ML - Michigan Avenue

2012 - Issue 8 - December 2012/January 2013

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percent of the Joffrey's annual ticket sales come from the Nutcracker—and its success tends to be a bellwether for the rest of the season. (The com- pany reported total annual revenues of more than $14.75 million in the 2011 fiscal year against expenses of a little more than $13.5 million.) Says Conway, "When we see how it does, that allows us to plan and execute things in the sec- ond half of the year that are potentially on hold. Those could be commissions [for new work], community programs—those kinds of things." Conway also notes that 16 percent of the Joffrey's annual operating budget goes to the Nutcracker, but that the show more than pays for itself. However, those costs can be hefty, includ- ing everything from salaries for 45 to 50 dancers and for the musicians in the Chicago Sinfonietta to costs associated with the large children's com- pany. The kids themselves aren't paid, but O Conway points out that their transportation is subsidized and the Joffrey pays for backstage chaperones for more than 100 children. ne of the challenges the Joffrey faces is audiences turning the Nutcracker into repeat patrons. "We do go after, in a very con- certed way, anyone who buys tickets to the Nutcracker," says Conway. "But it likely to appeal to families who see the Nutcracker than other contemporary work. Additionally, by aggressively marketing the pro- duction as "America's No. 1 Nutcracker," Conway has helped the Joffrey jockey for a more favorable pole position in the glut of holiday-themed shows and spectaculars that flood the Chicago market every year. "If you get downtown and you see a sign that says AMERICA'S NO. 1 NUTCRACKER, you think, That's the one I want to go to." company, which benefits greatly from its own holiday tradition. No. 1 Nutcracker," to the delight of both Chicago and its premier ballet For the past 25 years, the Joffrey Ballet has offered up "America's Beyond the spreadsheets, however, lies a bit- tersweet story of does have a low conversion rate." He notes that Wheater, other story ballets such as Cinderella are more the Joffrey's artistic director the show's creation. Ashley since 2007, was present at the birth of the company's Nutcracker in 1987, as Robert Joffrey's health declined. (He died in 1988 at age 57.) "We were in Iowa City for the summer, and we put together the Nutcracker," says Wheater. "And because of [ Joffrey's] illness, he wasn't always able to be there." Joffrey's cofounder, the late Gerald Arpino, choreographed most of the second act, including the lush and much-praised "Waltz of the Flowers." However, Wheater notes, "The thing that's really solid about this production and its con- cept is very much Robert Joffrey's. And the part that speaks to his meticulous eye and his follow- through in the story line is the party scene." That scene comes up frequently when Joffrey artists and staff discuss the Nutcracker. In the first-act centerpiece, Clara receives the nut- cracker from Uncle Drosselmeyer, while dolls are distributed to the other children. Each doll comes to life in the second act, so each has to reg- ister with the audience during the party. This makes it a complex enterprise for the principal dancers, especially for whoever is playing Clara. Anastacia Holden, who has danced the role of Clara for eight years at the Joffrey (the company uses multiple casts for the show each season), notes, "Especially in the party scene, there's so much to remember—props, counts to do—so you're not missing anything." The Joffrey version differs from other versions in that adult dancers perform the principal children's roles of Clara and her brother, Fritz. George Balanchine's version, created Ashley Wheater, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Scottish-born Ashley Wheater has been the Joffrey's artistic director since 2007, but his career has spanned the globe from London to Australia to San Francisco and now Chicago. What was your first experience with the Nutcracker? The first time I was ever in the Nutcracker I was 6 years old. I went to the Royal Ballet School. At that time we had Rudolf Nureyev's Nutcracker, which was very dark, very sophisticated, and definitely a full-blown classical ballet. What are some noteworthy changes in the Joffrey Nutcracker over the past 25 years? I think something that Gerald Arpino added when the company moved to Chicago [in 1995], before we had an academy, was open auditions. One thing that came out of that was having the role of the child in the wheelchair [in the party scene], and that it was a real child with disabilities. It was a really beautiful thing for Gerry to say, "Why should someone be excluded from something if they really want to be a part of it?" What do you think about creating a new production away from the current Victorian American setting? I've seen ideas where people have taken the Nutcracker and set it in an orphanage. That's a pretty interesting idea. The thing about the Nutcracker is that we all want to believe in magic. We all want to have that ability to dream. What the Nutcracker really says is that it will take you on a dream, but hopefully it will also ignite a dream within an individual. How do you think the company keeps it fresh every year? The one thing that has been recognized across the board is that the production is so well integrated with the children. It isn't a question of, "Well, these are the kids, and these are the adults." That was something that Joffrey worked really hard at. The company takes on the responsibility of being the parents. I admire them for that. 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