Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor —

Once again, Ballet San Antonio is following up Thanksgiving celebrations with a celebratory production of “The Nutcracker,” always a little different, always grand and always fun for the entire family. It opens Nov. 29 and runs for two weekends at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

Though choreographed by the same guest choreographers as last year, Easton and Haley Smith, the 2019 version will have new tweaks, nuances and surprises “that have not been done before,” said Easton Smith, who during his active dancing career appeared “in hundreds of Nutcrackers.” Still, the BSA 2018 production was his first foray into choreography and he and his wife embraced it with enthusiasm. This year is an opportunity to go a few steps further in reshaping and reenergizing the beloved ballet.

As a tall, strong dancer, Smith could always execute more demanding moves and lifts than most smaller colleagues, he said, and he is incorporating similar challenging technical moves into his choreography.  “Way more challenging. We pull out all the stops. Even the corps-de-ballet work is more complex.” he noted. This new energy and athleticism will be in evidence throughout the show, including the Land of Snow scene and the entertaining divertissements in the Land of Sweets: more jumps, more lifts, more high-flying partnering! This is especially true for the already dynamic Russian dance, which is probably the most popular of the so-called national/ethnic dances presented in the Land of Sweets.

And there is one substantial change in the story. At the end, when Clara finds herself back home by the Christmas Tree, The Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier will be right there with her, telling her that her adventures were not a dream, that she, Clara, just lived through a magical journey into another world.

Clara, of course, is the girl at the center of the story, who receives a nutcracker for Christmas from her mysterious godfather, Herr Drosselmeier, and later falls asleep on the couch not far from the Christmas tree. That’s when her magical journey starts unfolding. The Nutcracker comes to life to lead the toy soldiers in a battle against the mice until the latter are defeated. Then the Nutcracker transform himself into a handsome young man with whom Clara embarks on her grand adventures. Smith has given the duo an additional pas de deux to perform as they transition into the Land of Sweets.

 “There are a lot of cool little changes,” said the choreographer. “You want to keep it fresh.”

Soloist Mayim Stiller, who is also taller than most ballet dancers, appreciates Smith’s choreographic challenges and sometimes introduces his own small touches. “I find fun details, little nuances that I can incorporate to add a little something to the character to keep it interesting to me,” he said. He is appearing in a number of roles, including  Drosselmeier, The Snow King, the Sugar Plum’s Cavalier and  Dew Drop’s Cavalier in the Dance of the Flowers.

The latter happens to be the part of the current production that Smith is particularly proud of. “As performers, our (his and Haley’s) favorite part was the Snow King and Queen pas de deux – so much power there! In our version, however, we really love Flowers,” he noted.

Stiller’s Sugar Plum Fairy is soloist Sofie Bertolini, but they will alternate appearing in the roles of the Fairy and her Cavalier with Heather Neff and Michael Agudelo. Smith described the latter as “the power couple” and the former as “the elegant couple.” Seventeen-year-old Brenna Mulligan reprises her role as Clara which she first danced in 2018. The Nutcracker being a large production, the entire 23-member companyis taking part, with dancers often portraying more than one character, and interacting with almost 100 kids recruited from area dance schools to be party guests, mice, toy soldiers and pages.

And – surprise! – the choreographer will be joining them on stage, too, in the Arabian segment in Act II, to personally demonstrate his lifting and partnering prowess. “I am 40. I would not put myself on stage if I didn’t think that I could do it,” he explained.

Tchaikovsky’s beautiful score will be in the capable hands of the San Antonio Symphony, the only annual BSA production to enjoy the luxury of live music. “It makes all the difference. Dancers are more excited when an actual orchestra plays for us; there’s a special quality to the music, too,” said Stiller.

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Ballet San Antonio presents The Nutcracker at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle; Nov.29 at 7:30 pm, Nov.30 at 2 and 7:30 pm, Dec.1 at 2 p.m. The same schedule will be repeated the following weekend Dec. 6 – Dec. 8, with one additional performance at 7:30 pm Dec. 8; A sensory-friendly performance Dec.3 at 10 am; for tickets and to see additional related events go to www.tobincenter.org or call 210-223-8624