but then you throw those plans away and replan. There were so many unknowns. And even when we did get back, what was that going to look like? Having an audience of 25 people? Being able to perform onstage without masks? (There are) any number of unknowns, and even now I still feel like it’s still changing a little bit.”

From an artistic standpoint, “the biggest change we’ve had to make is we have no students in the cast under 12,” Kaiser says.

There are 32 students in the production, and when auditions were held in September, there was no COVID vaccine available for children under age 12, he says. So, it was decided that only older children would perform.

“I felt terrible making that decision, but it was really the only decision to make,” Kaiser says. “So, the party scene children will be a little older. It’s more of a teen party. But the choreography is still basically the same.”

Vaccine protocols also required altering the ballet’s Mother Ginger piece a bit. But, Kaiser says, “I think it’s going to be great.”

Such necessary tweaks notwithstanding, Southern Nevadans again will see “The Nutcracker” they’ve come to know and love. Good thing, too, because — particularly during a holiday season that finds audiences longing for the familiar and comforting — messing with a Christmas tradition would be a dangerous thing.

“Tradition” essentially means “don’t make changes,” Canfield says. “It’s like grandmother’s mincemeat pie is a traditional thing. Alter it and most everybody doesn’t like it.”

“I think the bones of it, the skeleton of the ballet, we should keep intact,” Kaiser agrees. “It isn’t a mistake ‘The Nutcracker’ is as successful as it is for ballet companies. It’s because it’s good and the music and choreography are exciting. I don’t think we should tweak it so much.”

But that doesn’t make “The Nutcracker” the artistic equivalent of, say, a Christmas fruitcake at Easter.

“Live performance — and it isn’t just dance, any live performance — is never the same twice, whether you’re doing a play, a musical live performance. Any live performance is never the same twice because these are human beings and there’s variation,” Kaiser says.

“The other thing that keeps ‘The Nutcracker’ fresh is cast changes,” Kaiser continues. Whether it’s new dancers or veteran dancers taking on new roles, “each individual brings differences to a role, a different interpretation. It might be something really subtle, but that’s what keeps it alive and interesting.”

Meanwhile, performing in a production of “The Nutcracker” is both an artistic and professional milestone for many young dancers, and that, too, is part of the ballet’s allure. Canfield recalls dancing as a youth of about 13 in the role of the Nutcracker prince. During a key moment, he turned to face the audience and “they applauded for me,” he says.

“When I heard that, an icy chill came over me. I was in the right place. I love this,” Canfield says.

Kaiser suspects that he could walk into NBT’s rehearsal studio, poll dancers and find that just about every dancer’s first exposure to ballet was seeing “The Nutcracker” and that many dancers’ first performing experience was with a production of it. “The Nutcracker” has “grown into a foundation for the art form,” Kaiser says. Same for audience members — many of them were no doubt first exposed to ballet through “The Nutcracker.”

“It’s timeless,” Kaiser says. “Everybody can relate to the story. The timing of the performance around the holiday season is not a mistake. It has become a holiday tradition in cities across this country. Generations of families come to see it.”

Kaiser also offers appreciation to the behind-the-scenes professionals who are helping to pull off what amounts to a minor Christmas miracle, particularly at a time when absolutely nothing is routine.

“Things always come up, but if you have real professionals who know what they’re doing and are comfortable in their roles, they know how to adapt and still get the job done, Kaiser says.

“The one thing that’s for certain is that at 7:30 (Saturday), that curtain is going to go up. There’s no alternative, so we’re really fortunate here that we have a lot of really good people both onstage and behind the scenes that make it happen.”

It’s probably apropos that the return of “The Nutcracker” kicks off NBT’s 50th anniversary season.

It’s been a long time, Kaiser says, “and I’m glad we’re coming back with this.”

Contact John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter.