Nickell’s Bag

The Moscow Ballet owns Nutcracker.com.

In this digital age, that’s as good an indication as any of the intertwined history between the Russian ballet company and Pyotr Tchaikowsky’s beloved ballet, “The Nutcracker.” Though the company performs a broader repertoire of classical ballet on a limited circuit of major cities during the rest of the year, its name is synonymous with the holiday classic in most other parts of the country.

But the reverse isn’t necessarily true, especially here in Missoula, where local dance company Garden City Ballet has been producing its own “Nutcracker” for a quarter century now. Over the course of several nights this December, Garden City Ballet will once again present its familiar production, stacked with a cast of young local dancers bolstered by two professional guests and a small cast of local celebrities (including Missoula Mayor John Engen).

First, though, this Saturday evening, Moscow Ballet will bring its lavish touring production to the University Theatre, where it will present a performance in which dancers from another Missoula ballet company, the Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre, will play important roles. Indeed, Moscow Ballet’s production wouldn’t have come to Missoula without the participation of the local company.

The case of the dueling “Nutcrackers” is just the latest reflection of a long-standing fissure in the local ballet community.

While directors at both Garden City Ballet and Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre say they’re mystified as to where the divisions between their companies started – and both say they wish only the best for one another’s productions – it’s clear that the two organizations aren’t exactly working hand in hand to sculpt seasons of complimentary programming: Aside from the two “Nutcrackers,” no other full-scale classical ballet program is planned by either organization in the foreseeable future. (Both plan their own programs of contemporary ballet this year, starting with RMBT’s “Holiday Spectacular” next weekend.)

“On some level, you’re often going to have people in town who do similar but different things,” said Michael Murphy, the producing director at Garden City Ballet. “But in the past there’s never been a conflict of (the two companies) doing supposedly the same thing.”

To be sure, the differences between the two “Nutcrackers” is substantive – so much so that Charlene Campbell, artistic director of RMBT, said it didn’t initially occur to her that signing on with the Russian company for their performance of “The Great Russian Nutcracker” would be seen as treading on Garden City Ballet’s territory.

“I personally have never seen it as a conflict,” said Campbell. “I would think most people are coming for the Russian dancers; if they want to see the local children, they’ll go see Garden City Ballet as they always have and I think it’s great that there’s a local production of the ballet.”

But Murphy said the touring production did pose some challenges for his company, leading them to begin advertising its own “Nutcracker” much earlier than it typically would.

“Our concern, at this point, is that we want people to know what the two productions are, so that our audiences don’t get confused about who’s putting on this weekend’s show or when our show happens,” said Murphy.

In a town as small as Missoula, and a nationwide artistic climate where collaboration is the new buzzword, it’s unfortunate that the two local companies have yet to find ways to work together.

But, on the bright side, at least we get an extra “Nutcracker” under the Christmas tree this year.

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