Alberta Ballet’s The Nutcracker will entrance audiences in the classic holiday ballet
By Hannah Caparino, December 11 2024—
Alberta Ballet will be making its return to the Jubilee Auditorium with its returning production of The Nutcracker, a classic ballet that is a holiday staple for many theatre goers and fans of ballet. Allison Perhach sat down with The Gauntlet to comment on this year’s Edmonton and Calgary production, as well as provide insight into Alberta Ballet’s change in leadership with the new Artistic Director, Francesco Ventriglia.
Perhach is a seasoned performer who’s taken part in multiple productions of The Nutcracker and more in association with Alberta Ballet. She introduced the premise of The Nutcracker and her role in the show.
“The Nutcracker follows the story of Klara on Christmas Eve and she goes on this magical adventure. […] In the show I do Klara, so I do get to go on the magical journey myself. I also do lots of supporting roles and this year I am also getting to be the Sugar Plum Fairy which is very exciting,” said Perhach.
The 2024 production of The Nutcracker will follow similar story steps as its previous iterations and staging will continue to be an awe-inspiring work of art that will compliment the movement of the dancers. Perhach discussed how the production will introduce a new roster of dancers who will continue to make the show interesting, even after multiple productions.
“Our Artistic Director, Francesco [Ventriglia], has brought many super talented dancers to join us, and so what’s new this season is seeing aff those dancers in these roles that are familiar to our audiences, but are brand new to them so they’re breathing new life into the material, and it’s really fun to watch.”
While The Nutcracker is familiar, introducing a new set of dancers presents its own set of challenges as there’s lots of trust being developed during the rehearsal process, while simultaneously balancing various shows. Perhach explains that one of the exciting things of being a dancer with Alberta Ballet is its versatile schedule.
“We work so fast here, so while we’re rehearsing Nutcracker we’re also rehearsing lots of different things.” said Perhach, “So I would say that even though Nutcracker feels familiar, we’re doing lots of different things all the time which makes it quite challenging to shift from the different roles, but it’s also really exciting because things stay super fresh for us.”
The 2024-2025 season of Alberta Ballet also saw the introduction of Francesco Ventriglia as the new Artistic Director. Hailing from Italy, Ventriglia was announced as the new Artistic Director in a press release back in December 2023. Ventriglia is a decorated choreographer and worked in numerous companies in Europe and Australia. He has resided in Alberta working with local talent to put on productions that will continue to dazzle audiences.
“Every Artistic Director has their own vision and Francesco is a master at communicating his. He comes to the studio and he’s able to pull the most beautiful and incredible things out of the dancers and then that gets transferred over to the stage and it’s really exciting. For as much as I love being coached by him, I love watching him coach other dancers and I think it’s so fascinating to see how detail oriented he is and that is something that I have been so in awe of,” said Perhach.
Audiences should look forward to live orchestration and performances by both the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. The dancers will be dancing alongside the live music, creating a more immersive and grand experience for all visitors to enjoy. Perhach provided closing remarks about The Nutcracker and Alberta Ballet, encouraging people to attend live performance and ballet.
“We’re really excited to have the community back in our theatres for these shows, and if you love The Nutcracker, be sure to catch us in the new year too. We have lots of really exciting performances coming up and everyone knows The Nutcracker but the ballet is here all year around,” said Perhach.
The Nutcracker will be playing from Dec. 13-24. Tickets and information can be found on the Alberta Ballet The Nutcracker webpage.