The more things change

When Ballet West artistic director Adam Sklute came to Utah over the summer, he knew he had to think a bit about December. That's the month when the company dived headfirst into the holiday production of "The Nutcracker."

Sklute knew how much the production meant to Utah, and to the rest of the country, for that matter. Willam F. Christensen's "The Nutcracker" was the first full-length ballet ever produced in the United States. And it has become a tradition for families since its inception some 53 years ago.

So, Sklute knew this was a ballet that needed to be preserved. And to do so, he had help.

One being Bene Arnold, a former member of Ballet West precursor Utah Civic Ballet, and a close friend of the late Christensen, affectionately known throughout his life as Mr. C.

"Bene approached me and talked to me this past summer about 'The Nutcracker,'" said Sklute during an interview in his Capitol Theatre office. "We talked about bringing back an older version of Mr. C's production. I had noticed that in Act 2 there weren't many places where the men could be showcased. So I asked her about it.

"Bene told me that Mr. C had used men in the Spanish variation," said Sklute. "But it was taken out because he liked to tinker with his works. He was always changing things around and making adjustments to keep the ballet fresh.

"I asked her if there was a possibility to bring back the male role in the Spanish segment and she was up to the idea."

So Arnold, Ballet West ballet master and mistress, Bruce Caldwell and Pamela Robinson-Harris, had many meetings with Sklute about readjusting "The Nutcracker" for this season.

"I have reams of notes from our meetings," said Sklute. "We were — and still are — very dedicated to make sure the ballet is Mr. C's."

Arnold remembers those meetings.

"When Adam asked me what my idea was about 'The Nutcracker,' I told him that over the years the various artistic directors have taken things out of the production," said Arnold during a phone call from her home in St. George. "Little by little Bill's signature things have been smoothed over. He was a wonderful dancer, but he was also a trained vaudeville performer. And he added those kinds of touches to the ballet.

"But those touches have been left out for some reason or another. So we talked about putting some stuff back in. The male role in the Spanish variation was one of those things we decided to put back.