Dancer performs in the Land of The Sweets during rehearsal for Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
A dancer waits in the wings to enter a scene during a rehearsal for Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
A dancer rehearses for Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Antonella Villa, left, as Clara dances in scene with Douglas McCubbin as Herr Drosselmeyer, and Erick Mejia as the Nutcracker Prince during a rehearsal for Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
After a costume change, dancers perform another scene for Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Snowflakes dance during Anaheim Ballet’s rehearsal for The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Chris Flores, top, dances with Luna Rodriguez during a rehearsal for Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Joseph Cobian as the soldier performs with Antonella Villa, right, as Clara and Morningstar Dickson, left, as the Nurse during a rehearsal of Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Brayden Page holds Haley Altman-Cipot during a rehearsal of the snow scene in Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Erick Mejia plays the role of the Nutcracker Prince during a rehearsal of Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Dancers perform during a rehearsal for Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
A dancer in the Land of the Sweets performs during a rehearsal for Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
A dancer in a scene from Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Dancers as Snowflakes rehearse for Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Haley Altman-Cipot, left, dances as the Snow Queen with Brayden Page as the Snow King during a rehearsal of Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Dancers perform in a scene during rehearsal for Anaheim Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in Anaheim on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
For years, Anaheim Ballet has marked the holiday season with its performance of “The Nutcracker.”
More than 50 dancers will bring the classic story to life this weekend in Anaheim before taking their production on its annual tour to Nevada where they appear at Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort.
But the tradition started with resistance, said Lawrence Rosenberg, who directs the ballet company, its school and its program with his wife, Sarma Lapenieks Rosenberg. Lapenieks Rosenberg, who is the resident choreographer, refused to have the company do yet another “Nutcracker” and resisted for a long time Rosenberg said.
But students wanted to dance the classic and after much research into the original Tchaikovsky story, Rosenberg said she designed a version of the production that speaks to the intent of the composer and offers much more depth for many of the characters.
For example, the production has infused backstories for many of the nameless guests in the party scene, and this year adds a wounded soldier in a Victorian-era wheelchair with his attending nurse. One of the dancers will portray the soldier, which is a tribute to a former dancer with the company who sustained a non-dance-related life-altering injury.
Having the roles have more background story gives the dancers more to work with in their performances, Rosenberg said. “It gives them voice, that they each have a voice in the production. It’s not generic.”
Along with their dance instruction, the performers also get training from a Hollywood actor, which helps flesh out their presence on stage, Rosenberg said.
The show features children who are part of the Anaheim Ballet School, seasonal dancers with the ballet company and even an 81-year-old who for years has played the grandfather in the party scene.
The company is the resident ballet of Anaheim and it offers outreach programs in the community, including Step Up!, an after-school community program that teaches dance but also lessons for life, Rosenberg said, adding the company’s slogan is “Anaheim Ballet, more than dance.”
“We want audiences to be inspired, to take something away,” he said of “The Nutcracker” performances. “Maybe that would be just a little bit of inspiration, which is more than dance.”
