Colton Ballet Co.’s large Walton Way dance studio was filled this week–not with dancers at the barre but with a crew building framework and fastening hand-painted cloth backdrops to luan for use in the 50th anniversary of “The Nutcracker” Thanksgiving weekend.
“Fifty years, it’s really exciting,” said Zanne Colton, the ballet company’s artistic director.
The ballet company has used the same backdrops since the late 1980s, and with the help of their original designer, Curtis Trout, a professor of scenic design at Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Ill., they’ve been given slight upgrades.
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“I was surprised at how well the originals had held up,” said Trout.
The hand-painted fabric pieces go through a lot of wear, tear and storage during their lifespan. The new backdrops are for three scenes in the first act of the production–the party scene where the story begins, the fantasy sequence when the mice battle the nutcracker prince and the snow scene ending the first act, Colton said.
Trout said he was originally commissioned to do the pieces around 1988 and sketched out the designs by hand. He’d kept all the renderings, so when Colton called last year, it wasn’t extremely difficult to find them all. Trout has since transition to a computer-aided drafting program and uploaded all the new schematics.
Work on the backdrops was done in India and Florida.
Trout also played with the designs and tweaked them. The grandfather clock, which plays an important role in the story, was recreated in a similar style but with an additional flourish.
“It really is a beautiful opportunity to get to work on this,” said Trout.
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Colton said the company is looking forward to getting back into the theater. The dancers didn’t make the journey into “The Nutcracker’s” Land of the Sweets last year because of COVID-19. The production is an integral part of the season as well as an important financial piece.
The COVID-19 shadow still hangs over the production. When dancers return to the stage, they will do so without their beloved Drosselmeyer, who was performed by Richard Justice for many years. Justice died in August 2020 from COVID-19. Andrew Kuharsky of the Greenville Ballet will taken on that role, she said.
In any other time, a 50th anniversary would be cause for great celebration, but Colton remains reserved in light of the great losses that many have felt because of the virus, she said.
No galas or parties will be held; perhaps, a toast will be given prior to the performance, she said.
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The Colton Ballet Co.’s “The Nutcracker” will be performed at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 26 and at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 27 and Sunday, Nov. 28. Tickets are on sale at the Colton Ballet website, coltonballetcompany.org.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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