Victoria a home away from home for Nutcracker troupe
Royal Winnipeg Ballet CEO says company always feels ‘super welcome’
ON STAGE
What: The Nutcracker Where: Royal Theatre When: Friday through Sunday Tickets: $49-$111 through the Royal McPherson box office, by phone at 250-3866121, or online at rmts.bc.ca André Lewis and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s relationship with Victoria goes back to 1979, through travelling productions such as Dracula, Peter Pan, Moulin Rouge and The Magic Flute.
“Victoria and Vancouver are two homes away from home where we always feel super welcome,” said Lewis, the ballet’s CEO.
“There’s a connection, because I think half of Winnipeg has moved to Vancouver or Victoria. It’s not that other cities are not welcoming, but I meet many people in Victoria who have a connection with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.”
The past two decades have brought the company to town for its own version of The Nutcracker, an updated holiday staple that has become one of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s most popular productions.
“It was a major undertaking 19 years ago when we first presented it,” Lewis said. “The version we have is significantly different from the one we had done previously. This has Canadian roots, as it is set in Winnipeg at the turn of the last century. It makes a connection to who we are as Canadians, but it very much respects what [the 1892 original] did.”
The version in Victoria, a collaboration of Dance Victoria, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Victoria Symphony, is based on choreography by Galina Yordanova and Nina Menon that Lewis commissioned.
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet had performed choreographer John Neumeier’s popular — albeit nonChristmas-themed — version of The Nutcracker for years, before making the switch to a Canadianized production that still employs Tchaikovsky’s iconic music.
Explaining why the company abandoned Neumeier’s version, Lewis said, with a laugh: “There was no growing Christmas tree.”
“Everyone expects a growing Christmas tree in The Nutcracker. They expect a certain tradition to be respected.”
Lewis wanted the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s new Nutcracker to focus on family. The native of Gatineau, Que., who began his career with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as a dancer nearly 40 years ago, was involved with various versions of The Nutcracker during his time on stage, but he likes this version better than the others.
Lewis said it brings to mind holidayseason memories from his own upbringing, as it will for many in the audience.
Considered radical at first, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet production is now regarded as the top Nutcracker in Canada, especially with outdoor hockey playing a prominent role and 12 polar bears and four Mounties making appearances.
“When I first conceived of a new Nutcracker, I wanted to have some polar bears, in part because a polar bear in Winnipeg has some significance. I thought it would represent Manitoba well.”
The revised story also gives dance students in each city an opportunity to be on stage, something that was not possible during stagings of Neumeier’s version.
Lewis said the group travelling to Victoria from Winnipeg includes 36 dancers and 14 crew, coupled with what’s known as “the Nutcracker Ensemble” — 76 students from 15 local dance studios under the guidance of the Pacific Dance Centre’s Leah Wickes.
The performances through Sunday at the Royal Theatre also include 45 Victoria Symphony members under the baton of guest conductor Earl Stafford, bringing the total number of moving parts to about 180 contributors on stage and off.
“You want to connect with people,” Lewis said.
“Our mission is to enrich the human experience by teaching, creating and performing outstanding dance. The Nutcracker is one of those dances that enriches the human experience, because people leave there having had a thoroughly good time.”
Lewis said every effort goes into making The Nutcracker a holiday tale, which means an abundance of white stuff — however unfamiliar that might be to local audiences.
“We bring a little bit of snow, but in a controlled manner,” Lewis said. “And you don’t have to suffer the consequences after.”