Magical results: 'Nutcracker in the Land of Enchantment' breathes a New Mexico twist into the classic ballet

Nearly 15 years has passed since Patricia Dickinson Wells decided to take a chance with a classic.

During that time, “Nutcracker in the Land of Enchantment” has become a holiday staple in Albuquerque and for Festival Ballet Albuquerque.

Magical results: 'Nutcracker in the Land of Enchantment' breathes a New Mexico twist into the classic ballet

“I still reflect on the concept of bringing so much into this more than 100-year-old ballet,” said Dickinson Wells, Festival Ballet Albuquerque director and choreographer. “The vision for it originally was to bring uniqueness to this old war horse that remains the bread and butter for companies all over the world. What we’ve been able to create over a decade ago has been amazing. I was pretty honored when the Wall Street Journal called one year about the show.”

Festival Ballet Albuquerque will stage “Nutcracker in the Land of Enchantment” at the Albuquerque Journal Theatre at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. There will be five performances slated at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, and Sunday, Dec. 22.

On the stage, Dickinson Wells said there will be familiar characters from the Nutcracker, but you’ll also see Mr. Coyote, Ms. Roadrunner and Zozobra.

“The show was to give a New Mexico twist to the beloved holiday classic,” Dickinson Wells said.

In the production, the audience is transported to territorial New Mexico in the late 1800s, with added elements of the state’s heritage and traditions including Spanish dancers, southwestern snakes, sheep and shepherdesses, a lively fandango, a storyteller doll with children and lavish western Victorian-era costumes.

“The production is showcasing New Mexico heritage and traditions while maintaining the classical grace and family appeal of its origins,” she said. “With the last few years of international controversy surrounding the stereotypical depiction of the Chinese variation in the second act, I have reimagined this section in terms of New Mexico traditions in keeping with the theme of our beloved regional culture bringing into this scene Zozobra, Día de los Muertos and jackalopes.”

This year, there are 85 dancers — which is down from 2023’s version of 100.

Dickinson Wells keeps the production between those two numbers because it’s comfortable to handle.

“I used to double the cast so that I would be able to have enough people on stage in case anyone gets sick,” she said. “For the upper-level dancers, I do have alternate casts because it’s harder to have an understudy with the high-level roles like the snow queen or the cavalier. It gives the professionals an opportunity to completely shine.”

Rehearsals have been going on for a few months, and many of the dancers didn’t get too much downtime from the mid-October presentation of “Sacred Journeys.”

Dickinson Wells had to pay attention to the dancers to ensure that they weren’t being overworked.

“The older dancers got a weekend off after ‘Sacred Journeys’ before jumping back on stage to rehearse for this,” she said. “We’ve got a great group of dancers who are really strong and get better with each performance.”

In an addition to the production is the live orchestra, which is helmed by maestro Guillermo Figueroa, who is the former music director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, an internationally renowned conductor and violinist, and 2012 Latin Grammy nominee.

With nearly a decade and a half of presenting the production, Dickinson Wells is content with the result of taking that chance.

“We’ve somehow created our own tradition,” she said. “What it’s turned into is just magical.”