Pointe man: Quincy's John Lam has 'danced everything' in Boston Ballet's 'Nutcracker'

When it comes to “The Nutcracker” – the timeless story of a young girl, Clara, whose nutcracker Christmas gift is magically revealed to be a handsome prince – Boston Ballet principal dancer John Lam has done it all, or almost all, anyway.

In his 18 seasons with Boston Ballet, Lam has danced just about every role in the ballet based on Alexandre Dumas Père’s libretto “The Tale of the Nutcracker,” adapted from E. T. A. Hoffmann’s story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” and with a whimsical score by Tchaikovsky.

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“I’ve danced everything from one of the sliding mice to Mother Ginger, Harlequin, the Snow King, and many others” said the Quincy resident by telephone recently of his annual appearances in the holiday classic.

In this year’s production, which returns to Citizens Bank Opera House on Nov. 26 after last year’s pandemic shutdown, Lam will once again dance the title role at select performances, as he has in eight previous years, and also one role that is new to him.

“This year, I’m debuting Drosselmeier, the toymaker and magician who brings the nutcracker to life,” says Lam, who has long been familiar with the character.

“I grew up knowing Drosselmeier and I have seen many others dance the role. When you’re a little boy, you want to play the Nutcracker. As you age and get more experience, however, you want to dance the other roles too,” he says .

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The father of two sons, Giovanni, 8, and Santino, 6, with his husband, lawyer John Ruggieri, Lam is eager to have his sons see him dance his latest role.

“My two children are excited at the prospect of being back in the theater seeing me, as the Nutcracker Prince, battle the Mouse King. They love it because I win.

“But I’m also very interested in seeing their reaction to me playing Drosselmeier because he is the one who makes the Nutcracker. Drosselmeier is just great. He’s a fun, mischievous trickster,” says Lam with a laugh.

The son of refugees from Vietnam who settled in San Rafael, California, Lam credits his parents with inspiring his success.

“My parents figured how to get here, build a life and bring up three children,” he says. “They don’t really know about ballet. It’s not their culture, their education or their exposure. They saw me dance as a child, however, and they encouraged me from the start.”

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With support from Performing Stars of Marin, a community center for inner-city youth, Lam began dancing at the age of 4 at the Marin Ballet in San Rafael, where Mikko Nissinen was artistic director before assuming his current role as Boston Ballet artistic director.

In Nissinen, Lam found a professional mentor.

“When I was about 14, Mikko took over my school, Marin Ballet. He was my first male ballet teacher and role model. Then he left to direct Alberta Ballet, and I went to Canada’s National Ballet School,” recalls Lam. “He later became artistic director at Boston Ballet, and when I graduated he invited me to become part of the company.”

Lam joined Boston Ballet II in 2003 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2004, to second soloist in 2006 and soloist in 2008. He was named principal dancer in 2014.

His extensive Boston Ballet repertory includes Sir Frederick Ashton’s “La Fille mal gardée”; George Balanchine’s “The Four Temperaments”, “A Midsummer’s Night Dream”, “Divertimento No. 15” and “Serenade”; August Bournonville’s “La Sylphide”; Jorma Elo’s “Carmen,” “Brake the Eyes” and “In on Blue”; Maina Gielgud’s “Giselle”; Mark Morris’ “Up and Down”; Marius Petipa’s “The Sleeping Beauty” and “Raymonda Act III”; and Helen Pickett’s “Etesian and Eventide.”

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In addition to being a dancer, Lam has also found success as an actor, choreographer, creative director, arts advocate and producer of independent dance films including “Dance Is,” “Movement in Structure,” “SHE/I,” “The Air Before Me” and “Quiet Beauty.” The films, several of which he also choreographed, have been met with critical acclaim at international dance film festivals.

“I’m always experimenting with different aspects of my art,” Lam says.

With that in mind, and with COVID-19 keeping many arts organizations in lockdown, Lam decided to try something new.

“I got an acting role, my first experience of that kind anywhere, playing Ariel in the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company production of ‘The Tempest’ this past summer on Boston Common. It was all new to me. I had to learn Shakespeare so that I could understand the writing and my character.

“Steven Maler, who directed the production and is the founding artistic director of Commonwealth Shakespeare, was great to me. The entire cast was very supportive as well,” says Lam.

Theatergoers also appreciated seeing Lam in the play. At one performance, an audience member seated near the stage showed his support in a unique way.

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“When my younger son saw me come on, he immediately said, ‘Hi, Dada.’ It was a spontaneous moment,” recalls the proud father, “and one I will never forget.”

While Lam says he would be happy to see his sons pursue their own careers in the performing arts, he knows that decision will be theirs to make.

“I’ve introduced both my sons to dance, but right now they’re into soccer. That’s all they want to do these days,” he says. “I like being a soccer dad, driving them to their practices. And my husband and I go to all their games.”

Follow John Lam on Instagram @johndilam.

See Boston Ballet's 'The Nutcracker'

When: Nov. 26-Dec. 26

Where: Citizens Bank Opera House, 539 Washington St., Boston

Tickets: $39 and up

Info: 617-695-6955; bostonballet.org/nutcracker

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Quincy's John Lam has 'danced everything' Boston Ballet's 'Nutcracker'