DICKSON CITY, Pa. — For the last 45 years, the Ballet Theatre of Scranton has performed The Nutcracker for free during the Christmas season. But how can dancers put on a show to ensure social distancing? The ballet would have to make adjustments to keep the tradition going, so they decided to limit the number of times dancers would perform by having a production company record the performance.
"Also, some of the partnering with the girls and the boys, we couldn't do any lifts or supported pirouettes or anything like that, so some of the choreography had to be adapted," said Joanne Arduino, Ballet Theatre of Scranton's artistic director.
Last year, the Theater at North in Scranton was the new venue for the show, but with the coronavirus, having a packed theater wasn't an option, so the Ballet Theatre of Scranton had to come up with a new plan.
Management at the Circle Drive-In in Dickson City reached out and offered to have the recorded performance played on the big screen at the drive-in.
"Normally, we would close it Thanksgiving. But when the idea came up to push it longer. We said, 'People don't mind being a little chilly.' But they're in their cars, and they can turn the heater on, so it's great to have this be a Christmas site now," said Circle Drive-In's Joe Calabro.
It's an honor for the dancers to perform in this holiday tradition, but it's even more exciting when it's on the big screen.
"They were just so happy to be able to have the opportunity to perform this. And so there was a lot of excitement, and there still is. They can't wait to see them see themselves on the big screen."
The performance won't be a one-dimensional show. To bring the characters and story to life, it was recorded like a movie.
"We did six takes of all of the scenes so that they could get different angles and different shots, so it was really a wonderful experience, and I hope that the northeastern Pennsylvania community will enjoy it as much as we do."