{"id":73808,"date":"2021-12-19T15:15:37","date_gmt":"2021-12-19T15:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/12\/19\/afghan-refugees-at-fort-mccoy-cheer-nutcracker-ballet\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:27:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:27:37","slug":"afghan-refugees-at-fort-mccoy-cheer-nutcracker-ballet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/12\/19\/afghan-refugees-at-fort-mccoy-cheer-nutcracker-ballet\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghan refugees at Fort McCoy cheer \u2018Nutcracker\u2019 ballet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SPARTA, Wis. \u2014 The iconic melodies of \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d sounded through an unusual venue: a U.S. military base hosting Afghan refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Madison Ballet presented four performances of the holiday classic last weekend at Fort McCoy before a crowd of enthralled Afghans at a warehouse on base, the Wisconsin State Journal<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The refugees have been staying at the military installation in Sparta since their country fell to the Taliban following a withdrawal of the U.S. military after 20 years in the country. The base once housed 13,000 refugees<\/a>, but that number has fallen to around 7,000 as Afghans have been resettled across the U.S., said Eva Rupp, a deputy federal coordinator with the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A dancer with Madison Ballet performs during a presentation of The Nutcracker for Afghan refugees at Fort McCoy military base in Sparta, Wis., Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. (John Hart\/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The performance on Friday had all the trappings of any other, with refugees presenting their tickets at the door, applauding the top moments and recording much of it on their cellphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan Solari, CEO of the Madison Ballet, said the excitement was \u201cpalpable\u201d in the warehouse on the base that hosted the performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m overwhelmed, my heart is full,\u201d Solari said. \u201cI cannot articulate how much joy it brought me to see them overjoyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were kids who had their chins on the side of the stage just in awe of our dancers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solari\u2019s mission to bring \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d to Fort McCoy started after reading about the thousands of refugees at the base, half of whom are children. He and his spouse had previously worked with refugees in Greece in 2015 and 2016 in the early years of Europe\u2019s refugee crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat was best for the kids was a craft, a distraction, something to do,\u201d Solari recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After messaging a friend last month who worked with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Maryland, Solari was put in touch with officials at the lead agencies overseeing the resettlement of the Afghan refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis might be a way to be able to show people that we care about them and that they\u2019re welcome here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can give a little piece of ourselves and our culture and we can, in turn, learn a great deal about them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mozhgan Karimi, a 30-year-old Afghan woman who attended Friday\u2019s performance, said she was not expecting the high-caliber performance brought by \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d cast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was amazing, and I had a very good experience seeing that,\u201d Karimi said through a translator.<\/p>\n\n\n\t