Every ballet is different: there is no right or wrong

The other day, I overheard a conversation about the Nutcracker Ballet.  One woman was telling her friend to get tickets to the Nutcracker put on by company X.  She claimed that company X's Nutcracker was much better than company Y's because company Y got the story all wrong.  She said it was creepy that company Y portrayed Clara as a little girl when everyone knows that Clara and the Nutcracker are lovers.

While there's absolutely nothing wrong with having opinions and preferences, I want to take a moment to advise caution and preach open-mindedness.  Just like fairy tale ballets are rarely similar to their Disney counterparts, different versions of shows (put on by different companies, in different geographic areas, etc.) are often quite dissimilar.

Using just The Nutcracker as an example, there are thousands of different ways the story can go.  Sometimes it's set in the 1800s.  Sometimes it's set in the present.  Sometimes it's set in Germany, or Russia, or the United States.  Sometimes Clara is a little girl.  Sometimes she's a teenager or young adult.  Sometimes the Nutcracker Prince is a little boy.  Sometimes he's a man.  Sometimes the Nutcracker and Clara fall in love (or are set up to fall in love when they grow up), and sometimes the Nutcracker is married to the Sugar Plum Fairy.  Sometimes Clara actually is the Sugar Plum Fairy.  Sometimes there's no romance in the ballet at all.  Sometimes the variations are very traditional and portray their countries of origin, and sometimes they show something else entirely, like decades.  There are numerous possible endings to the ballet, and none of them are right or wrong.

Every single story ballet can go in any of many directions.  In Swan Lake, Odette sometimes dies at the end.  In other interpretations, she and her prince live happily ever after.  Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping Beauty all have similar varied possibilities.  Sometimes the main character has siblings or magical companions, and sometimes not.  There might be humorous moments, or the ballet might be more serious.  Whatever it turns out to be, there is no wrong representation.

Most companies must consider their audience and staff of dancers before settling on a story for a ballet.  Companies that usually have a lot of children in the audience tend to shy away from sad or scary stories.  Odette is more likely to live happily ever after in Swan Lake, and you may not see Romeo and Juliet at all.  Local and regional companies with a small number of dancers may choose versions with fewer characters.  Companies that are not affiliated with dance schools often do versions of ballets that do not have child characters.  Local companies that depend heavily on youth dancers often have a different makeup from year to year (such as more high school seniors one year and more elementary schoolers the next), and this may cause them to use different versions of ballets based on what dancers they have available.  Such a company may have a Nutcracker ballet with a teenage Clara one year, and a Nutcracker with a little girl Clara the next.

One thing that is consistent across fairytale story ballets is that emotions and relationships portrayed are obvious and clean.  Teens and adults fall in love with other teens and other adults.  If a character looks like he's the dad of another character, he's almost certainly the dad (and not the boyfriend or rival or evil pirate).  If a character is moping or crying, she's sad.  If she's laughing or smiling, she's happy.  Big story ballets do not contain deep, confusing plot twists or sexual elements.  (Note: There are ballets that contain these things such as Spartacus [the dramatized story of the historical character] and Swimmer, [a re-telling of Lolita].  However, these are usually shorter ballets with small casts, and they are generally not advertised as family friendly.  Trust me, you will know the difference.)

Also, nearly all companies print summaries of the ballet's story in the program.  This short overview should provide titles and relationships for most of the characters so you can enjoy the ballet without confusion.  For The Nutcracker, the program may describe Clara as a "girl" or a "young woman."  It may say that the Nutcracker Prince takes Clara on a journey to the land of sweets to "show his love for her," or he may do so to "thank her for saving his life..."  You get the idea.  These programs don't lie.  If it says the Nutcracker Prince took little Clara on a magical trip as a thank-you, he did it as a thank-you, not because he's a pedophile.

Overall, remember that even though versions of ballets differ from place to place, company to company, and year to year, no version is wrong in regards to story.  Each version is the unique vision of the artistic director of the company putting it on.  Remembering that family friendly story ballets portray obvious emotions and do not use nefarious sexual elements can help you enjoy every show with an open mind.