Will 'The Nutcracker' from Richmond Ballet look the same this year?

Starting Saturday and running through Dec. 23, “The Nutcracker” will return to the Dominion Energy Center, once again fulfilling a Richmond holiday tradition since it began in 1980.

The story and scenery haven’t changed this year but, for the first time in over four decades, Richmond Ballet’s artistic director has.

This will be Ma Cong’s first “Nutcracker” season heading Richmond Ballet, taking over from long-running artistic director Stoner Winslett.

Originally from China, Ma joined Richmond Ballet in 2020 as associate artistic director, with Winslett eyeing him specifically as her successor.

“It’s a very complex feeling, of course, in that ‘The Nutcracker’ is a really, really large production involving a lot of people and a live orchestra,” Ma said of taking over the production. “We have a production crew, we have the company, and we have our professional training program which will be joining us for this production. So it’s a very, very big production, and it’s a Richmond holiday tradition. Everybody has a great expectation to receive this holiday gift from from us. So we’re just working very, very hard to bring the excellence to the production.”

Winslett spent over 40 years perfecting her rendition of “The Nutcracker,” which was called “one of the country’s most perfect” productions by The New York Times. Ma stepped into his role as artistic director in September. He says the transition went smoothly, and Winslett, now founding artistic director, has still been present for rehearsals and helping to ready the latest cast.

“As we head into the 45th year of Richmond Ballet performing my choreography for ‘The Nutcracker,’ I am feeling excited and extremely grateful,” Winslett said. “I am forever indebted to all of the dancers who truly bring this magical show to life, to the faculty and families of School of Richmond Ballet who dedicate many months of their time to this production, and to our outstanding production and artistic teams who work so hard to make this show sparkle.

“I could not be more thrilled about the future of Richmond Ballet under the inspiring new leadership and artistic guidance of Ma Cong, and I am so honored that the company will have my version of ‘The Nutcracker’ in its repertory for years to come, because it truly has become Richmond’s ‘Nutcracker.’”

This year’s Snow Queen

This year, 22-year-old Mikell Graf will take the role of the Snow Queen.

“It’s so nice to be able to touch thousands of families every year and be a part of a tradition that is over a century old in the United States,” Graf said. “It’s a great experience to see everyone and feel the energy of the audience. It’s really great to hear the clapping, see all the smiles, and to just feel the energy of the city of Richmond basically joining together to watch.”

This year, the production features nearly 200 dancers; 20 from Richmond Ballet, 15 trainees, 10 studio company dancers and 150 students.

Their first round of rehearsals began the last week of October.

Graf, originally from Florida, will take the stage this year as a veteran. This will be her second year with Richmond Ballet and her second “Nutcracker” season. Last year, Graf was cast as Butterfly, a sweet woodland creature in the springtime scene. This year, Graf will reprise her role as Butterfly and become the Snow Queen.

“Snow Queen is a new role for me, so I’ve been doing a lot of really intense practicing for it. We’ve been really focusing on understanding the motivation of the piece, understanding my character, working on dancing seamlessly with my partner and becoming the Snow Queen.”

Leading up to opening night, dancers are in rehearsals every day, first at the Richmond Ballet building at 407 E. Canal St. The week before the show, they move to the Dominion Energy Center stage at 600 E. Grace St. Most of the dancers are taking on various roles.

Jack Miller, 25, is coming into his fourth “Nutcracker” season. He will play several roles, including the Snow King and Drosselmeyer, Clara’s godfather who gives her the Nutcracker as a gift.

“We started learning ‘The Nutcracker’ with this new crew and company in late October, and we’ve pretty much rehearsed it day in and day out six hours a day since then,” Miller said.

‘Nutcracker,’ dancer traditions

More excited than nervous, Ma said he is honored to bring this holiday gift to the stage.

“I just wanted to personally thank this incredible community for everyone’s support for this wonderful company. I think most importantly, I want everybody know that there are so many exciting, brand-new productions that have never happened here before, never been performed in the Richmond community. I’m trying to bring them here so people will have world-class productions coming here in the future,” Ma said.

This spring, Richmond Ballet will be moving its in-house repertory program to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts‘ renovated Leslie Cheek Theater and renaming it the Moving Art Series.

But first, it’s Ma’s job to bring the beloved rendition of “The Nutcracker” to the stage.

And while the show is a tradition for the Richmond community, the cast members have their own traditions as well.

Graf says the women in the company do Secret Santa for “Nutcracker” season.

“We decorate the mirrors in our dressing room for whoever we get for Secret Santa. It gets everyone in the holiday spirit,” Graf said.

Miller’s tradition comes in the form of food.

“My girlfriend and I, we make a giant lasagna before opening night and, every night after we perform, we go home and we eat a big pile of lasagna. It lasts us for like a week.”

“It’s really great having the community that loves their ‘Nutcracker’ so much. It’s for the community,” Miller said.