Imperial Theatre's marquee sign featuring The Nutcracker (Credit: Elizabeth MacLeod)
The Nutcracker is a classic ballet and beloved holiday staple which has become an icon tied to the Christmas season as much as The Grinch and Frosty The Snowman.
“I can’t tell a better story than E.T.A Hoffman and I can’t do better music than Tchaikovsky, so I keep it as simple as I possibly can. That’s the beauty of it, it’s a well-oiled, traditional Nutcracker story,” said Sylvia Logan, owner and founder of Rothesay Ballet School and Gala Ballet.
The Imperial Theatre and Gala Ballet Productions’ will host two performances of The Nutcracker, which is in its 16th year performing at the theatre. The ballet will feature local dancers and guest principal artists from some of Canada’s most prestigious ballet companies.
This year the principal artists are Yosuke Mino and Alanna McAdie; in past years dancers from the National Ballet have performed in The Nutcracker.
“Yosuke and Alanna have been with us for several years, so they know our company well. We work well together and we’re always excited to have them back,” said Logan.
The Nutcracker as the public knows it was adapted from the German Hoffman’s 1816 novella, and Tchaikovsky scored the tale to music when it was adapted into the legendary ballet in 1892.
The ballet has been adapted across countless mediums of entertainment and remains as popular as it was over nearly one hundred and thirty years ago.
“I just don’t see any point in changing anything; people say to me ‘Don’t you get tired of the same story every year?’ and I said to them most good stories are re-readable, so this [ballet] is rewatchable.”
If you go: The Nutcracker will be performed at the Imperial Theatre on Friday, December 6th, 2019 at 7PM and Saturday, December 7th, 2019 at 2PM. Tickets cost $32 for adults, $27 for subscribers, $29 for seniors and $22 for students.
