Even after 20 years, special Lexington ‘Nutcracker’ production is forever young

When Bluegrass Youth Ballet entered the Lexington dance landscape in 2003, it had a bit of a conundrum when it came to the staple of almost every ballet company’s schedule, “The Nutcracker.”

Not only does the holiday classic bring out audiences, but young dancers want to have an opportunity to be in it. But Lexington already had two ballet companies presenting “Nutcracker” performances. So, how could BYB distinguish its presentation of the show?

Founder and director Adalhi Aranda’s solution was obvious, in retrospect, for a youth-oriented ballet company: A shortened “Nutcracker” or, as it is now known, “Nutcracker in One Act.”

“Because we are a youth organization, we wanted to promote culture and arts education in a way that was approachable to children and to people that perhaps have never seen a ballet before, or they didn’t have the stamina or the background education to understand a full-length ballet,” Aranda said on a deceptively quiet morning at BYB’s Southland Drive studios, where rehearsals have been ongoing with more than 200 dancers. “One of our most important missions at BYB is to educate, and if we make it accessible for the community in a way that it can be doable, affordable, that was a way to go for us.”

Bluegrass Youth Ballet’s short-attention-span “Nutcracker” is now more than 20 years old, having been performed every year since 2003 except in the pandemic year of 2020. It once again takes the Singletary Center for the Arts stage this Friday and Saturday as quite a different show from those early productions, but still with the same idea.

Early versions opened with a theatrical piece to set up the story before the action of what is mostly the second act of the ballet. Since then, as BYB has grown to 330 students, so has the production, adding scenes and elements to give more children a chance to perform.

“I will not apologize for putting 200 people on stage under the age of 18 who can do hard things, great things, and proud things,” Aranda said of the growth of the show to closer to two hours than when it started. “I think that the community has been so embracing. I’ve just always been so grateful that our audiences have been so generous of their time and energy and attention, and they keep coming back.”

In its two decades, “Nutcracker in One Act” has become one of the company’s signature productions along with “Dia De Los Muertos,” an original ballet reflecting Aranda’s Mexican heritage. Both are emblematic of her desire for the company to be distinct from the professional ballet world which she has often found toxic and dehumanizing.

“It’s about having them feel that they can do hard things and they’re brave and they don’t have to be perfect,” Aranda said. While some BYB alums have gone on to professional dance careers, she said, “our goal is not to produce professional dancers. Our goal is to allow kids to be themselves and to grow into the best human they can be as they train in the performing arts. The lessons learned and all that they have accomplished and overcome is just an intrinsic part of their development.”

Aranda often sees how those goals have been met at “Nutcracker” performances when former students come back to see the show. She calls the former students “my BYB babies” and notes that since the show is usually the weekend before Christmas, it’s a prime time for former students who have moved away to come home.

“Some of them have their own kids now, and that makes me a grand teacher,” Aranda said with a wide smile. “It’s just very fulfilling to see the community grow like that, and in a selfish way I’m just really excited to see them come back, because then I’m like, ‘Yes, this is what we wanted.’ ... You know those kids perhaps didn’t become dancers, but now they’re audience members, and they understand the work behind it, and they can relate to it.”

Now those former students are watching a next generation of BYB babies, because even as the troupe enters its third decade, it remains forever young.

“Nutcracker in One Act”

When: Dec. 20 at 7 p.m., Dec. 21 at 2 p.m.

Where: University of Kentucky’s Singletary Center for the Arts, 405 Rose St.

Tickets: 859-257-4929, bluegrassyouthballet.org, singletarycenter.com

This story was originally published December 18, 2024 at 4:55 AM.