The Sugar Plum Fairy forgot her makeup.

“It’s all backstage, I’m sorry!” she says, emerging fresh-faced from her Northeast Portland home into the Sunday morning drizzle. Charlotte Nash, a 27-year-old professional ballet dancer, certainly has nothing to apologize for, beautywise, but she’ll be swiping it all back on in a few hours regardless. Nash is one of five Oregon Ballet Theatre dancers to play the Sugar Plum Fairy in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker , running at Keller Auditorium through Dec. 24.

Originally from Sammamish, Wash., Nash started in the OBT ensemble in 2021 and was promoted to soloist in 2024. For many, watching the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy every year, set to the tinkling, iconic Tchaikovsky score, is emblematic of Christmas itself and—if we want to get deep wi

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