The Nutcracker has assumed a very popular place in the traditional repertory. Probably more people attend The Nutcracker than any other ballet in America. And I think that its popularity is increasing in other parts of the world too.

People have identified it as an important commercial component in the survival of ballet companies. So it has gained an incredible amount of importance in the ballet world as a whole. Whether it deserves that place is another question. We have to assume it does. Because if so many people have embraced it, then there's something about it.

I personally think it has to do a lot with the music. The music has and will continue to survive the test of time. It's very accessible, but at the same time it's very beautiful.

Our Nutcracker is necessarily unique. Our Nutcracker is really a ballet that has been choreographed by someone who considers it a ballet. And then the dancers have played a very integral role in its creation.

Most Nutcrackers are a product of an assemblage of various efforts on the part of different people, some of whom aren't present. So you may have someone producing a Nutcracker with choreography by someone else, dancers that they haven't played a part in training.

So you're watching really a very different thing. And it's not to say one's going to be more successful than the other, but it's a different experience by virtue of the fact that it's a very different process. These dancers feel very invested because they've played a part in coming with up with the steps that eventually are seen on stage. And then they've helped develop the entire idea. They've been asked to look at the ballet as an entire entity and not just learn the segment they're going to be performing.

Hopefully this will make for a more integrated whole. And I think that's a very important concept if you're really looking to present The Nutcracker as a ballet, as a work, rather than as a piece of entertainment or pastime that fulfills people's agenda for the holidays.

In terms of its importance to the overall health of the organization, it continues to remain a surprisingly important part of our financial stability. We rely on it. There's no question about that. I don't know a ballet company that doesn't rely on The Nutcracker as a major source of its revenues.

It would be wonderful for ballet companies to learn how to make themselves independent of this drug. I think the answer is to create new ballets that have the same magical appeal as does The Nutcracker and then to educate the audiences, to educate new audiences, about these other works that can provide a good night out for them.

We all believe [ballet] is a great art form. We all have to recognize that the industry's having a difficult time audiences. Choreographers and directors have a responsibility to find out what was so great about these past successes that we can bring into our new works.

However, most ballet companies presently, because of the state of this art form, are not really emphasizing new works. New works are not a big priority.

This is where I think we differ and this is why I think it's important to make The Nutcracker fresh. I think we have a responsibility to do that, not just for our own financial health, but really for the state of the art form in general.

Boston Ballet
Boston Dance Company
Ballet Theatre of Boston