Welcome to the final DanceWatch of 2023.
December is a magical month full of whimsy, joy, and Nutcracker performances, of course! Seven different Nutcracker performances (that I know of) are taking place across the region, ranging from large-scale, two-hour productions to less expensive, shorter performances by ballet students, with one production offering tea and cookies after the show.
The range of themes covers the spectrum from traditional to nontraditional, offering something fun for everyone. A special addition to the Nutcracker list this year is Oregon Ballet Theater’s sensory-friendly, one-hour Nutcracker performance at noon Tuesday, December 19, meant for children and people with sensory-processing challenges.
December also offers a sampling of new work by independent Portland choreographers such as Amy Leona Havin and the Holding Project and established dance companies such as NW Dance Project, which will present the work of five Portland-based female choreographers.
Expanded details are listed below.
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December Dance Performances
Jayanthi Raman’s Samatvaa: Celebrating Equity: Dance, Music and Poetry
Sponsor
- Presented by Rasika-Society for Arts of India
- 4 p.m. December 2
- Dance Concert and Panel talk
- Kalapuya Hall, Hidden Creek Community, 5100 N.E. Hidden Creek Drive, Hillsboro
- Free; limited seating.
- Please RSVP to rasikapdx@gmail.com
Jayanthi Raman, an award-winning, Oregon-based Bharatanatyam dancer, will present a new work titled “Samatvaa: Celebrating Equity: Dance, Music and Poetry.” The performance will feature Raman and her company’s repertoire dancers from her school, Natya Dance Academy, performing a fusion of Bharatha Natyam’s classical Indian dance, music, and poetry. Raman is a renowned Bharanatayam dancer, choreographer, author, and scholar whose career spans more than three decades. Her choreography is rooted in classical dance but incorporates modern themes, concepts, and technology to showcase her Indo-American identity. She has choreographed 25 full-length evening works, published two books and several articles, and holds an M.D. in Internal Medicine and a Master’s in Computer Science and Informatics.
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- Imago Theatre, Co-Artistic Directors Carol Triffle and Jerry Mouawad
- December 8-January 1
- Imago Theatre, 17 S.E. 8th Avenue, Portland
ZooZoo is back! This longtime audience favorite magnifies the quirkiness in our everyday lives with an expert composition of elaborate costumes, masks, dance, music, physical comedy, and anthropomorphic humor. ZooZoo features a zany cast of characters like playful polar bears, firefly eyes, hippos with insomnia, arrogant anteaters, introverted frogs, acrobatic worms, self-touting accordions, and tricky penguins, in this carnival of the absurd.
Founded in 1979 by Carol Triffle and Jerry Mouawad, Imago presents original productions using masks and elaborate costumes, making the humans disappear and the imaginative creatures appear.
Sponsor
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The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Presented by Steps PDX, artistic director Kathryn Harden
- December 8-9
- Portland State University, Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 S.W. Park Avenue, Portland
Steps PDX will perform a dance adaptation of the beloved stop-motion animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas, featuring the choreography of artistic director Kathryn Harden. It will follow the misadventures of Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, as he discovers Christmas Town and attempts to kidnap Santa Claus and bring Christmas to Halloween Town.
precious cargo (always the point)
- Presented by The Holding Project, artistic director Amy Leona Havin
- December 8-10
- Shaking the Tree Theatre, 823 S.E. Grant Street, Portland
In her seventh evening-length work, Amy Leona Havin – Israeli-born, Portland-based choreographer, filmmaker, artistic director of The Holding Project, and a regular contributor to ArtsWatch – takes us on Part 2 of a nostalgic journey along the Pacific coastline. Part 1, “precious cargo (days of old),” debuted in May 2022. This pathos-driven work, performed in the round, explores the urgency of life, changing landscapes, and each individual’s negotiation with time and space. Featured performers include Lindsay Dreyer, Heather Hindes, Carly Nicole Ostergaard, Elle Sevi, and Whitney Wilhardt.
Sponsor
To dive deeper into Havin’s continuing work, please check out my review of “precious cargo (days of old).”
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- NW Dance Project, artistic director Sarah Slipper
- December 8-10
- NW Dance Project Creative Center, 211 N.E. 10th Avenue, Portland
New Stories-In Good Company will showcase the works of five women choreographers from Portland. These include former NW Dance Project dancer Andrea Parson, Reed College dance professor Carla Mann, and current NW Dance Company dancers Ingrid Ferdinand, Lucia Tozzi, and Nicole Hennington. The show features a range of styles, including dance theater, spoken word, contemporary, modern, and more. Included is a highly physical and musical duet choreographed by Nicole Hennington for Beatriz García Díaz and Armando Brydson, the company’s newest dancers from Cuba.
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George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
Sponsor
- Oregon Ballet Theater, artistic director Dani Rowe
- December 8-24
- Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay Street, Portland
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker© has been performed every winter holiday season in America since its debut on February 2, 1954. The story revolves around little Marie, who embarks on a fantastical journey to the land of sweets after rescuing her Nutcracker Prince from the Rat King. This grand production features larger-than-life characters, whimsical sets, and live music performed by the OBT Orchestra, led by resident music director Raúl Gómez-Rojas.
Oregon Ballet Theater will present a sensory-friendly, one-hour Nutcracker performance at noon on Tuesday, December 19. This condensed version of The Nutcracker picks up at the beginning of the second act in the Land of the Sweets. This additional performance is for people with sensory processing challenges and young children. It will be a relaxed environment with lighting, sound modifications, and a revolving entry/exit. Patrons may move, vocalize, and bring comfort items to feel at ease in the theater.
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Reed College Winter Dance Concert
- 7:30 pm December 9
- Reed College, Greenwood Theater, 3203 Southeast Woodstock Boulevard, Portland
The Reed College Winter Dance Concert will feature performances by Reed students, Reed’s Contemporary Performance Ensemble, faculty, and guest choreographers. Free and open to the public. Reservations required. Reserve your spot here.
Sponsor
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- Presented by Sultanov Ballet Academy, artistic director Artur Sultanov
- December 9-10
- Lake Oswego High School Auditorium, 2501 Country Club Road, Lake Oswego
Experience the magical world of the Sultanov Ballet Academy’s rendition of the classic Christmas tale, The Nutcracker, featuring the choreography of artistic director Artur Sultanov. Sultanov was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, and trained at the Vaganova Ballet Academy. At 17, he joined the Kirov Ballet, where he danced a classical repertoire. In 2000, he joined Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet in San Francisco and, in 2003, joined Oregon Ballet Theatre, where he performed principal roles in Swan Lake, Firebird, and The Nutcracker, among others.
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- NorthWest Dance Theatre, artistic director June Taylor-Dixon
- December 9-17
- PCC Sylvania Performing Arts Center, 12000 Southeast, S.W. 49th Ave, Portland
This condensed version of The Nutcracker follows Clara and her prince through the Snow Kingdom and the Land of Sweets, serving complimentary tea and cookies after each performance. The performance features exquisitely designed sets and costumes, with choreography by June Taylor-Dixon and Gretta Murray-Marchek, who are celebrating their 35th season.
Sponsor
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- Presented by Graham Cole/Performance and Annas-Lee Design Group
- December 15-22
- Building 5, 2516 N.W. 29th Avenue, Portland
“Origami Night” is a performance piece that tells the story of a woman’s life through poetry, dance, and sensory design. It follows her journey from childhood as a working-class Navy brat to adulthood as a radical feminist and mother. The driving force behind Origami Night is the poetry of Pamela Annas, a poet from Boston who formalized the pedagogy of working-class literature in the United States. Her work focuses on social justice, economic inequality, and gender discrimination. Origami Night is performed by Elenaluisa Alvarez, a BodyVox dancer, and choreographed by Graham Cole, White Bird’s executive director and a dance artist, with lighting, sound, scenic design, and libretto by Christopher Annas-Lee.
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- Presented by Open Space Dance Company and The School at Open Space
- December 16-17
- Nemark Theater, 1111 S.W. Broadway, Portland
The NOT-Cracker tells the tale of Ted, an unfortunate individual living in rainy Portland, struggling to find joy. Ted believes they can’t dance until a cast of wild characters sweeps them up! Utilizing much of Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, NOT-Cracker invites its viewers to celebrate the many varieties of dance, gender expression, and body positivity. Join Ted as they enter NOT-Cracker‘s colorful world filled with rainbow-hued NOT-Bunnies, Polichinelles, a street-dancing Toy Soldier, a particular Sugar Plum Fairy, Waltzing Flowers, and the showstopping Baby Penguins.
Sponsor
NOT-Cracker, choreographed by Open Space artistic director Franco Nieto and co-founders Charlene Hannibal and Maeve Dougal, will present more than fifty children from The School at Open Space and the newly established training program, Open Space Too. It will also feature local Street dancer NØIR as the Toy Soldier, an act by Charles Roy starring the House of Ada (Portland’s gender-nonconforming Ballroom house of HBO Max’s Legendary fame), and a Sugar Plum Fairy remix choreographed by renowned Tokyo Street artist Uno.
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- Eugene Ballet, artistic director, Toni Pimble
- Orchestra Next
- December 21-26
- The Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene; Silva Concert Hall, One Eugene Center (7th & Willamette), Eugene
In this version of The Nutcracker, performed live by Orchestra Next and led by Brian McWhorter, The Nutcracker becomes a story of young love. In Clara’s dream, the nutcracker transforms into Hans, a young man who works for Drosselmeyer instead of a prince. The couple travels on a hot air balloon instead of a horse and sleigh, and they encounter more culturally sensitive dances that borrow from the folk dances of each country represented.
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Sponsor
- NW Dance Project
- December 16-17
- NW Dance Project Creative Center, 211 N.E. 10th Avenue, Portland
NW Dance Project’s 2023 Youth Dance Program is pleased to present its Winter Showcase. This year’s show will feature a variety of dance styles, from ballet to hip-hop. The students have been working hard all year to prepare for this event and are excited to share their talents with audiences. Don’t forget to bring your camera and video recorder to capture the performance!
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