ENCHANTED ‘NUTCRACKER’
Lavish production sets beloved ballet in New Mexico
Each year, Patricia Dickinson Wells takes on a holiday show.
Sure, it can be stressful with logistics and rehearsals.
Yet, when it comes to opening night, all the hard work has paid off.
For the eighth year, Dickinson Wells is producing “The Nutcracker Ballet in the Land of Enchantment” for Festival Ballet Albuquerque.
“Our dancers are strong and healthy leading up to the opening night,” she says. “We have a great guest Evelyn Cisneros, who has been coaching the lead dancers. Her husband, Stephen (Legate), has been working with the male dancers. Both of them are accomplished dancers and lending their guidance and expertise to our dancers.”
“The Nutcracker Ballet in the Land of
Enchantment” transports the beloved holiday classic to territorial New Mexico in the late 1800s, with added elements of the state’s heritage and traditions including Spanish dancers, southwestern snakes, sheep and shepherdesses, a lively fandango, a storyteller doll with children, and lavish Victorian-era western costumes.
In addition, there is a live orchestra that brings the production to life.
The orchestra is helmed by Maestro Guillermo Figueroa, the former music director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and is an internationally renowned conductor and violinist and a 2012 Latin Grammy nominee.
Dickinson Wells says there are about 90 dancers in the production.
Rehearsals began in September and Dickinson Wells has been tweaking some of the choreography.
“Every year there are new costumes and that’s where the new choreography comes into play,” she says. “It’s a huge production and it’s always a challenge to get it from rehearsal to stage. The dancers are local and they have risen through the ranks. Some leave off to college and come back to us to perform this. It’s a great tradition we’ve started.”