Ballet West Celebrates 80 Years of America’s Oldest Nutcracker

Nutcracker season is important for every ballet company, but this year is especially momentous for Ballet West. Not only is the company celebrating 80 years of its version of the production, but the ballet was also named a “living historic landmark” by the State of Utah legislature earlier this year, making it the first living historic landmark in the U.S.  

“The significance is actually broader than just for Ballet West,” says Adam Sklute, BW artistic director. “In the grand scheme of the history of The Nutcracker in America—and perhaps the world—it really is a landmark.”

Choreographed in 1944 by Ballet West founder Willam Christensen—10 years before George Balanchine’s version for New York City Ballet was created—Ballet West’s Nutcracker is known as America’s first version of the beloved holiday classic. The production was originally made for San Francisco Ballet, where Christensen served as artistic director starting in 1942. In 1951, Willam Christensen returned to Utah and staged performances of The Nutcracker first at Ballet West’s predecessor, Utah Civic Ballet, and at the University of Utah, where he founded the nation’s first accredited university ballet department. Christensen started Ballet West with Glenn Walker Wallace, a dedicated patron of Utah arts, in 1963, and the company has been performing his Nutcracker ever since. This year, the production will run from December 6–28 at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City, and from November 29–December 1 at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.  

Over the years, the sets and costumes have been revamped four times, Sklute says, most recently for the production’s 75th anniversary. Some tweaks have been made to the choreography, as well, most notably for the Act II Chinese dance. Sklute says the company collaborated with the Christensen family to make these changes and researched ways to respectfully honor Chinese culture without the use of caricature or stereotypes. The result incorporates elements of the Chinese dance from a version of The Nutcracker choreographed by Christensen’s brother, Lew, in 1954.

“With those little tweaks, and by keeping the framework of everything else exactly as it was in 1944, we keep it relevant, we keep it current, we keep it alive, and we honor its history,” Sklute says.

Aside from simply being America’s first, Christensen’s Nutcracker laid the groundwork for many beloved productions of the holiday classic in the U.S. For dance students, Nutcracker often provides the first opportunity to perform onstage with professionals—a tradition that hearkens back to Christensen. With many men away from home to fight in World War II at the time of the ballet’s premiere, Christensen utilized children to fill in the casts. Additionally, the structure of the second act is influenced by the Christensen brothers’ time performing in vaudeville productions with their wives prior to their choreographic careers. In fact, according to Sklute, the Russian divertissement in Ballet West’s Nutcracker is actually one of the brothers’ original numbers from their act.  

As the story goes, Balanchine played his own role in encouraging the creation of Christensen’s Nutcracker, too. According to Sklute, Christensen sought information from Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova about the original 1892 Russian production. Reportedly, Danilova kicked off her shoes to show him some steps. Balanchine interjected, stopping Danilova and instead encouraging Christensen to chart his own path. 
Now, in addition to Christensen’s Nutcracker celebrating 80 years and being named a living historic landmark, Utah governor Spencer Cox declared December 4, 2022, “Ballet West’s Nutcracker Day” in the state. “I think we keep coming back to this particular Nutcracker for the simple reason that it’s good,” Sklute says. “It’s as fresh today as it must have been in 1944.”