Over time the Spanish variation has adapted to the dancers in the Company by incorporating a variable number of male and female dancers. In the 1990’s the Spanish variation was performed by three women, the current variation is performed by one man and two women.

The Nutcracker is the most accessible ballet in the United States, with more than 120 professional productions and many more staged by dance schools and amateur companies. It is known as the ‘gateway ballet,’ so it is important for The Nutcracker to be inclusive for all audience members. Recently however, ballet companies have struggled with some of the international variations in Act Two.

“When I arrived at Ballet West, I fell in love with Mr. C’s Nutcracker. The only section that I felt looked out of date and antiquated was the Chinese divertissement,” said Artistic Director Adam Sklute. “It was meant to be a celebration of Chinese culture, and in 1944 when Mr. C created it, it probably was, but with its shuffling feet, spinning parasols, and exaggerated postures, it came across as more of a mockery than a celebration.”

Adam was familiar with Mr. C’s brother Lew Christensen’s version of The Nutcracker, which was created for the San Francisco Ballet a few years after Mr. C moved back to Utah. In Lew’s version, the Chinese divertissement depicted a powerful warrior battling a dragon. So Adam approached Bené Arnold (Mr. C’s first ballet master) and the Christensen family, and received the green light to interpolate Lew’s version.

As Adam updated the variation, he worked with Yancey J. Quick, Makeup and Wig Master, who suggested basing the warrior’s makeup on warrior masks from the Peking Opera. Using a design from a mask now opens the door for a dancer of any race to perform the role. Former Ballet West Principal and current University of Cincinnati ballet professor Jiang Qi was also consulted, to update the choreography using Lew’s original staging.

Following these modifications, both The New York Times and npr recognized Ballet West’s trailblazing efforts. “Now, we can put any dancer into that makeup, and into that character, and they are no longer a caricature—they are presenting a strong, elegant, and powerful representation of a Chinese warrior. I have to believe that just as Mr. C changed and modified his production many times over the years, he would have recognized these changes as a way to honor and celebrate a culture,” said Adam. “The Nutcracker is a living art form, and Mr. C was a theater man through and through. He knew ballet must be relevant and accessible to all members of our audience, and be a reflection of our time.”