BTM Artistic Director Nicole Kelch has envisioned a Nutcracker set in Annapolis, featuring a naval battle between the Rat King and the Nutcracker’s forces. Art by Alexander Folley
Brenna Mazzara dances the role of Clara in Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s new production of The Nutcracker. Photo by Joanne Salyer
Light as a tutu and sweeter than a sugarplum, The Nutcracker is one of those enchanting works of art that retains its magic. More than one hundred years old, it’s become America’s best-loved ballet, and the lush score by Tchaikovsky is one that audiences can hum by heart. For many viewers, the holiday season just isn’t complete until the dancing snowflakes spin onto the stage, leaping skyward in sequined joy.
This year, Ballet Theatre of Maryland has added a delightful flourish to their version of the dance classic. The company has mounted a brand-new production that sets the story of Clara and her Nutcracker in Annapolis, with party scenes at the William Paca House and Gardens and the famous Rat King sequence envisioned as a mock naval battle. Scenery and costumes will add to the hometown sparkle.
“Nutcracker was actually the reason I started dancing,” recalls BTM Artistic Director Nicole Kelch. “I first saw it when I was very young, and I turned to my parents and said, ‘I’m going to be Clara some day.’” She went on to dance the young lead as well as other roles in the ballet, and it remained part of her career for more than 20 years. Local ballet fans will remember her star turns as the Sugar Plum Fairy in many BTM performances before she assumed directorship of the company in 2020.
The new Nutcracker is the first full length ballet that Kelch has choreographed—and it’s a major leap forward for the company, made possible through vigorous fundraising and generous support from donors. With their backing, BTM had the resources to meet the costs of this year’s production.
“One snowflake costume costs more than $2,000, and there are 16 of them!” Kelch explains—and that’s just the beginning. “We’ll do some substantial new costuming and continue to refresh it in the years ahead, too.”
Early concepts for the new Nutcracker started on paper. “Our Board chair, Ted Atsinger, put us in touch with Alexander Folley, a former BTM dancer, who created some beautiful art,” Kelch says. “For this production, we’ll have 50 Conservatory students and 50 professionals dancing, plus the new sets and costumes.” Following auditions in June, rehearsals began in September, and carpenters are now finishing set construction in the bus barn at Rockbridge Academy in Crownsville.
Kelch relates that she had been looking for inspiration for a new production of the Nutcracker when she met Historic Annapolis Foundation director Karen Brown a few years ago during a Leadership Anne Arundel lunch. “We were talking about sweets that would have been eaten during colonial times, and a light bulb went off,” Kelch recalls. “I said to myself, I can use an Annapolis theme for Nutcracker! It just snowballed out of me.”
Thus began a collaboration between two of the city’s leading arts and culture organizations. Through meetings with Mary-Angela Hardwick, HAF’s Vice President for Education and Interpretation, Kelch learned that Christmas traditions like those depicted in the classic Victorian Nutcracker didn’t exist back in colonial times, so she adapted the story to include a flashback to Clara’s grandparents at the start of the War of 1812.
Isaac Martinez is the Nutcracker Prince and Victoria Sanzotera is the Sugar Plum Fairy in BTM’s The Nutcracker. Photo by Joanne Salyer
“I was so excited when Nicole reached out to discuss including Annapolis and the William Paca House and Gardens as settings in her new production of The Nutcracker,” Hardwick says. “Her vision was so magical and she was so diligent in her research to create a production with a Chesapeake/Annapolis feel.
“We determined that the War of 1812 was an appropriate time period, as Annapolis feared it might be under direct attack when the British invaded the Chesapeake. (In the end, the British sailed up to Baltimore—think the Star Spangled Banner story—and Annapolis was spared.) We also had fun sharing thoughts on appropriate clothing for men and women during that time period, and discussing Nicole’s plans for set designs, including having the Land of the Snowflakes resemble the historic garden of the William Paca House.”
Six performances of The Nutcracker will take place at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis in December, with shows scheduled from December 13 through 21. An additional performance will be presented November 23 at the Coppermine Pantherplex in Hampstead, Maryland. Tickets for this perennial crowd-pleaser go quickly, so it’s best to reserve now. Buyers who subscribe to the entire BTM season get first pick of Nutcracker tickets, as well as seats to a mixed repertoire program of new choreography in February and the classic La Esmerelda, based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, in April.
Confections as lovely as The Nutcracker are a treat for all ages. This year, treat yourself to BTM’s version, a dream that’s set in your very own hometown. Learn more at balletmaryland.org.
