IMAGINING

The Asheville Ballet; Photo by Laura Sturgell

by Ann Dunn, Artistic & Executive Director, The Asheville Ballet

What does December without a live “Nutcracker” look and feel like? What makes a live “Nutcracker” ballet so integral to the holiday season? To get our answer, let’s hop on the Ghost of Christmas Past’s cape and fly to the Before Times.

Imagine: Thursday and Friday mornings in December. Yellow school buses roll in, unloading 500 children (per performance) from around the region, most of whom have never before experienced the wonder of live theatre and ballet. The excitement, the noise, the silence as the lights go down. Then the curtains part, revealing a whole new world to 2,000 young people, newly enveloped in art.

Imagine: The evenings and matinees. Families with children dressed in red and green brave the inclement weather to sit in a darkened theatre as Tchaikovsky’s music and Petipas’ choreography unfold before them. They share with one another, and in communion with everyone in the theatre, the joy of the season, a mythical coming of age story, seemingly impossible feats of physical prowess, hundreds of colorful costumes, humor, magic and beauty.

Imagine: You are part of a tradition that dates back well over 100 years — a tradition that, as the first few familiar notes of music begin to play, reminds you of your own childhood dreams and experiences.

Imagine: The magic – the applause when mechanical dolls come to life, the fear when the battle rages between giant mice and toy soldiers, the amazement when the Nutcracker turns into a prince, and the audible ooooh when it snows on stage.

Imagine: Intermission. Everyone rushes to get in line for cookies and nutcracker dolls, and, after the show, dancers still in costume autograph real pointe shoes for the next generation of theatre and ballet lovers.

The Asheville Ballet

Photo by Bruce Hemingway

Imagine what a free outing to “The Nutcracker” means to the women and children in shelters, and to young people in orphanages and group homes — opportunities provided by The Asheville Ballet’s generous patrons.

Finally, imagine months of work by choreographers, costumers, set designers, lighting and sound designers, dancers, volunteers, movers, fundraisers, box office employees, and the administration of both The Asheville Ballet and the theatre — all culminating in two hours of magic and, yes, imagination, in an annual tradition presented lovingly to the local community.

This year, however, though the downtown holiday decorations are all hung and lit, there are no school buses, no families, no children dressed up in red and green excitedly rushing to the theatre. There is no anticipation, no cookies and nutcrackers at intermission, no postproduction pointe shoe-signing. And for all of us behind the scenes, there have been no months of work on our masterpiece, no last-minute costume checks, no “Places, please!” from the stage manager. Most importantly, we all miss the moment when the theatre lights go down, the stage lights come up, the curtain rises and everything comes together in the annual journey that is “The Nutcracker.”

Thanks to technology, many ballet companies, including The Asheville Ballet, will present a virtual “The Nutcracker” this year, and we are grateful for that opportunity. But, in its absence, the miracle of live, in-person theatre will be dearly missed – and that is what December without “The Nutcracker” looks like, for now.

Ann Dunn