Pasadena Dance Theatre’s reimagined “Nutcracker” recasts Clara as an early teenager and transforms the holiday staple into a global coming-of-age journey. The new production deepens the story’s emotional resonance while giving advanced conservatory students greater responsibility onstage.
Artistic and Conservatory Director Ashleigh Doede said the concept began in 2022, when the company transitioned from its longtime version and invited choreographer Jessamyn Vedro to create a fresh staging. She described upper-level high school dancers as “very professional in their training” and “very hungry to do more,” and said the goal is for “the shows [to be] really student driven,” augmented by professional guests in roles like the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier.
The production retains Tchaikovsky’s 1892 score and the Victorian party scene but replaces the Land of the Sweets with a tour through China, France, Ukraine, Egypt, Scotland and Spain. Vero researched each country to “represent a little bit of what each country could offer,” including Isis wings in the Egypt section to bring “more of this woman empowerment to the dance.”
Doede said making Clara slightly older allows audiences to recognize real growing-up struggles, noting that adults “forget our childhood” and that “it’s okay to laugh” and be carefree. She also wants the global frame to show ballet “was really developed in such a time period where it was very exclusive to the upper rich, white dominant culture and male dominant,” but now “everyone can do ballet, everyone can enjoy ballet,” with “a lot of females that drive ballet.”
“The conservatory welcomes everyone,” Doede said. She hopes children and adults “at all curious about dance” will feel inspired to explore classes, because the arts help people “express ourselves from a deeper level that can’t always be found in words.”
Pasadena Dance Theatre. 1985 Locust St, Pasadena. Phone: 626-683-3459 Email: PasadenaDancePDT@gmail.com. Website:https://www.pasadenadancetheatre.org/contact-us.
