'The Nutcracker' isn't just a cozy classic.
A battle between brave toys and marauding mice. An elegant Waltz of the Snowflakes. The dance of the Sugarplum Fairy that's just as sweet as any holiday dessert. For many Americans, watching these scenes is a holiday must — so much so that major ballet companies across the United States now depend on The Nutcracker to keep them going.
Moreover, The Nutcracker requires an enormous mobilization of forces, said Adam Sklute, the artistic director of Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. For their three dozen or so Nutcracker performances, Ballet West uses 52 professional dancers, a live orchestra of about 50 musicians, at least 30 crew members, and then ... there are all the kids.
"We use upwards of 15 to 20 [performers] from our advanced level, students and trainees and such," Sklute said. "And then we use 75 smaller children in any given production. We alternate four different casts of those 75 kids. So that makes up 300 children." Of course, that also means a steady stream of ticket sales from proud family members and friends coming to see the tykes perform.