Clara’s Dream remains a community favourite
Alternate version of Nutcracker ballet is massive in both scale and entertainment value
Shumka’s take on Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker — a.k.a. “Clara’s Dream” — is a marvellous hybrid of the original ballet with a special nod to Ukrainian cultural traditions, but for the dance company’s artistic associate Joe Hoffman, managing all those logistics makes it something else. “The scale makes it a monster,” he said with a laugh. “But it’s a beautiful monster. We’ve really built up a family around this show.” Hoffman portrays the mysterious toymaker Uncle Drosselmeyer in the show, but his other crucial role involves pulling together the company’s 47 dancers aged 15 to 30 — plus visiting special guests from Ukraine’s Virsky Ensemble, the Kyiv Ballet and Edmonton’s Citie Ballet. It’s truly an international collaboration that has taken years to create, with expert choreographers working together, Shumka’s John Pichlyk and former Kyiv Ballet soloist Viktor Lytvynov. There’s even a Shumka alumnus who has gone on to wider fame, Los Angeles’s Jack Mortensen, known for his appearances on So You Think You Can Dance (Canada) and with Cirque du soleil. And finally, you’ll see and hear members of the Viter Ukrainian Folk Choir, who sing Christmas carols near the beginning and end. “They’re very important in the magic that they bring,” Hoffman said. “I think their voices just elevate the show.” For Shumka, offering a unique spin on The Nutcracker draws on history that even longtime fans of the ballet may not be aware of, starting with the role Ukraine played in Tchaikovsky’s own heritage. While the composer was born in western Russia, his great-grandfather had roots in Ukraine and he was a frequent visitor to his sister’s estate near Kyiv. Echoes of Ukrainian folk songs can be heard in several of his works. “If you have much background in the flavour or style of some of the eastern European composers you’ll find that a lot of that style is showcased throughout Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker,” Hoffman said. “It’s really exciting for us to explore that Ukrainian voice in the Nutcracker.” There’s even a new orchestration that isn’t in Tchaikovsky ’s original score, including the work of Ukrainian composer Yuri Shevchenko. Shumka’s annual staging of the ballet is now approaching 20 years but this version, Clara’s Dream, was first workshopped in 2010. Clara is, of course, the girl who receives the toy nutcracker as a gift from Drosselmeyer, before everyone falls asleep and the toys wake up to whisk her off to a fairy tale dreamland. Shumka’s version brings specific references to Ukrainian culture both in the visual symbolism of Christmas traditions and in the dance styles. “The trademark that everyone might recognize is that this isn’t a typical ballet with everyone in tights,” Hoffman said. “We’re bringing in the Ukrainian dance lexicon to tell the story, but the other imagery includes costumes reminiscent of Ukrainian Christmas, a more traditional nativity star and so on.” The Hopak, for many the unofficial national dance of Ukraine, is also featured near the end. It’s a natural inclusion since Tchaikovsky wrote the same dance in one of his operas. “It is ultimately a celebration of the community,” Hoffman said. “When Ukrainian soldiers would come home from war they would celebrate and show off some of their moves and athletic prowess. Those traditions are still there to inspire us.” Hoffman grew up in Fort McMurray with three older brothers, all Ukrainian dancers. He picked up the family tradition at the age of four and after high school, moved to Edmonton to join Shumka. “The first show that I saw Shumka perform was when they were being featured in the Kyiv Ballet’s touring production of The Nutcracker in 1997. I knew I would be doing that one day,” he said. Over his career, Hoffman has served as a performer, choreographer, composer, director and teacher with several dance companies — all this in addition to his bachelor of science in kinesiology from the University of Alberta and his certificate in sports medicine. By this point he’s brought his expertise to more productions than he can count, but Hoffman said it has been particularly fascinating to witness The Nutcracker develop into a Shumka staple. “No other show we’ve done has had the same sort of longevity to it, but we put a lot of effort into keeping it new and fresh and making sure there’s something different for audiences to appreciate.”