Studio West brings the Nutcracker to stage over Thanksgiving weekend

Studio West Dance Theater’s “The Nutcracker” is back after a pandemic pause, and this time around, it’s happening on the main stage at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts.

The production, one of Olympia’s two local versions of the holiday classic about a young girl’s nocturnal visit to magical realms, opens Saturday, Nov. 27 — just two days after Thanksgiving.

“It’s the kickoff to Christmas, and what a festive way to start the holiday season,” said Studio West co-director Stephanie Wood-Ennett.

This will be the company’s first production in front of a live audience since “The Nutcracker” of 2019, though the company made two dance films during the pandemic.

“Coming back to ‘The Nutcracker’ feels really good,” Wood-Ennett told The Olympian. “We came back to it with fresh eyes and renewed energy to make it even better.”

The holiday season of 2020 was the first time in three decades that Wood-Ennett wasn’t either dancing in or directing a production of the ballet, which debuted in 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia, and went on to become a seasonal staple.

“I knew that it would come back,” she said. “The holidays fly by regardless of if there’s a Nutcracker or not. But it was hard watching the dancers be so heartbroken, especially the seniors.”

One of the 2020 seniors, Olympia High School graduate Hannah Smith, is dancing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, a role she also played in 2018. She’s now studying with DeCruz Ballet in San Antonio, Texas, as is the production’s Cavalier, Cole McMason, a longtime Studio West dancer reprising the ballet’s lead male role.

Adding an extra sparkle to the pas de deux: The dancers are a couple in life as well as on stage.

And they’re far from the only Studio West dancers to be particularly excited about this year’s production.

“There’s so much electricity running through these dancers,” Wood-Ennett said. “They’re on fire dancing in the studio and knowing that they’re preparing for a real performance after two years.”

Both the production’s earlier timing and the move from the South Puget Sound Community College’s Minnaert Center for the Arts to the Washington Center main stage were a result of COVID precautions, Wood-Ennett said.

“We had to make the decision on the theater back in the summer,” she said. “The Washington Center has double the capacity of the Minnaert, so we decided to go with the center in case for some reason we were pushed to half capacity, and the only time that was available was Thanksgiving weekend.”

There are other changes to the production, too. The cast is a bit smaller than usual at 139 dancers, and the party scene won’t be as crowded as in past years.

Most of the dancers will be masked. Only McMason, Smith and a handful of other lead dancers — all vaccinated and all undergoing rapid testing — will have their faces uncovered on stage.

“It was a hard decision,” Wood-Ennett said. “Our hearts want to see their faces.”

But safety came first, she said, adding that Ballet Northwest’s “The Nutcracker,” opening Dec. 10, will be taking similar precautions.

“My own child is the in ‘The Nutcracker,’ ” she said. “If everyone were unmasked, I wouldn’t feel safe with her in it.

“I’m sad not to see her little face on stage,” she added, “but she doesn’t care. I think the parents care more than the kids.”

Studio West Dance Theatre’s “The Nutcracker”

• When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 27, 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 28 and 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 29
• Where: The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia
• Tickets: $17-$28
• More information: 360-753-8586, https://www.washingtoncenter.org/organizer/studio-west-dance-theatre/
• Also: For those 12 and older, proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID test is required for admission to the center.