The University of North Carolina School of the Arts is gearing up for its annual production of The Nutcracker, now in its 60th year. The ballet features student dancers and Tchaikovsky’s timeless music performed live by the school orchestra. The performance will run the weekend of Dec. 5 at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro. Proceeds from the show go towards student scholarships.
When we think of The Nutcracker ballet — based loosely on E.T.A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, written and orchestrated by Tchaikovsky — the first image that springs to mind might be a Sugar Plum Fairy gracefully twirling on tippy toes, or the Cavalier’s gravity-defying leaps in mid-air.
But what about the musicians who bring these dramatic soundscapes to life from their seats in the dark orchestra pit?
In the rehearsal room on the UNCSA campus, student clarinetist Blaine Edwards works on a tricky little solo passage that’s familiar to “Nutcracker” audiences all over the world. This is Edwards’ first year as principal clarinetist. He calls performing the solo passages from this music, familiar to millions around the world, a double-edged sword.
"Because one, the audience knows it, which is great," says Edwards. "It's great for just outreach and getting the audience involved. But the bad side is that they know how it sounds, and they know when you sort of maybe make a mistake."
Nearby, student flutist Ilya Perepelitsa says he feels that pressure too, but he enjoys adding his unique signature to the music.
"Sure, I do like it," he says. "This is my second time — I played The Nutcracker last year. And I think all flutists play The Nutcracker their own way. So, especially the [solo] I just played, some people played two staccato notes. I played legato.
The costume shop on campus does its part to help bring this fairy tale to life. Dozens of colorful spools of thread line shelves along the wall; 10-foot-long sewing tables are stacked with clothing and accessories; and design and production students busily make repairs and adjustments under bright fluorescent lights.
Wardrobe supervisor Marisa McCullough points to an enormous walk-in closet that's filled to the gills.
"Our Nutcracker production has a little over 300 costumes," she says. "If you break down into specific items, such as hats, bodices, skirts, etc., we're looking at closer to 750."
This particular production has been going on since 1997, so most of the costumes are older than the students dancing in them. That means hours repairing and adding closures to accommodate different sizes, and for the most-worn costumes, it’s time spent building replacements.
"Most people might not know that on any given night, there is a different combination of dancers on stage," says McCullough. "So, we have about 150 dancers that participate in the production, but about 80 are on stage at one time. So, most parts are double, if not triple, cast. So we have quite an intricate spreadsheet that reflects what costume any given dancer is wearing."
Being a high school and university, McCullough and her students accommodate dancers from 14 to 24 years old, sometimes dancing the same roles. It’s a big job, and it’s all on them to make the costumes work for everybody.
All the way across the beautiful rolling — and sometimes quite steep — hills of the UNCSA campus is design and production. This is where all the props, scenes, and special effects begin.
A dozen student artisans gather and take their seats in this warehouse-like space. Spread out on large tables are a wide variety of props from small clay daggers to a foot-long old school nutcracker, all handcrafted right here in what looks like Santa’s workshop.
Fourth-year student August Le-Hoang is the props director. She says it's her favorite part of the year. It feels so festive, and for her and her design and production classmates, it represents months of work.
"It's making sure that all of these props are in working condition and that they can travel to and from our shops, and it's just making sure everything runs smoothly, so that it keeps the magic alive every year," says Le-Hoang. "Making sure that everyone looks presentable and the magic is real. It keeps up the illusion of the shows. there's lighting, there's sound, wigs and makeup, scenery. For props, it's if you took a house and you shook it upside down, anything that falls off is us."
When she graduates, she hopes to enter the professional world of theme entertainment or work on touring shows. But for now, Le-Hoang loves her work behind the scenes. She’s busy training her assistant, who will take over the reins as props director in 2026 when the next class of UNCSA students does their part to keep The Nutcracker magic alive.