[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 193 (Wednesday, December 4, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1535-E1536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF BALLET WEST'S THE NUTCRACKER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BEN McADAMS

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 4, 2019

  Mr. McADAMS. Madam Speaker, this December, Utahns and visitors to my 
state are breathlessly waiting for the curtain to go up on the 75th 
anniversary of a beloved holiday tradition--Ballet West's performance 
of ``The Nutcracker''. This season's $3 million production restores the 
original choreography by Ballet West's founder Willam Christensen--or 
Mr. C--as he was fondly known to dancers and audience members alike. He 
passed away in 2001 at the age of 99.
  Willam Christensen was known as a champion of American ballet, who 
headed important companies in Portland, San Francisco and Salt Lake 
City. He was born in 1902, in Brigham City, Utah. In San Francisco, in 
1944, Christensen staged the first complete American production of 
``The Nutcracker.'' In 1951, Mr. C. moved with his ailing wife to Salt 
Lake, seeking a better climate for her health. He began teaching ballet 
at the University of Utah and founded what would become Ballet West in 
1968. His production of ``The Nutcracker'' soon became a Utah holiday 
sensation. Many an aspiring young Utah male or female dancer traces the 
start of a career from being on stage in ``The Nutcracker'' party 
scene, where the story unfolds of young Clara's dream journey into the 
magical land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Thousands of Utah children and 
their parents and grandparents have been transported from their seats 
in a darkened theatre to a place with waltzing snowflakes and a 
marvelous dancing bear.
  When Ballet West performed ``The Nutcracker'' at the Kennedy Center 
in December of 2018, the Washington Post's dance critic wrote: ``This 
is not only a beautifully danced and gorgeously designed production. 
It's also historic. The result is a fine balance of textural spectacle 
and elegant dancing.''

[[Page E1536]]

  The dancers, musicians, stage crew and artistic directors of this 
marvelous company have provided many Utah audiences with priceless 
holiday memories. It is my honor to congratulate them on this 75th 
anniversary, together with a wish for 75 more years of successful 
performances.

                          ____________________