Caroline Calouche & Co.'s Clara's Trip: A Cirque & Dance Nutcracker Story Is Undeniably a Trip
This article was published by Triangle Review on 18 December 2025.
Caroline Calouche & Co.'s Clara's Trip: A Cirque & Dance Nutcracker Story, performed Dec. 22nd and 23rd in Raleigh's A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater, offers a refreshing antidote to the sugar-plum familiarity of the holiday season. Conceived by North Carolina choreographer Caroline Calouche as an "antiNutcracker," the work doesn't reject Tchaikovsky's beloved ballet so much as refract it through a contemporary lens -- one that replaces pointe shoes and strict classical form with cirque artistry, aerial daring, and a playful, modern sensibility.
For more than a decade, Clara's Trip has been a Yuletide fixture in Charlotte, often (and mischievously) running concurrently with Charlotte Ballet's traditional Nutcracker in the neighboring Belk Theater at Charlotte’s Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. Raleigh audiences can now enjoy a similar holiday juxtaposition: Calouche's production unfolds in the A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater in the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts while the Carolina Ballet'sNutcracker fills Raleigh Memorial Auditorium just next door. The pairing underscores how Clara's Trip exists in conversation with tradition rather than in its shadow.
The evening opens with a 45-minute first act that grounds the fantasy in contemporary storytelling. Clara is no longer a child but a kind, energetic young woman who loves to dance, even if she is endearingly clumsy. At a holiday party hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Flowers, her enthusiasm leads to misfortune: a painful misstep, an injured ankle, and a trip to the emergency room on Christmas Eve.
This framing device cleverly replaces the Victorian parlor and toy soldiers of the original Nutcracker with something more immediate and relatable. Later, as Clara drifts off to sleep, reality dissolves into a snow-filled dream, infused with dancing, crutch-wielding hospital staff and, later, Clara's dancing friends.
Act Two is where Clara's Trip truly takes flight -- literally. Drawing on an adapted score from Tchaikovsky's 1892 ballet, the production fuses classical musical motifs with cirque disciplines, including aerial silks, rings, and trapeze. Dancers appear as candy canes, gingerbreads, flowers, and even fish, creating a whimsical dreamscape that nods to The Nutcracker's Kingdom of Sweets, while confidently charting its own course.
Among the standout moments is Sarah Harrison's luminous aerial solo on long white sashes cascading from the ceiling. Bathed in soft light, Harrison appears almost angelic, her suspended body tracing arcs that feel both weightless and emotionally resonant. It is a moment of quiet wonder that draws the audience into Clara's dream with hushed reverence. Equally thrilling -- and met with audible gasps and cheers -- is the bar trapeze duet by Danny Trinidad and Pamela Donohoo. Their athleticism, trust, and flawless synchronization transform the apparatus into a site of joyous risk-taking, culminating in a show-stopping sequence that brings the house down.
Lighting designer John P. Woodeydeserves special praise for shaping the emotional and visual rhythm of the evening. His perfectly timed illuminations enhance both solo and ensemble numbers, shifting seamlessly from intimate glow to festive brilliance. The lighting doesn't merely reveal the performers; it partners with them, carving space and mood with precision.
What ultimately distinguishes Clara's Trip is the philosophy behind it. Caroline Calouche & Co. operates the Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center, the city's only professionaldance circus company and school; and the production reflects the organization's commitment to accessibility, cross-disciplinary training, and community. Calouche herself brings a rich background in contemporary dance, ballet, Pilates, and aerial instruction; and her faculty -- ranging from physical theater specialists to accomplished circus artists -- imbue the work with technical rigor and stylistic range.
The spirit of inclusivity and experimentation animates Clara's Trip from start to finish. It invites audiences to reimagine a familiar holiday ritual, suggesting that tradition can be honored without being frozen in time. By blending gravity-defying cirque with athletic dance and a gently subversive narrative, Caroline Calouche & Co. have crafted a holiday performance that feels at once festive, daring, and human.
