First premiering a week before Christmas in 1892, The Nutcracker ballet has become a staple of the holiday season. The two-act fairy tale, born from Alexandre Dumas Pere’s adaptation of the story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A Hoffman, is a timeless story, thanks in part to its iconic Tchaikovsky score.
The story follows a young girl named Clara as she embarks on an adventure with her wooden nutcracker, who has magically come to life. He takes Clara on an exhilarating journey to the Land of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy, following a battle with the Mouse King and his troops.
The story returns to the stage this December as Canada’s Ukrainian Shumka Dancers bring their rendition of The Nutcracker back to the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. For two nights, the city will host over 70 renowned dancers from Shumka and the Shumka School of Dance, and guest singers from Edmonton’s Kappella Kyrie Slavic Chamber Choir.
Shumka’s adaptation of the Christmas classic features choreography by Viktor Lytvynov and John Pichlyk, who tell the story through classic ballet infused with powerful Ukrainian character dance.
Stage designer Maria Levitska has also created a Ukrainian wonderland out of the magical worlds within the Nutcracker story. The production stays true to Shumka’s heritage, embellishing its costumes with Ukrainian motifs and symbols of resilience — now more important than ever.
“Since the war broke out, it’s important for us to be performing and showing the strength of our culture and our people,” says Darka Tarnawsky, former executive director for Shumka. “We have collaborated with artists — designers, choreographers, musicians, composers — from Ukraine for decades but somehow it seems more significant now.”
This will be the first Edmonton performance of Shumka’s Nutcracker since Canada’s Ukrainian Shumka Dancers were inducted into the Dance Collection Danse Hall of Fame this past November. The ceremony, which took place in Winnipeg, recognized the company’s contribution to Canadian dance. “It represents the 60-plus years of people that came before us and how hard they worked to get the company where it is now,” says Alyssa Eugenio, rehearsal director. “Hopefully we can continue on and create new work and make everyone proud of how far we’ve come.”
Canada’s Ukrainian Nutcracker is showing at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on Dec. 20 and 21.
