Tickets are on sale now for what may be the only professional production of The Nutcracker north of Edmonton.
The classic Tchaikovsky Christmas ballet is an annual tradition in St. Paul. Artistic director Anna Pratch, who is from St. Paul, is excited to have a cast together and rehearsals underway.
There will be approximately 80 dancers in the production.
“It’s probably going to be our biggest cast yet. I’m very impressed with our cast, and it means a lot to me that the cast is all local,” Pratch said.
The story is about a child’s fantastical dream, told through a variety of exciting and beautiful dance sequences.
The original ballet had Arabian, Spanish, Russian and Chinese dances. As was common the 19th Century the music was not authentic, but was the composer’s impression of “exotic” cultures. The dances were caricatures, not true to the genuine customs.
The St. Paul Nutcracker instead substitutes real dances and music to portray this portion of the narrative. While it may be a risk to change the presentation as a nod to 21st century reality, the dances fit seamlessly into the production. It works.
“Ever since I’ve been artistic director, that probably started in 2017, it’s been important to me that we switch to actual cultural representation, and so audiences can look forward to that as per usual,” Pratch said.
“We have a Ukrainian group coming in to do the Hopak. We have an Indigenous dancer coming in with Indigenous drummers. We have a ‘Bollywood’ couple,” she said. “It’s going to be great.”
Audiences who have seen The Nutcracker before, and even those who have seen St. Paul’s version before, are still in for a new show.
“There’s a lot of staples, but one of the really cool things is it does keep growing every year. We’re at 11 years into it and my cast is the biggest it’s ever been. The cast size and calibre is the best I’ve ever seen it,” Pratch said.
The Nutcracker is presented December 7th at 2:30 and 7:00 pm, and December 8 at 2:30 pm at St. Paul Ukrainian Cultural Centre. Tickets are available through St. Paul and District Arts Foundation or at Happy House Health Foods and Supplements.
