Ballet West’s ‘Nutcracker’: 18 things that might surprise you

Ballet West’s production of “The Nutcracker” is not only a Utah tradition, it’s the longest-running production of its kind in the United States. Maybe in the world.

First presented by the San Francisco Ballet in 1944, the choreography came to Salt Lake City with its creator, Willam Christensen, when he moved to Utah. He founded the University of Utah’s ballet department in 1951, and Ballet West in 1963.

And, three-quarters of a century after it was first performed, the ballet is celebrated in “75th Anniversary of America’s First Nutcracker,” a commemorative book by Josh Jones and Sara M.K. Neal that’s full of anecdotes, history and gorgeous photography — and more than a few fun facts.…