Another reason to look forward to the month of December is the classic ballet performance, The Nutcracker.

Excited about the casting of roles and fittings of costumes, ballerinas have been rehearsing since the month of October.

The anticipation brings an enjoyable three days of the show with performers prepared for their cue: “The show is about to begin.”

The Nutcracker Ballet is performed in over 700 cities around the world; more than 600 are in the U.S.

Leading company, El Paso Ballet Theatre (EPBT) filled UTEP’s Magoffin auditorium with the Christmas spirit this past weekend.

For 14 years, dancers in this company have brought this German fairy tale to life.

 Clara, The Nutcracker, and an adventure

The story begins on Christmas Eve,  1892, in an old-fashioned German town.

 The Von Stahlbaum family is ready to receive their guests for their celebration.

As the party begins, each guest arrives excitedly. 

Clara, the youngest of the Von Stahlbaums, is swept away by the excitement of her godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer’s arrival.

He is a peculiar toymaker who presents gifts to the children and entertains the guests.

Among the many gifts are a ballerina doll and her pair, a harlequin doll who magically comes to life to perform a beautiful dance.

Clara’s godfather’s special gift to her is a wooden Nutcracker, which she receives with delight.

Fritz, her brother, becomes envious of this gesture, and in an effort to take it away from her, he breaks it.

Thanks to his magic abilities, Drosselmeyer repairs it and Clara, as guests start to leave, is sent to bed.

Later, Clara, struggling to sleep, decides to go to the living room and falls asleep on the couch, beside her The Nutcracker.

When midnight strikes, she is awoken by a magically growing Christmas tree, and a troop of mice invading her house.

Her Nutcracker, coming to life, appears with an army of soldiers who battle the mice courageously. 

When they reach their victory, Clara’s Nutcracker becomes a prince and leads her into an enchanted forest covered in snow.

The Snow Queen and her Snowflakes perform a dance with intricate patterns for them.

They continue their path along the forest to the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy where they are greeted with:

The Angels, a waltz by the Flowers, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, a traditional Russian folk dance; the Tepak, the Mirlitons, Mother Ginger and her kinderen, the fairy Dew Drop,

and an array of sweets: hot chocolate from Spain, tea from China, and coffee from Arabia.

Clara and The Nutcracker dance a goodbye piece with the magical characters and she returns home in a hot air balloon, bringing the story to an end.

A Christmas tradition

EPBT directors and choreographers have pieced these dances throughout the years in order to bring the story to life for the El Paso community.

Loretto freshman Madison Pirk will be participating in her fifth year of the company’s presentation.

Pirk said, “This year I got ‘The Kissy Doll’ and ‘Mirlitons’ in the first act and ‘Spanish’ in the second act.”

“A remarkable experience I have had is connecting with all the people around me, and being able to watch my friends dance,” she continued.

From the other side of the stage, Loretto junior Jocelyn Rodriguez, who went to the show for the first time, confirmed the magic of The Nutcracker.

 Rodriguez, looking up and trying to put her experience into words said,

 “The Nutcracker was unbelievable, I had never gone and it was magical to me.

The costumes and scenery were so elaborate, they showed the work that went behind the scenes.

I will definitely go back next year.” 

The German fairytale will forever fill the hearts of the audience and dancers with joy, and their heads with composer Tchaikovsky’s melodies.

Making them come back year after year, to turn the presentation into a Christmas tradition.