PASADENA DANCE THEATRE’S THE NUTCRACKER

No holiday season is complete without seeing at least one version of the classic ballet, The Nutcracker. So, for our final fun event of this year, my friend Roz and I chose to see the Pasadena Dance Theatre’s lovely production. Besides that the show itself was fabulous, the entire experience was wonderful because it was presented in a building that was new to both of us—the historic San Gabriel Mission Playhouse! We loved seeing everything that day, including the charming surrounding area.

Even though PDT’s 2025 schedule is over, I’m still telling you about it because everyone in Southern California needs to put it in their new 2026 appointment books! I promise that you won’t want to miss it next year.

There was sooo much talent on that stage! My mind is boggled that PDT did all that gorgeous work for just a handful of performances! (Four main ones and one early morning community-only one, along with a bit of it for a special Gala.) That shows just how dedicated the dance world artists are to bring us all that beauty.

Pasadena Dance Theatre’s The Nutcracker featured a really big cast—I found-out later that it consisted of over fifty dancers! It starred guest artists, Elise Holmes and Lester Gonzalez, as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, and had multiple casts for many of the other roles. (I saw Isabel Saenz de Maturana as Clara.) Even two days later, Roz told me that she was “loving the Sugar Plum Fairies still dancing with music in my head.”

But I couldn’t keep my eyes off all the adorable tiny children who danced throughout. They brought a smile to my face each time they appeared. They were all so into dancing and were totally serious about what they were doing—no mucking about here! Their roles were as party guests at first, and then they portrayed some of the toy soldiers in the battle with the mice. How fun for them!

I also noted that even most of the grown-up dancers looked pretty young. It turned-out that many were advanced Conservatory students, or the company’s youth performers. What a wonderful experience to have at those ages.

And a major shout-out to Jessamyn Vedro’s choreography. That was an incredible amount of creating for one person, and she did a magnificent job.

Although I’ve seen more than two dozen productions of The Nutcracker in my life, and at least five in the past few years, I’m not an exact expert on the entire scenario. But I have to say that several elements of this one seemed a bit varied from the usual tale to me, which was fine; I think that every company presents this classic tale a bit differently from each other, which is what makes seeing them all that much more special.

For example, in this telling, the mice are now mostly females! In ballgowns, to boot! (Perhaps they were a mash-up of party guests and rodents in the dream of the main character, young Clara.) And I later noticed that in the program they’re referred to as “Rats” instead of “Mice.” That’s an interesting change. I’m terrified of both vermin, so I was just as frightened as I always am at seeing them gigantic like that.

And I think that Clara and her Nutcracker Prince had much more to do in this one than in the others I’ve seen. I believe that in most renditions, those two sit on a throne or in a sled while getting entertained by all of the other dancers in Act II, rather than dance a lot themselves, so that extra activity for them was fun to witness.

I also noticed in the in-depth program, (which I wish that every dance company would provide, exactly like this one, which even includes every dancer’s name!,) that instead of the dancers or “dolls” from other countries coming to them, Clara and her entourage traveled around the world to see those international numbers. (The program lists the countries, and they changed the usual “Russia” to “Ukraine,” which was a good political statement. But they also changed “France” to “Scotland,” so I don’t know what was up with that switch.)

The costumes and sets were all colorful and spot-on. We sat pretty far back, but you get a great view of the full tableau that way, and I kept thinking how beautiful it all was.

And, of course, Roz and I both adored hearing Tchaikovsky’s stunning score once again.

I loved being part of a very appreciative audience, which included even all the young kids in attendance. It’s wonderful that so many youngsters get to have this experience, which I have a feeling is more affordable than most of the other Nutcrackers around town.

As to the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, the entire lobby area was tons of fun. There was a charming photo op display, lots of creative gifts to purchase, and a raffle of appealing items, such as a jeweled tiara, so the winner can emulate the Sugar Plum Fairy! (You know that I wanted to win that one!) They even had attractive concessions in two pretty areas of the premises. I honestly never saw those mouthwatering snacks before!

I will definitely be happy to pay a return visit to that interesting venue, for this ballet next year and for any of their other presentations at all times.

Because we should all support ballet companies for more than just their December offerings, here’s the link to the Pasadena Dance Theatre’s site: www.pasadenadancetheatre.org.