By Bill Bucher Jr. 

When my wife and I first moved to Salisbury back in 1993, we brought with us two young daughters — a second grader and a preschooler — who at first found our move from big-city Winston-Salem to Salisbury to be a little unsettling. As we drove downtown one winter evening, my youngest one pointed to the lighted “Spanky’s” sign and innocently asked “Dad, what do they do there?” My wife looked at me disapprovingly as I replied with a mock-serious look, “Oh, honey… don’t ask me that! You don’t want to know.” 

At the time, one of the things we missed the most about living in Winston-Salem was the annual performance of the Nutcracker Ballet at the Stevens Center. Seeing the Nutcracker Ballet had a profound influence on both of my young daughters, inspiring them both to join dance classes after we moved to Salisbury.  

So it was a big deal when only a few years after we moved here we discovered that Salisbury had gained its own Nutcracker Ballet performance. In 2003, the Salisbury Symphony partnered with the Piedmont Dance Theatre in Kannapolis to bring the timeless Ballet to life at Keppel Auditorium right here in our hometown. We attended one of the first performances and were amazed and delighted all over again at what we saw. It seemed to us that it was even better than we remembered it back in Winston. 

Since then, my wife Gayla and I have seen the Nutcracker Ballet at Keppel many times, and we are always amazed and delighted by the touching story, the fabulous costumes, the inspiring music of a full symphony orchestra, and of course, the large cast of incredibly talented dancers. But the most incredible thing is that the production always produces some big surprises, even for audience members like ourselves who have seen it many times before.

Some years ago, I was curious enough to seek out Rebecca Wiley, artistic director for the Piedmont Dance Theatre, and she confirmed what I suspected… they really do “change things up a little” every year, to “keep the performance fresh.” Watching the performance each year is a little like opening a Christmas present. You may think you know what’s inside, but there is always a bit of a surprise when you least expect it. The performers surprise and delight the audience every year, and Keppel Auditorium, which holds some 1,500 patrons, is often packed to capacity.  

In addition to being surprised by each year’s production, it is a thrill to realize that you’re probably sitting in the audience near the parents and families of one or more of the dancers. Those folks have been waiting all year to see their daughters (and sons) dance in this performance, and you won’t find a more enthusiastic audience for any event anywhere. 

I miss my kids terribly, of course. They’re grown now, and they both have families of their own, hundreds of miles from Salisbury. Christmas is a busy time for them, and this year we have agreed to share them with their in-laws. But next year we are planning to have them in Salisbury around Christmas time expressly for our grandchildren to see the PDT Nutcracker for the first time. It will be an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Maybe we’ll even go to Spanky’s! And who knows what will happen there… 

This year the Nutcracker Ballet will be performed on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 22, at 2:30 p.m. at Keppel Auditorium, on the campus of Catawba College, 2300 W. Innes St. Tickets are available at piedmontdancetheatre.com 

Bill Bucher is the Acting Executive Director for the Salisbury Symphony.