The season’s story
The many faces of The Nutcracker
One ballet, four ways to see it in Portland this winter, from Balanchine to jazz. First the story, then your evening.
From St. Petersburg to New York
The Nutcracker was first danced at the Mariinsky in 1892. On the same stage, a pupil of the Imperial Ballet School appeared in it as a child: Georgi Balanchivadze, son of the Georgian composer Meliton Balanchivadze.
In 1954, now George Balanchine, he staged his own Nutcracker at New York City Ballet and made the ballet an American Christmas. That is the production Oregon Ballet Theatre dances.
Ways to see it here
- 01
The full ballet
Oregon Ballet Theatre dances George Balanchine’s 1954 version: the growing tree, the snowflakes and an orchestra in the pit.
George Balanchine's The NutcrackerSaturday, December 5 · 2:00 PM · until December 24Keller AuditoriumDates and tickets → - 02
Tchaikovsky in the language of jazz
In 1960 Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn rewrote the suite for big band. 45th Parallel Universe plays it on cellos.
The Duke of Cello: Ellington’s NutcrackerThursday, December 10 · 7:00 PMPolaris HallDates and tickets → - 03
A first Nutcracker
Dominic Walsh’s short version, with a narrator, gentle light and lower sound: for those not yet ready for a full evening at the Keller.
Storybook Nutcracker for the YoungestWednesday, December 23 · 10:30 AMKeller AuditoriumDates and tickets → - 04
A master’s students
Artur Sultanov, a Vaganova graduate who danced at the Mariinsky, brings his ballet academy to the stage.
Artur Sultanov →The Nutcracker by Sultanov Ballet AcademySaturday, December 12 · Dec 12–13Lake Oswego High School Auditorium · Lake OswegoDates and tickets →
Sources: The George Balanchine Foundation · Oregon Ballet Theatre