How the Alabama Ballet makes Christmas magic with Balanchine’s Nutcracker

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The Alabama Ballet is one of only eight companies in the world licensed to perform George Balanchine’s choreography for the Nutcracker. Balanchine’s production in 1954 first popularized the ballet as a Christmas holiday tradition across the country.

During rehearsal at the Alabama Ballet, company teacher and coach Alexandra Upleger gave ballerina Jessica Nicholson pointers on her dance. She should turn her thighs out more, drop her shoulders, bring her leg up just a little higher, twist and lift her elbow, and speed up some of her steps.

As “‘”Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” played, Upleger watched Nicholson apply the tips she gave her. 

“One two, one, YES,” Upleger said. “Tuck your foot right there. Yes, good!”

Nicholson has been dancing her whole life. 

“Probably from an audience perspective, it looks like I’m just, I don’t know, like la la la, very floaty,” Nicholson said. “But in my mind, I’m thinking about every single step that I’m doing, I’m thinking about a correction that my coach gave me in rehearsal.”

This year, she will play the Sugar Plum Fairy. 

“The stamina is really what I find to be very, very difficult,” Nicholson said. “I think if you broke down every single step, we all, as dancers, can perform the technique. But putting it all together and then making it look effortless is the hard part.”

Regardless of the difficulty, Nicholson said being part of the Nutcracker is special in many ways, particularly for its iconic score. Youth cast rehearsal director Grace Anli agreed.

“What Balanchine has done very well was that he found a way for ballet to be performed where it’s very musical,” Anli said. “And what I mean by that is that, he was of the belief that dance should be like music made visible.”

Anli’s job is to cast anywhere from 60 to 100 children in the Nutcracker and teach them the choreography over the course of 10 weeks. 

“Ballet is very intentional,” Anli said. “Every position is exact. Having one finger or your arm two inches in one direction is the difference between right and wrong.”

Ballet companies have to apply for a Balanchine choreography license in order to perform it. The Alabama Ballet got its license decades ago, but every year, a repetiteur, something of a technical expert contracted by the Balanchine Trust, must come to observe the production. They offer suggestions to ensure it remains true to George Balanchine’s original work.

“The way that (Balanchine) saw ballet was kind of different from how most people were performing ballet at the time,” Anli said. “It was kind like he created his own technique. If you don’t have people going out and teaching that technique, a lot can get lost in translation.”

Anli said Balanchine’s ballets tend to be difficult to dance: they have a faster tempo than many other classical ballets and a higher concentration of difficult moves with fewer chances for a breather. 

“There’s no resting, there’s no pausing, there’s no catching your breath,” Anli said. “You have got to have that innate strength already built into you so you can just go.”

Anli first began performing the Nutcracker when she was 6 years old. Today, she equips her students to have the strength and endurance to dance throughout the whole production while making it look effortless. 

“For me, personally, because Balanchine’s choreography reflects the music so well, when you’re able to get to that point where you can dance it and enjoy it, you just feel beautiful,” Anli said. “You just feel like your best.” 

After performing different characters in the Nutcracker growing up, Anli didn’t get to see it as an audience member until she was about 22 years old. But she remembers that night well.

“After the first act, in the first couple of rows during the intermission, they had snow falling,” Anli said. “I remember sitting there as the snow was falling and I was like ‘This is so magical!’ I was like a child, I was so happy. I felt so inspired the next day when I came in to do my next show. I said, ‘Guys, we’re creating magic out there.’” 

For Jessica Nicholson, the ballerina, being part of the product isn’t just about the dance or choreography.

“It is very exciting and very magical to be a part of people’s Christmas traditions,” Nicholson said. “People really get all dressed up, and then they’ll do snow in the audience for the kids.” 

The Alabama Ballet will make magic for another year starting December 13 at the BJCC.