A treasured present, a mysterious godfather, life-sized mice and toy soldiers, magical snowfall, a swirling dragon, sparkling hand-sewn costumes and handpainted sets, and 94 exquisite local dancers make up the time-honored holiday tradition of Inland Pacific Ballet's "The Nutcracker."
Based on the book by E.T.A. Hoffman, and with music from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, "The Nutcracker," is now performed annually around the world. Locally, Inland Pacific Ballet will bring the ballet to three different venues throughout the Inland Empire this season, for a dozen public performances, in addition to children's outreach shows and IPB's playful "Nutty Nutcracker," a funny alternative to the classical version.
"People are always looking for things to do as a family for the holidays," explains Artistic Director Victoria Koenig in an interview. "And I think because the music is so iconic and gorgeous, and the story is approachable for any of the family members, we always think of it as a great introduction to ballet, because the story is so strong. Once they get hooked on it, then it's something they want to make a family tradition."
While other regional productions bring in guest artists from national companies to dance the lead roles, Inland Pacific Ballet relies entirely on local dancers, with the vast majority of its participants coming from the Inland Empire. A handful commute from as far away as Poway and Hesperia.
"We really believe in supporting dancers here in town," asserts Koenig. "We have gorgeous dancers here, and we train most of our dancers here at the school, and we need to give them those kind of professional opportunities. I really believe in supporting local talent."
"A lot of times if you have a guest, they just come in for the final rehearsals, so it's that training and really getting every detail and every moment together with the entire cast that is the signature of the way we work," adds Associate Director and Principal Dancer Jonathan Sharp, who will also dance the role of Drosselmeyer.
It's a ballet that serves as a tradition not only for the audience, but also the dancers, who, if they are on track to a professional career, may spend as many as 30 hours a week in class and rehearsal, in addition to their schoolwork. Inland Pacific Ballet's "The Nutcracker" features dancers as young as 6, and up to 18 and at a professional level, and often, the dancers currently in the lead roles, danced in the production for the first time at a very young age. With twenty-five years at the helm of IPB, Koenig has seen many young dancers work their way up the ranks, such as she has with fifteen-year-old Lucy Cox, who will dance the coveted role of the Sugarplum Fairy this year.
"When I look at her, I see Bon Bon, Angel...I see her in those roles, in the filter up to this point," Koenig muses. "I could do that with any of those girls in the Waltz [of the Flowers] corps [de ballet], any of the girls in the Mirlitons corps. They've all been six years old and Bon Bons."
"That age delineation is really part of what keeps them coming back, because they're looking forward to that next role."
Sharp has a hypothesis about what keeps the audience coming back for "The Nutcracker" year after year as well. "Each generation attaches themselves to [for example] Elsa [from Disney's "Frozen"] or some figure," he theorizes. In this ballet, it's Clara, the recipient of the titular "Nutcracker." "Clara is a figure of fantasy, so that's always been some sort of fairy tale fantasy."
While national ballet companies often make Los Angeles a stop on their tour, Koenig is proud to provide the I.E. with its own local production of "The Nutcracker."
"It provides people with the kind of experience that they would get anywhere in the world, and they don't have to drive two hours to [do it]," she notes. "We keep our ticket prices very affordable. It provides the family traditional experience that people can afford and continue to participate in."
Inland Pacific Ballet will present "The Nutcracker" at the Lewis Family Playhouse at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, December 7th - 8th, at the Fox Theatre in downtown Riverside December 14th - 15th, and at Bridges Auditorium in Claremont December 21st - 22nd. Get a full list of performance dates here.
