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COURTESY OF HONOLULU DANCE THEATRE Tiffanie Ferrer, center, plays Princess Kaiulani in last year's staging of "The Hawaiian Nutcracker Ballet" at the Hawaii Theatre. The ballet moves to the Windward Community College's theater this weekend.

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Hold the Snowflakes

If they hang around long enough, the children -- ranging from ages 5 to their teens -- schooled by the Honolulu Dance Theatre can see themselves "graduate" to older roles with every successive production of the "Hawaiian Nutcracker Ballet."

"The Hawaiian Nutcracker Ballet" Presented by Honolulu Dance Theatre Where: Paliku Theatre, Windward Community College When: 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow, and 2 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday Tickets: $24 adults, $20 seniors and military, and $16 children Call: 235-7433

The holiday perennial, given a local cultural spin by the theater's director and choreographer Matthew Wright, is being staged at its new home at Windward Community College's Paliku Theatre, having moved from Hawaii Theatre.

To fulfill part of the theater group's mission to create new works, Wright has imaginatively done ballets for stories of Billy the Kid and Frankenstein in past years and, just last month, choreographed "Peter and the Wolf," based on the original libretto and music written by Prokofiev, for school audiences.

He also restaged Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" as a ballet, titled "Scrooge," that was performed at Diamond Head Theatre for seven years before the creation of the localized Nutcracker ballet in 2000.

"I wanted to make a change from 'Scrooge,'" the English-born Wright said, "and instead of doing the ordinary 'Nutcracker,' I wanted to make something more personal and related to the islands."

So his company's production of the "Nutcracker" features Princess Kaiulani and Prince Kawananakoa in principal roles, with the Christmas party held at Iolani Palace (complete with hula), and a fantasy "Land of the Rainbow," with dancing menehune, geckos, peacocks, surfers -- and pineapples (more on this later). No dancing snowflakes.

"There are no mice and soldiers, but instead wild boars and Hawaiian warriors. ... We also have menehune, made up by the youngest in the cast, the teens, who dance with ukuleles or play surfers, and our adults in the lead roles, including five guest artists: two from Los Angeles and three from Santa Barbara."

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COURTESY OF HONOLULU DANCE THEATRE This Nutcracker may not have mice or soldiers but it does have a leaping king and surfers.

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Celia Chun, the company's associate director/costume designer/ballet mistress, whose been dancing since the age of 5, will be reprising her role as the Pineapple Princess to Sergei Domrachev's Prince, wrapped in a fruitlike bodice.

"Matt's made it the forte of this company to do works that nobody else does," she said, "and his version of 'Nutcracker' includes Hawaiian diversity and local humor, like the dance of the pineapples. A reviewer on Maui (where the production played a couple of years ago) called it a 'Monty Python ballet,' and it's supposed to be funny."

Adding to her task, the work calls for elaborate costuming. With this year's move to the smaller Windward theater, Chun admits it's going to be more of a challenge "since the house audience will be sitting much closer to the stage. Also, the dressing rooms are much smaller, so we'll all have to learn to share space."

Chun teaches at the company's school and says that her young charges have been rehearsing for six weeks for their stage debut.

"One thing I've learned while teaching is that you have to have a sense of humor, but it's easy because they're my students. Children who take ballet classes usually have more discipline because they have to learn to stand still and learn how to count steps to music."

As for the senior cast members, Wright points out the work of Domrachev, Malia Yamamoto (who will solo as a hula dancer), Squire Coldwell, Ian Campbell (playing King Kalakaua) and guests Tiffanie Ferrer and Micah Kurtzberg in the main roles as ones to look out for.

"It's going to be a fun show," he said, "and exciting to watch. We've gotten good feedback from the audiences in the past, and anybody who's seen it seemed awed by it. I like to think it helps spread awareness of the Hawaiian monarchy, a production indigenous and personal to Hawaii, showing the beauty of the islands and its culture."

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More 'Nutcracker'

» Ballet Hawaii's Nutcracker: Honolulu's Amanda Schull and Joan Boada from the San Francisco Ballet star respectively as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier Prince in this lavish production presented at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Tickets are $20, $25 and $35. Call 808-242-7469. The production arrives at the Blaisdell Concert Hall, with music by the Honolulu Symphony, 8 p.m. Dec. 17, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 and 2 p.m. Dec. 19. Tickets are $25, $40 and $55. Opening night VIP dinner is available by calling 521-8600. Cost is $125.

» Hawaii Ballet Theatre's "Nutcracker": The classic tale comes to life at Leeward Community College Theatre 2 p.m. Dec. 11, 4 p.m. Dec. 12 and 19, 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 18 and 7 p.m. Dec. 21. Tickets are $24 for adults and $20 for students, seniors and military. Group rates are also available. For more information, e-mail hbtnut@mail.com or call 455-0385.

» Hawaii State Ballet's "The Nutcracker": Clara travels through the Land of Sweets with the beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince thanks to the students of Hawaii State Ballet. At Mamiya Theatre, 3142 Waialae Ave., 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays Dec. 10 to 19, with additional 6 p.m. performance Dec. 12. Tickets are $16 to 22. Call 947-2755.