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Oklahoma City Ballet Adds New Twists to the Beloved Nutcracker Tale

December 9, 2024

A maid and butler turn into a Mouse King and Queen. Clara’s grandparents become Grandmother and Grandfather Ginger, while her mother and father transform into the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier. These are just some of the twists Oklahoma City Ballet’s artistic director, Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye, has taken for his world premiere The Nutcracker, which will debut December 14–23 at the Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City. 

For nearly a decade, OKCB has been performing a version choreographed by former artistic director Robert Mills. So when Jolicoeur-Nye took over in 2022, he felt the iconic classic was due for a refresh, as the existing costumes and sets had run their course. “This has been two years or more in the making,” he says. “We’re replacing all of the sets and costumes and doing all-new choreography to carry us through the next 10 years.” 

  • A large group of dancers, including a young female student, rehearse the Nutcracker party scene in a dance studio.
    Oklahoma City Ballet rehearsing Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye’s The Nutcracker. Photo by Jana Carson, courtesy OKCB.
  • Two female dancers rehearse a Nutcracker variation with green ribbons, lunging in tendu croisé devant toward each other. Behind them, four young dance students pose with a large dragonfly prop.
    Oklahoma City Ballet rehearsing Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye’s The Nutcracker. Photo by Jana Carson, courtesy OKCB.

In reimagining The Nutcracker’s choreography, Jolicoeur-Nye says he tried to “walk the line between tradition and invention,” drawing inspiration from other beloved children’s tales like The Wizard of Oz; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; and Peter Pan. Unlike many versions of the ballet, which feature only the Nutcracker Prince and Clara (or Marie) traveling to the Land of the Sweets, Jolicoeur-Nye’s ballet has a troop of four characters that embark on the adventure together: Hans (or the Nutcracker Prince), Clara, her little brother, Fritz, and their older sister, Marie. 

“This really opens the door for more people to experience the ballet in a way that relates to them,” explains Jolicoeur-Nye. “Marie somewhat resembles Wendy from Peter Pan, who sort of becomes a mother figure to her siblings when they go on this adventure.” 

He also wanted to showcase more development in each of the characters throughout the ballet. “Fritz is this spoiled, selfish, rambunctious child [in Act I], but he grows to become a protector for his sisters in the battle scene and tames a chariot that takes them to the Land of the Sweets,” says Jolicoeur-Nye. In another twist, polar bears pull the chariot, something Jolicoeur-Nye created to differentiate from the typical holiday reindeers. The roles of Fritz and Clara are portrayed by students of OKCB’s Yvonne Chouteau School while Marie and the Nutcracker Prince are danced by members of the company. 

  • Three female dancers rehearse a Nutcracker variation with green ribbons. The front and back dancers battement their front legs on pointe, while the middle dancer does an Italian pas de chat.
    Oklahoma City Ballet rehearsing Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye’s The Nutcracker. Photo by Jana Carson, courtesy OKCB.
  • A close-up of a gold and lilac costume tiara for the Sugarplum Fairy. A dancer holds the tiara in front of her gold, lilac, and white tutu.
    A close-up of the Sugarplum Fairy’s tiara designed by Caryn Wells Designs. Photo by Hannah Hudson, courtesy OKCB.

Jolicoeur-Nye also updated the Act II divertissements, focusing less on countries and more on highlighting holiday treats instead. “An important conversation companies are having right now is to move away from the generalization of these countries in Act II and doing these stereotypical dances,” says Jolicoeur-Nye. He renamed each of the variations to reflect the theme of sweets: the Arabian divertissement is now “Pistachio Baklava,” Spanish is “Chocolatiers,” Chinese is “Ribbon Candy,” and Russian is “Medovik” (a Russian layered cake). Jolicoeur-Nye also has a fresh take on the casting of the Dew Drop Fairy. “We were thinking of how we can be creative and also move the conversation of inclusivity forward,” he explains. “For the first time, our Dew Drop can be represented by a male or female dancer, and the choreography will be the same [for both]. The costumes are a little bit different for each [dancer], but very similar.”

Completing the experience are new sets designed by Michael Raiford and lighting by Trad Burns. Jolicoeur-Nye also connected with former New York City Ballet director of costumes, Holly Hynes, to design a new wardrobe for the cast. As in previous years, the ballet will be accompanied with live music by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. For the third time, OKCB has partnered with Canterbury Youth Voices, a local youth choir, to sing during the snow scene. 

“In the U.S., The Nutcracker is really the bread and butter for a nonprofit ballet company; it’s the thing that sells the best,” says Jolicoeur-Nye. “For me, something that would be presented year over year to the audience really needs to be able to withstand time and be given a huge level of investment and attention.”  

oklahoma city ballet ryan jolicoeur-nye the nutcracker