The reign of the Sugar Plum Fairy

The Sugar Plum Fairy usually glides across the stage in pink satin pointe shoes and a stiff, bejeweled tutu. But in The Harlem Nutcracker, the iconic character gets a new name, “Sugar Rum Cherry,” and jukes and jives to the smooth sounds of Duke Ellington.

Jennifer Fisher, a U.C. Irvine professor, dance historian, and self-described “Nutcrackerologist,” said that rendition set in the 1920s is just one of the hundreds of Nutcracker variations she’s seen. Dance companies frequently adapt the classic ballet to reflect their local communities. Some productions have added hula, flamenco, tap, or hip-hop. Fisher’s hometown in Kentucky replaces Mother Ginger and her bonbons with a Derby scene and child jockeys.

Attending a performance of The Nutcracker has become an annual tradition for millions of Americans. Although the ballet tells a classic story, its many variations reflect current cultural values and serve as a vehicle for new messages—from environmentalism to the gospel.

The original two-act ballet is based on Alexandre Dumas’ adaptation of a fairy tale by E.T.A. Hoffman, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It follows a young girl (called Clara in most versions) who receives a Nutcracker doll as a Christmas gift from her uncle. The doll comes to life, saves Clara from the evil Mouse King and his soldiers, then embarks with her on a magical journey to the utopian Land of Sweets. There, candies, animals, and plants from many lands come to life and dance for Clara and her Nutcracker.

Fisher calls attending the ballet a “secular tradition.” Most U.S. dance companies rely on it to stay afloat. According to a survey by advocacy and research organization Dance/USA, Nutcracker ticket sales made up nearly half of the surveyed dance companies’ overall performance season revenues. In nearly every case, The Nutcracker was the company’s highest-earning ballet—and often the only one that turned a profit.

According to Fisher, the ballet’s popularity is tied directly to American culture. Parents, especially from immigrant backgrounds, often want to introduce their children to arts and culture. The Nutcracker’s story is simple and idealistic and incorporates children in key roles far more than other ballets, making it more appealing to younger audiences.

In contrast to Russian productions of The Nutcracker, American versions also typically emphasize Christmas cheer and a warm family atmosphere. Fisher said Russian productions often leave Clara in the Land of Sweets, but most American productions take a cue from The Wizard of Oz and return the heroine to her bed, where she wakes up surrounded by family.

Members of Dance Centre Kenya perform during The Nutcracker in Nairobi. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

“You get this reiteration of how important family and community is to this crashing, beautiful music that Tchaikovsky wrote for the end of Nutcracker, and then everybody can go home imagining a family,” Fisher said.

The Nutcracker premiered in Moscow, just before Christmas 1892, to mixed reviews. Critics appreciated composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s score, which featured a new instrument called the celesta in “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” But they found the story and dancing uninspiring.

The Nutcracker’s first full-length U.S. performance came in 1944, during World War II. William Christensen, director of the San Francisco Ballet, wanted a performance that would bring people into the theater at Christmas, and The Nutcracker’s holiday setting fit the bill. Renowned choreographer George Balanchine and ballerina Alexandra Danilova helped Christensen piece together his own version from various European adaptations they’d seen. The production ran on a shoestring budget—many dancers sewed their own costumes using fabric and jewelry from Goodwill. Women played several of the male roles because so many men were at war. But audiences loved it. By 1949, Christensen had made the performance an annual tradition.

Balanchine’s own version, choreographed for the New York City Ballet in 1954, featured lavish costumes and sets and cemented The Nutcracker’s popularity. Ballet companies across the country followed suit, performing Balanchine’s and Christensen’s versions as well as their own variations.

Some modern adaptations of The Nutcracker aim to deliver specific messages. In the Berkeley Ballet Theater’s 2021 performance, Clara toured the natural world, led by a genderless Mother Nature figure who urged her to take care of the planet. Talmi Entertainment’s version of The Nutcracker, led by Ukrainian ballet stars, changes the Land of Sweets into “The Land of Peace and Harmony” and exchanges the Sugar Plum Fairy’s dance for a “Dove of Peace” adagio performed by an acro-ballet duo.

Christians have also created their own variations of The Nutcracker. Julianna Rubio Slager, artistic director of the Chicago-area Ballet 5:8, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her Beyond the Nutcracker production this year. It uses Tchaikovsky’s score, but sends its heroine and her uncle on a journey through time and around the world to learn the Biblical meaning of Christmas.

Instead of the traditional dances from sweets of many lands, Slager opted to show various nations dancing in worship and proclaiming how God transformed their culture. The Chinese dance features two girls—an intentional rejection of China’s previous one-child policy and resulting preference for boys—while the Arabian dance is led by an Iraqi woman in a hijab who weeps for martyred Christians.

Slager said the ballet draws in a wide audience from a variety of backgrounds.

“I think it kind of gives you the best of both worlds, of being classical and fun and nostalgic, but then also being able to portray the real story of Christmas,” she said.