BalletNext will give a new Christmas present to the world next week. The Park City-based dance company will premiere “Unwrapped” on Monday, Dec. 8, at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in Salt Lake City and host an encore performance on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at Artistic Director Michele W iles’ home studio. Both performances begin at 6:30 p.m., and the work was inspired by “The Nutcracker,” Wiles said. “We call it ‘Unwrapped’ because we’re doing things a little different this year,” she said. “It’s sort of an undone ‘Nutcracker,’” she said. “I’m undoing it. I’m unwrapping it, and it’s kind of fun.” While audiences will recognize some of the classic “Nutcracker” divertissements and variations, the score and dancing will be different, Wiles said. “We finally have taken the plunge and have gone all the way with the music being different with new choreography,” she said. “I think everybody has seen or knows about ‘The Nutcracker.’ So we’re putting a little edge on it. Everything is going to be a little more dynamic, and that will grab you.” The opening sequence will be performed to a “Nutcracker” remix that will introduce the dancers, according to Wiles. “The dancers will be dressed in black unitards with different color inserts, so they look kind of like candy canes,” she said. “We’ve gone off the inspiration of ‘The Nutcracker’ Snow scene, but it’s more like Northern Lights — edgy, dark and dramatic.” Wiles added to the aura by selecting Max Richter’s “Winter,” culled from his “Recomposed” album of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.” “That music is driving and energetic, and I say the dancing is ‘Snow’ on steroids,” she said with a laugh. “It’s just awesome, and I love it.” Sienna Hopper, a dancer from the Olympic Ballet Theatre in Washington, will perform the piece’s lead.  Hopper is no stranger to Park City and BalletNext, having performed with the company for its Halloween-inspired production in October, Wiles said. “She danced with Oklahoma City Ballet’s Studio Company and trained as a Training Division Student at the Ballet West Academy and the Colorado Ballet Academy,” Wiles said. After Northern Lights, Wiles and BalletNext resident dancer Matthew Helms will leap into action to violinist Lindsey Stirling’s “Snow Waltz.” “The two will perform a pas de deux they had set last year to country singer, and local resident Josh Kelley’s hit, “Loves You Like Me.”  The pas de deux originally debuted to another piece of music by Max Richter in Wiles’ original work, “Petrichor,” before she tapped Kelley’s composition for a performance at a Summit County Search Rescue fundraiser. “After that piece, I’m going to have the little ones dance,” she said.  Six children from BalletNext’s youth project will take the stage as red candy canes. “They’ll have on some red ribbons, and it will be sweet,” Wiles said. The Marzipan variation, which is sometimes known as the Merlitons, will also have a new soundtrack, according to Wiles. “I’m using the Hampton String Quartet’s version of ‘Sweet Dreams Are Made of This’ that is in the second season of (the Netflix series) ‘Wednesday,’” she said. The song was originally recorded by the Eurythymics in 1983. “It’s very edgy, and I really like how everything is turning out,” Wiles said. Three of BalletNext’s pre-professional program will then perform a chair dance to Lindsey Stirlling’s “Carol of the Bells,” which will precede the showcase of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, Wiles said. “I’ll dance to Lindsey Stirling’s interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ music, and Matt will do his solo to (MetalVerse’s) ‘Krampus’ Judgement,” she said.  The two will then dance the grand pas de deux to Josh Groban’s “Believe” from the Robert Zemeckis’ 2004 animated holiday film, “The Polar Express,” instead of the traditional Tchaikovsky score. Even the ballet’s finale will feature different music, Wiles said. “We had toyed around with doing a classic Christmas song, but I felt we needed to stick with the theme,” she said. “And while these are all contemporary Christmas songs, I did want to do something uplifting.” So, Wiles selected  “In the Upper Room” Dance No. 9 by Philip Glass. “I also wanted the finale to be more about the body and the gestures but not exactly with the story overlays on them,” she said.  “Unwrapped” will run between 45 to 50 minutes, and it will feature a post-performance Q and A with the dancers, Wiles said. “I felt this new energy that made me want to bust out and create something entirely new,” she said. “We’ve all seen ‘The Nutcracker,” and I felt like I needed to do something new. So, I’m excited for it all to come together. I think it will be fun.” BalletNext’s ‘Unwrapped’ in Salt Lake City When: 6:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 8 Where: Leona Black Box Theatre at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. Broadway in Salt Lake City Tickets: tinyurl.com/nhapx7rx Web: balletnext.org Also BalletNext’s ‘Unwrapped’ in Park City When: 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 10 Where: 13 Hidden Splendor Ct. (tickets are limited) Tickets: tinyurl.com/2ww8kcja Web: balletnext.org The post BalletNext ‘Unwrapped’ a holiday classic appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less