BalletMet’s The Nutcracker at Ohio Theatre

Journey from reality to fantasy and back again in one enchanting night! In this favorite holiday tradition in Columbus, performed at the historic Ohio Theatre, by Ohio’s very own BalletMet.

Watch sparkling snow, charming characters and wonderful surprises come to life as you take a journey with the imaginative Clara, her Nutcracker Prince, and the horrid Mouse King to the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy, a magical world of the imagination filled with colorful characters sure to enchant you and your family, giving you all a night, you won’t soon forget. Renew your holiday traditions this season with The Nutcracker!

Perfect for Ballet and Theatre Lovers of All Ages

Bursting with moments of laughter, delight and magic

BalletMet, with live music by Columbus Symphony Orchestra, will entertain all ages with the magical choreography, all the colorful costumes, and vibrant sets, the whole show is bursting with moments of laughter, delight and magic. Featuring a large cast including BalletMet’s professional dancers from both its companies, BalletMet and BalletMet 2, along with 152 students from the BalletMet Academy. Each performance will have more than 122 characters onstage, including academy students in the roles of pages, party children, mice, and soldiers performing alongside BalletMet’s world renowned professionals.

This holiday classic production, co-created by Gerard Charles and Robert Post, is rounded out with the invigorating orchestral music of Tchaikovsky. BalletMet The Nutcracker has been enjoyed in Columbus since as far back as 1974, it is the perfect ballet for theatre lovers of all ages and is something that you’ll want to see year after year with the whole family and all your friends.

This ballet is a full length. Meaning, one ballet with intermissions, like a short book with two chapters.
Act I: 50 minutes followed by a 20-minute intermission, concluding with Act II: 40-minutes

Gerard Charles Choreographer & Co-Creator, The Nutcracker

Gerard Charles was born in Folkestone, England, and received his dance training from Moya Kennedy, and at the Royal Ballet School in London. In addition to numerous guest appearances, he danced professionally for Ballet International in London, Milwaukee Ballet and BalletMet. On retiring from the stage, he served as Ballet Master for BalletMet and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Mr. Charles was named Artistic Director of BalletMet in 2001 and served until 2012. Under his leadership, the company continued its artistic and financial growth. It commissioned more than 50 World Premieres, was invited to perform in Russia and three times in New York. Mr. Charles also formed collaborations with other ballet companies and arts organizations to present pioneering and adventurous programming. These collaborations resulted in two Artistic Achievement awards and the Columbus Arts Endowment Raymond J. Hanley Fellowship. He then worked at the Joffrey Ballet, most recently as Director of Artistic Operations. During his career, he has been fortunate to work with, and learn from, a wide range of choreographers and teachers including Hans van Manen, James Kudelka, Stanton Welch, John Butler, Jirí Kylián, Ohad Naharin, Agnes de Mille, David Nixon and Larry Long. Mr. Charles has choreographed and staged works internationally and received an NEA Choreographic Fellowship. Today, Mr. Charles is the Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance in London.

Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky Composer

Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840, in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Vyatka, Russia. Tchaikovsky’s work was first publicly performed in 1865. In 1868, his First Symphony was well-received. In 1874, he established himself with Piano Concerto No.1 in B-flat Minor. Tchaikovsky resigned from the Moscow Conservatory in 1878 and spent the rest of his career composing yet more prolifically. Tchaikovsky is most celebrated for his ballets, specifically Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. He died in St. Petersburg on November 6, 1893.

BalletMet’s The Nutcracker in Columbus: The holiday tradition returns the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Nutcracker Prince and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra to the Ohio Theatre stage. BY Alexis De Leaver, for Ohio Magazine, December 2017.

A live chorus fills the room as visitors enter the historic Ohio Theatre in downtown Columbus. The singers are as much a tradition as the story set to unfold on stage just beyond the lobby. Every December, BalletMet takes up the tale of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Mouse King and, of course, the Nutcracker Prince in a performance that promises to infuse even the most Scrooge-like audience member with a hearty dose of Christmas spirit.

“It’s really very festive,” says BalletMet artistic director Edwaard Liang. “We’ve been doing ‘The Nutcracker’ for 40 years. It’s a huge holiday favorite and has become such a family tradition here in Columbus.”

More than 160 students join the company’s professional dancers onstage to perform Gerard Charles’ original choreography, while the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and live chorus perform Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s timeless score.

“[The students] get to perform at the Ohio Theatre with a professional company in a lavish production,” explains Liang. “This is an experience very special and unique to BalletMet and what we do here in Columbus.”

Most of us are familiar with the tale that opens with a Christmas Eve party, where Clara Stahlbaum receives a nutcracker as a gift. As the audience is transported into Clara’s dreams, ordinary toys come to life and her gift transforms into the Nutcracker Prince. The ballet’s second act introduces the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Land of Sweets. Liang says his favorite part of the BalletMet production is the final scene that is unique to the Columbus version of the holiday classic, but he doesn’t want to ruin the surprise for first timers.

“The audience will just have to wait and see,” he says.

“…the production does not want for magic or enchantment. Among the dazzling sights were gift boxes that glided in the air and dolls that were summoned to life.” – The Columbus Dispatch