Christmas is a double-edged sword. During the weeks prior, we knock ourselves out to the point of exhaustion — shopping, baking, wrapping, decorating, and generally making sure all is just right so we can finally relax for the briefest time with our family and friends when the big day does arrive.
Knowing that, we would be wise to take full advantage of the opportunity to slow things down before the madness by taking full advantage of a seasonal treat that has delighted young and old alike for close to 25 years. Ballet Jörgen’s The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition returns to Peterborough on Thursday, November 29th.
Tickets to the 7 p.m. performance at the Showplace Performance Centre (290 George Street North, 705-742-7469) cost $35 ($30 for youth 12 and under) and are available at the Showplace Box Office, by phone at 705-742-7469, or online at www.showplace.org.
The Christmas tradition of The Nutcracker originates from 1816, when German author E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote a story called “Nussknacker und Mausekönig” (“The Nutcracker and The Mouse King”), in which young Marie’s favourite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive. After defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, the Nutcracker whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.
VIDEO: Ballet Jörgen Canada’s The Nutcracker, A Canadian Tradition
In 1844, French writer Alexandre Dumas’ retold the story as “Histoire d’un casse-noisette” (“The History of a Nutcracker”), with Marie renamed as Klara. It was this version of the story that was adapted 48 years later as a two-act ballet originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov and set to a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. First performed on December 18, 1892, the ballet itself was not a success, but Tchaikovsky’s 20-minute suite from the ballet soon became one of his most famous compositions.
In the mid 20th century, the original Nutcracker ballet gained popularity through various productions and has since become a Christmas tradition, especially in North America, where its performances generate almost half of the annual revenue for major ballet companies.
Ballet Jörgen’s version was created and choreographed by the company’s co-founder and artistic director Bengt Jörgen. Debuting on November 1, 1995 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition has — as its name implies — a very definite Canadian theme.
Set in a small village north of Algonquin Park, the production is rooted in a collaboration with the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, with landscapes by famous 20th-century Canadian artists making up several dramatic 30-foot backdrops, along with images featuring snowflakes, lumberjacks, loons, forest creatures, and Mounties.
“It has become such a seasonal tradition,” acknowledges Jörgen, a classically trained ballet dancer who co-founded Ballet Jörgen in 1987 with Susan Bodie.
“The music is played everywhere during Christmas time, so it has become Christmas music. It wasn’t written as Christmas music when it first premiered in 1892. It’s beautiful music, but it wasn’t written to become this traditional thing that you’re going to hear in the shopping mall.
“The Nutcracker brings us back to a more traditional context of Christmas that may be lost a little bit. It gives us a sense of comfort. It’s a very happy story, a story about celebration and family.
“Families want to get together and celebrate. The Nutcracker is a story that does all of that for people in a way that is fun and gives people a sense of something that was never real to begin with.”
The Peterborough performance, not unlike all stagings of The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition, will see a large contingent of local youth dancers perform as part of the cast. Following an audition process, 11 youths aged 8 to 17 — members of Peterborough’s Studio 505, Revolutions Dance Studio, and Premiere Studio of Dance; Lindsay Dance Studio; Belleville Dance Studio; and Trenton’s Dance With Miss Liz — have been selected to dance the roles of various animals.
Auditions for those roles were held in late August at Showplace.
“It’s a way we can involve the dance community in a professional production, an educational process that allows us to connect with a community and do good beyond just coming and doing a show,” Jörgen says.
“We also have young dancers that are touring with the company, so children get to interact with other children around the province. The audiences get to experience children from their own community performing. A lot of work goes into that at the local level.”
Beyond being able to share the joy of an inspiring story, what really excites Jörgen is the opportunity to introduce the dance art form to audiences that wouldn’t typically take in a ballet performance.
“People that come and see ballet normally are not necessarily the same crowd that comes to see The Nutcracker,” he says. “We get to connect with so many people we don’t normally connect with. It’s a great way to broaden our art form. It gives us that connectivity with a broader community.”
Reflecting on the company’s start and remarkable growth since, Jörgen remains committed to ensuring accessibility to the arts isn’t restricted to just major Canadian cities.
“You always have ambitions to do the best you can, you always shoot for the stars and see where you end up, but this organization has evolved into something much greater than I ever anticipated,” he says.
“It carries my name but it really doesn’t need to anymore. We have a very large team that is focused on ensuring communities everywhere in Canada have access. We have grown to become the number one company in terms of delivering programming in any arts category across Canada. We’re doing really great but the need far outstrips anything we can meet. It’s a challenge for us to convince people that the arts should be just as accessible in Peterborough as it is in Toronto.”
“Engaging with people in their communities is very important. We feel really great about what we’re doing but we’re swimming against the tide. Delivering the arts in Peterborough is just as valuable as delivering the arts in Toronto. The big impact beyond the people we reach is making sure the arts are accessible.
“It’s impossible to have a dance company in every community in Canada. We haven’t been to Peterborough for a long time. We’re kind of rotating communities that we go to. People think the arts can only exist in the major centres. That’s a mindset we have to change. It’s a big job.”
Jörgen is also passionate about the decline in instruction in the arts in schools.
“We know that if you expose young children to the performing arts, they tend to grow up to be more actively engaged in their communities,” he says, noting Ballet Jörgen has a school visitation program.
“They volunteer more. They have a higher record of voting. They tend to be more engaged with life. They may not become artists, but they tend to have a more wholesome outlook on their community and engage with it to a higher degree. We need people to be engaged if we’re to build better societies. We need to ensure young people have access to the arts. It’s critical.”
Still, more than 30 years after co-founding the company, Jörgen says such challenges have done nothing to diminish his enthusiasm for what’s ahead.
“When you do great art, it doesn’t matter where you perform. We perform in New York City. We perform in the smallest places in Canada you never heard of. We do the same show and it works just as well regardless of where you are. You get immersed in it and time stops and you just enjoy yourself. When you get to that place, that’s what it’s all about.
“I still love doing a great show. We have our off days but there’s a certain baseline. It’s always going to be good but sometimes it’s really good. That’s what gets me up in the morning: being able to share that with people and making sure it’s available and build a foundation so it’s going to be there when I’m gone. I’m part of a community that’s much bigger than myself but it’s still a new thing for many people. We’re trying to help build a platform that other people can build on and grow.”
For more information on Ballet Jörgen and The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition, visit canadasballetjorgen.ca.
