Columbus Ballet breathes new life into ‘The Nutcracker’

For more than a decade, the Columbus Ballet has annually produced Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.”

The Christmas ballet has become a tradition for many Columbus area families — both on and off the stage.

The Columbus Ballet starts from scratch every year and breathes new life to the ballet via original choreography and costuming. The cast is always different and dancers are often brought in from all over the country to perform the lead roles.

This year, one of the largest changes is the inclusion of Voices of the Valley. The locally based youth chorus, under the direction of Michelle Herring, will join the Columbus Ballet’s production for the first time.

Lisa Carter, executive and artistic director for the Columbus Ballet, holds Voices of the Valley in high regard and is looking forward to them joining the production.

“Voices of the Valley will sing the Snow Section, the vocal part Tchaikovsky wrote for this portion of ‘The Nutcracker,’” she said. “There will be 25 children in the pit along with the orchestra, which is going to be amazing as well as a complex task for our maestro Dr. Paul Hostetter.”

Another surprise this year is the casting of a brother and sister as Clara and Fritz. Carter discussed the casting and her surprise at how it all worked out.

“Clara is played by Anna Claire Miller this year,” she said. “Interestingly, her brother, Jonah Miller, is playing Fritz, who is Clara’s brother in the ballet. This was a complete fluke and transpired organically through the audition process. I never planned for this to happen, but when I realized that it had happened, I was very thrilled for everyone involved.”

The Columbus Ballet makes an effort to include local celebrities in the cast every year. This year, Matt Wintz of WLTZ will play Mother Ginger, and Semone Doughton will be part of the cast as well. David Lewis, Muscogee County School District’s superintendent, and his wife, Karen, are also celebrity guests this year.

Columbus Ballet has many of their faculty teachers dancing in the party scene. Isiah Harper, drama teacher at Northside High School is Mr. Stahlbaum, and Kylie Casino, one of Columbus Ballet’s faculty, is Mrs. Stahlbaum.

The production also boasts a new Sugar Plum Fairy. Carter is proud to have her on faculty and for the community to see her on stage.

“Our Sugar Plum is danced this year by Mary Hein, who is one of our newer teaching faculty, and who who recently moved to Columbus from her job as a professional ballet dancer with the Charlottesville Ballet,” she said.

The performance engages about 200 cast members, and is the Columbus Ballet’s biggest “Nutcracker” to date. Although it is performed every year, Carter anticipates this year’s performance will be a memorable one.

“The choreography is all fresh and I sincerely believe that all audience members, old or new to our Nutcracker, will be amazed, enchanted and magically transported by this year's performance,” she said.

This story was originally published December 3, 2016 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Columbus Ballet breathes new life into ‘The Nutcracker’."