A unique subtropical version of the classic ballet “The Nutcracker” awaits holiday-loving audiences Dec. 10-18 in Key West, flavored with characters and sets that spotlight the island’s colorful history, magnificent coral reef environment and even quirky free-roaming local roosters.
“Nutcracker Key West” combines 15 professional dancers from around the world with dozens of local children and adults — all passionate about using their talents to bring the beloved story to life. Principal dancers include Camila Ferrera of Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet and Nurlan Abougaliev, formerly with the Russian National Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater.
The Key West production’s cast blends a professional corps de ballet with local children and adults.
The Key West version of the holiday favorite was conceived by local resident Joyce Stahl, herself a classically trained dancer who performed “The Nutcracker” and other ballets with New Jersey’s American Repertory Ballet for 38 years.
First performed in 2005, her “Nutcracker Key West” is now produced every two years to delight visiting and resident Florida Keys audiences.
Joyce’s production transforms the story of a young girl’s visit to the land of the Sugarplum Fairy into an engaging island fantasy. Characters include dancing snowy egrets, phosphorescent sea anemones, fighting fish and a nutcracker whose headdress features a conch shell, the symbol of the Keys (which is also called the Conch Republic).
“It’s exactly the same story,” Joyce advised. “There’s still a Sugarplum Fairy, only she’s called the Sea Star Fairy.”
The timeless tale of young Clara’s holiday dream unfolds in 1864 in Key West settings. Highlights include a dream battle where toy sailors protect Clara from the Rooster King and a coral reef scene where Clara and her nutcracker-come-to-life, after descending beneath the sea in a diving bell, are entertained by a children portraying tumbling shrimp and colorful fish.
The storyline also includes imagery drawn from the history of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, shipwrecked off Key West in 1622 while carrying a cargo of treasure from the Americas to Spain. One of the ballet’s most breathtaking sequences features dancers in flowing vivid-hued costumes portraying the “jewels” of the Atocha.
The production’s expertly crafted sets and intricate museum-quality costumes (costumes designed by Joyce herself) are valued at about $500,000. But perhaps the greatest value of the production is its lasting effect on the children who perform in it.
One of the ballet’s standout scenes features dancers portraying the “jewels” of a 1622 Spanish galleon that sank off Key West. (Photo by Peter Arnow)
Before each series of performances, Joyce spends countless hours training the children for their roles — and said she derives great satisfaction from teaching the ballet’s exacting choreography.
“They’re just regular kids running around and carrying on in rehearsal, and they keep learning it and they keep doing it, and then you put them in the costume and you put them onstage,” she explained. “Everything you taught them, they do.”
In 2012 the professional corps de ballet included Natalia Ashikhmina, a former prima ballerina with the Russian National Ballet, who took the role of the Sea Star Fairy.
“Dancing with the children is my favorite part,” said Natalia during a backstage interview that year. “They dance. They don’t think how hard it is. They don’t think how tired they are. They love it. And that’s what it is all about.”
Only eight performances of 2016’s gorgeous, lovingly produced “Nutcracker Key West” are scheduled (including three matinees). All take place at the acclaimed Tennessee Williams Theatre.
Tickets are priced from $20 to $45 per person, and they’re expected to go fast. They can be purchased here — and if you’re headed for the Florida Keys in December, buy them quickly so you can experience this island-flavored holiday gem.
