The San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker is a holiday tradition that enchants audiences year after year. But while the spotlight naturally gravitates toward the ballet performers who take the stage, it’s another, more remarkable dance transpiring in the shadows that transforms Tchaikovsky’s 1892 work into a true spectacle.
Beyond the War Memorial Opera House’s stage door, a sprawling hive of activity unfolds. Dancers weave through the backstage chaos, synchronized with the efforts of stagehands and crew. The vast backstage area, a multifloored labyrinth, presents a challenge for even the most seasoned professionals, where one can easily lose their way.
Some 30 minutes prior to the curtain, the hair and makeup room is full of energy. Stations hum with activity as a dancer is transformed into a jack-in-the-box, and a group of children turns into diminutive clowns.
If the memory of The Nutcracker has faded since your childhood, here is a quick recap: The ballet unfolds on Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum house, where young Clara is given a nutcracker doll by her uncle Drosselmeyer. As the clock strikes midnight, Clara is whisked away to a magical world, and her nutcracker transforms into a prince. Joining forces, they traverse the enchanting Land of Sweets, meeting the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Mouse King and an array of whimsical characters along their journey.
Behind the scenes, the dedicated team of around 70 professionals, including the stage manager and stagehands, work tirelessly to bring this magical production to life.
Walking backstage serves as a stark reminder of the colossal dimensions of every moving element. Even if patrons have seen the show a hundred times, the sheer magnitude of these onstage elements can make jaws drop like a Nutcracker soldier. The set pieces that are made to make Clara the size of a toy in real life are several stories high, and standing close to one is like being in the presence of giants.
The stage manager is the unsung hero of any theatrical production, and Nutcracker’s Katie Orr is no exception.
“The scene change in Act I is the most difficult transition we have in the ballet,” she told The Standard. “We have to get the entire living room set off stage in a matter of seconds, and then get the larger set onstage a few seconds later. So it is a dance backstage.”
With huge set pieces and lots of moving parts—including small children—Orr, who has six years of stage management experience with the SF Ballet plus an additional five with the NYC Ballet, has an important role to play.
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“We have to keep it running, but keep everybody safe at the same time,” she said.
The stage-left wing offers a privileged vantage point that unveils an entirely different dimension to the production. From that behind-the-scenes perch, the dancers' grace takes on a more intimate quality. Each pause before leaping onstage is full of calm and poise. Each pirouette and arabesque that unfolds a few feet away reveals the sweat, precision and dedication invested in every movement.
Principal soloist Cavan Conley, who plays the prince, doesn't just dance the Nutcracker; he embodies it.
“Sometimes, ballet seems like an art form that’s not relatable. And I think with the Nutcracker, there’s the magic dance, the expression of dance, and it does it so well that it becomes a holiday tradition,” Conley said. “All the dancers love giving ourselves to the holiday tradition and to the audiences.” Conley, a seasoned member of the San Francisco Ballet with a tenure of five years, marked his inaugural debut as the Prince in this performance.
After the curtain closes, the performance continues out of sight of the audience, as a chorus of hugs, claps and high-fives are shared. The dancers linger onstage, then make their way offstage to erase the signs of the show from their faces. Traces of the renowned snow scene from the climactic Act 1 finale are scattered across the backstage floors.
As the curtain rises nightly for the next two weeks, the audience will be transported into a world of wonder, blissfully unaware of the dance backstage that allows for all the intricate dances up front.