Eugene Ballet announced on Dec. 4 that it decided to cancel all in-person performances of âThe Nutcrackerâ for the first time in the companyâs history. The announcement followed weeks of effort to present âThe Nutcrackerâ to audiences as it has for the last 40 years.
âWe have a very loyal audience here in Eugene, and I know itâs as disappointing to them as it is for us that weâre not out there,â Eugene Ballet director Toni Pimble said.
Prior to Governor Kate Brownâs two-week freeze in mid-November, Pimble and the artistic staff were in the midst of applying changes to the traditional structure of the ballet in order to be able to safely perform come December. This process included arranging company dancers into pods that could rehearse and perform together. The runtime was reduced to 70 minutes without an intermission. It also meant removing the young student dancers who are typically a defining feature of âThe Nutcrackerâ