After months of dedicated rehearsal time, the Homer “Nutcracker” last Saturday debuted the first 2024 show.

For the past 36 years, Homer’s production of “The Nutcracker” ballet has captivated the town with its elegant dancing, creative twists, and dramatic storytelling. This year is no different.

Homer’s production, adapted from the original “Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet” is a retelling about a young girl named Clara, as she journeys through a land created by her imagination with her Christmas gift, a nutcracker.

In the past, Homer’s ballet has taken on creative and unusual twists, with themes at its core such as “steampunk,” “underwater” and “outer space.” This year, however, the 2024 production has decided to take on a more traditional approach, instead centering the show around the theme of “gold.”

“I don’t think that there’s any costumes that don’t have at least a hint of gold on them anywhere,” explained Dayus Anthony, a high school junior in his third year dancing with “The Nutcracker.”

Throughout the show, the theme of gold was woven into the dancer’s costumes, makeup and even the sets with the addition of the “Stahlbaum Mine” in the top right box of the stage.

The show opens with the traditional and lively party scene. This year’s cast included Layla O’Neil as young Clara, Nicolas Sherwood as young Fritz, Tiya Martishev as Dream Clara, Lance Senneff as The Nutcracker, Corey Geysbeek as Drosselmeyer and his assistants are twins Honor and Isaiah Kincaid.

In between the sparkling dances of the party scene, Drosselmeyer, Clara’s uncle, gifts her with a toy nutcracker. As the festivities begin with the help of a magical wand, Drosselmeyer summons a train onto the stage. The train brings the dancers for three different party attractions: the Oro, Doll, and Mimes.

Eventually, the party ends and young Clara goes to bed. The cats, a frisky feline duo played by pair Hadassah Kincaid and Adela de la Uz, take center stage. They dance briefly with Clara before slinking back into the sidelines.

As the clock chimes midnight, Clara transitions into the dreamworld, and the beloved mice, played by five young dancers, dart from the shadows and beckon the Rat King onto the stage in time for a battle between him and the Nutcracker.

This year’s battle scene, set to a modified version of the Tetris theme song, is explosive and gripping. The Rat King’s army enters the stage with drama— rappelling from the ceiling, emerging from beneath the stage, and sneaking through the audience’s seats. Bright strobe lights, thick smoke machines, and animated sound effects only add to the excitement. In the end, the smoke parts to reveal a “general rat,” a character played by Dayus that is unique to this year’s production. Despite the surprise member of the rat army, Clara defeats the Rat King and reunites with the Nutcracker who is transformed into a real man.

Act I concludes with the “Snow” dance, led by principal performer and high school senior Natalia Sherwood as the Snow Queen. In this classic elegant dance, the older snow fairies and younger snowflakes join onstage and dance as the prop snow falls around them.

At the Saturday and Sunday show, during intermission the audience was able to leave the theater and walk around the Nutcracker Faire, a fair that showcased many of the town’s local products and artworks.

Timmy Cisney, a sophomore who played the role of the Rat King, explained that one of his favorite things about “The Nutcracker” production was the “tradition that it has created, especially with the Nutcracker Faire around the first shows of the season.”

After a short intermission, the second act starts and the ballet is transported into the Alaska night sky, with Aurora lights and a shooting star. A goddess, played by Mara Adams, travels across the stage riding on a crescent moon. Clara, the Nutcracker, Drosselmeyer and his assistants travel to meet with the Queen of Dreamland.

Once inside the Queen’s candy-adorned castle, Clara retells the story of the battle the night before. Following, the Castle Queen provides a series of candy-themed dances from her land including Baklava (formerly called Arabian), Toblerone (formerly Shepard), Peppermint, and Taffy.

Honor Kincaid, an 11-year-old in her third year of dancing for “Nutcracker” said that her favorite dance is Churros, the dance previously known as Spanish.

“I love how there are three levels,” she said. In Churro, the cast is split into three different groups and nearly all ages of dancers get to be onstage together in the lively and dynamic dance.

This year, the show put an exciting spin on Mulberry, the Russian-inspired dance with a surprising entrance from some of the young men. The crowd can’t resist clapping to the beat. The dancers are animated and energetic. This second act piece has also always been a crowd favorite.

Mother Ginger’s scene also takes on a twist this year, as the mother is actually the King Rat in disguise! This time he is played by high school sophomore Alex Brock.

All too soon the castle scene ends with “Waltz of the Flowers,” which is performed by the most experienced group of ballerinas and led by Piper Arno as the Flower Queen.

Eventually, Dream Clara, the Nutcracker and the Castle Queen have their final dance trio and Clara is beckoned back into the real world of her home.

Although, as the program states, “The Story Ends” for Clara but the story isn’t over for over 60 dancers and large crew who contributed to the production of the show.

The casts has held countless hours of classes, rehearsals and all weekend “all-calls” that have culminated into the bittersweet and breathtakingly beautiful show that is the “Homer Nutcracker Ballet.” This is a show that carries the tradition of ballet, wonder of magic and, at its core, the spirit of the holiday season.

As Ella Gustafson, a junior in her eighth year of “Nutcracker” puts it, “Performing and showing all of the hard work that we’ve put into it is worth every minute. ‘The Nutcracker’ is definitely a labor of love.”

Homer’s “Nutcracker” will return for a second weekend on Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. Tickets are available on the “Nutcracker” website at www.homernutcrackerproductions.com. It is recommended to purchase early as two of last weekend’s shows were sold out. Ticket prices are $20 for people over the age of 19 and $15 for 18 and under.

Marina Co is a Homer High School junior.