On Wednesday night, three San Antonio Ballet School ballerinas dressed in black rehearsed choreography from the second act of The Nutcracker at El Progreso Hall on San Antonio’s West Side while the sound of the San Antonio Philharmonic and Youth Orchestras of San Antonio playing the Tchaikovsky classic attracted at least one passerby.
You wouldn’t know they were rehearsing for a new version of the beloved holiday production unless you were in on the secret.
Imagine The Nutcracker’s classical music and ballet intertwined with elements of San Antonio’s rich Mexican culture, like ballet folklórico and the influence of charros in Texas. What you get is A Folklórico Nutcracker, presented by the San Antonio Philharmonic, the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, the San Antonio Ballet School and local band Buttercup.
Performers will take the stage at The Espee on Saturday with what Roberto Treviño, executive director of the San Antonio Philharmonic, described as a “teaser” of what will be a bigger production in 2024.
Treviño said the production is an effort to reflect and engage the San Antonio community. It will also feature dancers from San Antonio folklórico dance director Annette Champion Flores’ Teresa Champion Dance Academy and Dallas drummer and singer-songwriter John Dufilho, who will join Buttercup for their performance.
San Antonio style
A Folklórico Nutcracker will keep Tchaikovsky’s original music but will feature new choreography that is a mix of ballet with touches of San Antonio culture, said Danielle Campbell Steans, director of the San Antonio Ballet School.
With the Philharmonic, the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio and YOSA orchestra conductor Troy Peters, Campbell Steans started by imagining what the public would like to see if they were watching The Nutcracker for the first time, folklórico style.
She added different sound elements to the music, like castanets between the opening of the second act and the Spanish variation to mimic the sound of horses prancing and represent the influence of charros in Texas.
“It was going deeper than just a costume,” Campbell Steans said. “It’s more of an idea through music, through movement.”
Local band Buttercup will join in to add another San Antonio layer to the production. For their song, “Nov. 1,” they’ll be joined by the Philharmonic. It’s a song lead singer Erik Sanden wrote 20 years ago and describes as “an encomium to people or places that have disappeared.”
“Going into our realm of rock and weird indie music, joining forces with these classical trained musicians of this incredible Philharmonic … we’re going to do everything we can to make it as beautiful and as special as possible and as fun as possible,” Sanden said. “It’s a mix of authentic San Antonio music, the people’s music and then classical music.”
After Buttercup’s performance, the production will take you on a journey with Clara, the show’s heroine who is dreaming and arrives at the Kingdom of Sweets. Like in the traditional Nutcracker, she’s met by dancers from different countries.
“[There is] representation from different cultures and ethnicities in this ballet, because Tchaikovsky wrote it as such,” said Campbell Steans. “Even with that, we could still put our own Texas spin on it.”
Reflecting the community
The audience on Saturday will see Act 2 of the holiday ballet featuring ballet folklórico performers in colorful traditional attire alongside ballet dancers and the classical Tchaikovsky music with San Antonio-inspired embellishments.
“Presenting a folklórico Nutcracker is expressing to the community that we see the community,” said Treviño. “We want to present something that is relatable, and something they can be proud of, something they can enjoy, and kids can learn some of their own history.”
The production came together in only a matter of months after the concept was suggested by Nicholas Frank, San Antonio Report arts and culture reporter, who visited Reynosa, Mexico, for Treviño’s great-aunt’s 80th birthday party while on assignment for his Get Outta Town series.
At the celebration, as Treviño shared his family’s history and reflected on the Philharmonic’s move to the West Side, he contemplated a different way to present The Nutcracker.
“In the middle of a tequila toast, Nicholas Frank said, ‘What about folklórico?’” Treviño said. “When he said that, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, that’s, that’s brilliant.’”
Between dancers and musicians, about 100 performers will take part in Saturday’s production. The abbreviated version of The Nutcracker will give the audience a taste of what’s to come next year, said Treviño, when the Philarmonic plans to stage a full production of A Folklórico Nutcracker.
Treviño didn’t want to give away too many details of the show to keep an element of surprise for those planning to attend the performance on Saturday, but he was confident that it would connect with San Antonians.
“This is another community concert I think that everybody can appreciate. It doesn’t matter what part of the city you’re from,” he said.
