The Origin of "The Nutcracker"

As a part of our 40th Anniversary Online Journal, BBT will interview members of the leadership, faculty, staff, and community to hear lesser-known stories about BBT. We begin our series with Artistic Director Emerita, Sally Streets to share her memories of the origin of BBT’s production of The Nutcracker.

Having a BBT Nutcracker was really my son Robbie’s idea. In the 1980’s there was a program that funded small performances that artists could take into the schools. With a small ballet company it was a way to pay the dancers.

We did several different shows and the beginning of this Nutcracker was one of them.

Robbie worked out a story that had only an old man, two children, and a soldier, mouse, and doll.

Each year we added new parts and started to do performances around the Bay Area, deciding at one point that the children should be homeless to reflect what was really happening in this area. So the story changed, and when we added the soldiers and mice Robbie had them hug and make up at the end of the battle scene.

We were given some costumes and props amongst which was a Christmas tree made of burlap and wooden slats. After hard use it gave out, so I made a new one for the next year. The tree has many layers of lights on it as more have been added as lights needed to be replaced. The tree is like a Venetian blind, so it is hard to keep all the lights working but very important for the success of the show. David Ludwig, a member of our board at the time, was interested in painting with dye on silk and suggested having a backdrop for Snow. I got a couple bolts of silk and shaped them into a drop and he painted it in the upstairs studio. It was later destroyed by a basement flood so we made another which is the one you see today. When I added the second act divertissements, David very generously made beautiful silk drops for that plus an opening drop that depicts Drosselmeyer’s home. Initially I created most of the costumes with the help of all the wonderful mothers who are always tirelessly involved.

It is amazing to watch the progress of the young dancers as they progress from being an angel or a page to being a snow queen, sugar plum fairy, or their cavaliers. The experience of putting on a professional show rather than a a “recital” is something that trains the young dancers for life!

It has been a labor of love and I will miss it.