Tchaikovsky goes to the circus in ‘John Ringling’s Nutcracker’

About six years ago, choreographer Matthew Hart was having dinner with friends Ian Webb and Margret Barbieri, the director and assistant director of the Sarasota Ballet. They mentioned a couple of ideas: They wanted to stage a new version of “The Nutcracker,” and they wanted to do a ballet that would celebrate Sarasota’s circus heritage.

The two concepts seemed wildly disparate, but Hart knew a little about John Ringling and thought he could merge his story into the traditional “Nutcracker.”

“Little did I realize at that point how much of the John Ringling story fits into the Nutcracker,” Hart said.

By substituting John Ringling for Drosselmeyer, it only took a little nudging to bend the stories.

The more he thought about it, the more natural the fit seemed to be.

In the traditional story, Fritz is the nephew of Drosselmeyer, so Hart subbed in John Ringling’s real-life nephew, who took over the circus after Ringling’s death.

The result is “John Ringling’s Nutcracker,” which Hart choreographed for the Sarasota Ballet in 2015. It’s back this season for three performances, one on Friday eventing, followed by matinee and evening performances on Saturday. It’s performed with music by the Sarasota Orchestra at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

“Instead of Clara running away to the Land of Sweets, she runs away to join the circus,” Hart said. “A circus ringmaster looks almost exactly like a nutcracker doll, so I made the nutcracker a ringmaster.”

Because the stories melded so easily, Hart said, he was able to create a new “Nutcracker,” with different stories and different visuals, that kept the spirit of the traditional “Nutcracker” that has become the favorite ballet of generations of American families.

Perhaps most importantly, he was able to use all of the Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s original music, which is even more iconic than the ballet.

In the ballet’s second act, which traditionally comprises a series of dances from different cultures around the world, Hart said the music makes perfect accompaniment for traditional circus acts.

Besides presenting a new “Nutcracker” experience for audiences, “John Ringling’s Nutcracker” also reinvigorates dancers’ enthusiasm for the classic ballet.

“I can tell you from my days as a dancer that they roll their eyes when ‘The Nutcracker’ rolls around again for another year,” Hart said. “This gives them a chance to do something different with it.”

The Sarasota Ballet has a lot of new dancers since the last time Hart worked with the company for “John Ringling’s Nutcracker,” and those dancers are adding new vitality to the piece.

“It’s great to be able to bring it to new dancers who are bringing something new to their roles,” he said.

Details: Dec. 15-16, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $30-$115. 941-359-0099, SarasotaBallet.org.

This story was originally published December 12, 2017 at 9:18 AM with the headline "Tchaikovsky goes to the circus in ‘John Ringling’s Nutcracker’."