The daily Astorian., November 29, 2018, Page 9, Image 9

NOVEMBER 29, 2018 // 9
of approximately 80 dancers from around
the Lower Columbia area, a 55-piece
orchestra conducted by Cory Pederson,
and a 12-voice choir — receives a slightly
different interpretation each year primarily
because of new input from veteran and
incoming choreographers alike.
“We get new people coming in, so it’s
great to have their fresh take on it,” said
Emily Madsen, who has choreographed
since 2005 but also performed in the
ballet several times in her youth. “We’re
surprised or caught off guard, in a good
way, by someone else’s take on it. It’s
refreshing.”
Sarah Cohen, who recently moved to the
area, is involved for the first time, though
she has been dancing since she was 3 and
once owned a ballet school. She helped
choreograph the snow flurries, dream fair-
ies and Chinese dance portion in the Land
of the Sweets.
From one company to another, she said,
staging “The Nutcracker” ballet is both
“different and the same.” Consistently,
however, the ballet is a valuable tradition.
“My Christmas season doesn’t start un-
less ‘The Nutcracker’ is in it,” said Cohen,
adding that she starts listening to the score
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in mid-Au-
gust.
Choreographer Caroline Wright, another
fairly recent newcomer, has a musical
theater and competition dance background.
She never danced in a production of “The
Nutcracker” herself but is now enjoying
being part of the creative process.
“With my musical theater background,
I’m able to really home in on telling the
story, and what that means, not just in the
scenes but the dances as well,” she said.
Begins with a party
The famous two-act ballet was derived
from Alexandre Dumas’ “The Story of
the Nutcracker,” an adaption of E.T.A.
Hoffman’s story, “The Nutcracker and the
Mouse King.”
Act I begins with a party at the Stahl-
baum family home, where relatives and
friends have gathered. Clara Stahlbaum’s
mysterious godfather Dr. Drosselmeyer
brings gifts for the guests, including a spe-
cial nutcracker for Clara. From there, “We
creep inside of Clara’s dream,” Wright said,
adding, “It’s just a huge spectacle from start
to finish.”
Through Clara’s perspective, the audi-
ence watches the nutcracker lead ginger-
bread soldiers against the King Mouse and
his army of mice. Next, Clara and the nut-
cracker travel to the Kingdom of Snow and
then to the Land of the Sweets, ruled by the
Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. They
call for a celebration featuring sweets from
other countries, including Spain, Arabia,
COLIN MURPHEY PHOTOS
Ballet dancers strike a pose during a scene from ‘The Nutcracker.’
LEFT: Cast members share a laugh backstage before a scene. RIGHT: Performers make last-min-
ute adjustments to their costumes before a scene from ‘The Nutcracker.’
China and Russia.
“You get to sit back and enjoy a show
and be taken to all sorts of places around
the world,” Wright said. “Adults and
children alike are able to respond to what
they’re watching.”
Madsen works closely each production
with the dancer portraying Clara, who this
year is 18-year-old Andrea Harris. The pro-
cess is particularly special since she herself
played Clara before.
“There is a part of you, once you’re
Clara, you always watch (the part) and get
those mushy feelings of remembering when
you were dancing it,” she said.
Madsen changes Clara’s choreography a
bit each year, according to the personality
of the individual dancer taking on the role.
Her goal, she said, is “pulling the Clara out
of each girl.”
“Finding in them that little girl who the
story is about, making them become that, is
really fun,” she added.
The production has evolved in other
ways, as well. In the beginning, the music
for the show was played on vinyl, then
other genres: reel-to-reel, cassette and CD.
Having live accompaniment from
an orchestra for the past 15 years or so,
Peterson said, “really made us come full
circle.” CW