Nut' 08
Once again its December, and once again, every ballet school, studio, and company is performing or getting ready to perform their production of The Nutcracker. Well, every one except mine that only dances Nutcracker every other year, but we won't get in to that.
Every year, you see the same ballet over and over- Girl gets present at party, present breaks, creepy uncle fixes it, girl falls asleep and dreams of a land of sweets. While it is a cheerful holiday experience for many an audience member, it's almost sad that the only impression most of the American public has of ballet is such a trippy ballet that's based on a quite creepy story and that every dancer hates. You perform the same roles to the same music year. After year. After year. Not that we don't have fun along the way.
Some companies stick to the old classic story and variations. Others are trying to spiff it up. While few end up with a watchable and entertaining ballet (whether it's classic Nutcracker or not), most completely fail (these are usually the ones that attempt a darker version, sometimes with Drosselmeyer-Clara pedophilia alluded too, and some just strange). Usually the ones that succeed only deviate from the original in setting, whether time period, country, or both. Versions exist set in the Revolutionary War, at Mount Vernon during George Washington's presidency, during the 1920's at a vaudeville nightclub, in a poor orphanage, and many other creative and weird settings. I saw one example of a successful Nutcracker in a different-than-usual setting today in Saint Louis Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.
Gen Horiuchi's The Nutcracker is set in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri (aka World's Fair mania) at the home of a local dignitary. The dancing and stage presence were all very good, especially for a production predominantly featuring company apprentices and children from the company's school. There were some oddities, like the random bunnies in the battle scene and a few problems with fog and snow obstructing the movement and vision of dancers, but it ran quite smoothly.
As in almost every Nutcracker, Snow Queen (Kate Highstrete), Sugar Plum Fairy (Jennifer Welch Cudnik), and Arabian (Pamela Swaney) were the definite standouts. It was a fast paced show that didn't drag in the party and transformation scenes like many others do. I have definitely seen better (read: Joffrey, but I wouldn't expect a small Midwest company to be up to par with another of Joffrey's caliber) and also much worse (touring productions a la Great Russian Nutcracker), but all in all, it was quite enjoyable. However, the ending was sort of unclear. Clara is left sleeping in a different house than she fell asleep in, and it is implied that even the Christmas party was a figment of her imagination.
This week, OvationTV aired their annual Battle Of The Nutcrackers. I would have loved to see this but all of the times any of the ballets aired were times that I was in my own dance classes or weird times like 3 AM for a production that wasn't worth staying up that late for. This year, Balanchine, PNB, Bolshoi, Bejart, Mark Morris, and Matthew Bourne versions of the ballet competed for the coveted Christmas Eve slot. Viewers can still vote for their favorite production at the OvationTV website.
The Nutcracker is a ballet that I am always fed up with, yet always want to see and participate in anyway. What is your opinion of The Nutcracker in general and/or any specific production that was particularly different from the original?
Selly
5 Comments:
The Nutcracker is of course a huge money-maker for dance companies and schools (no matter what the version). No matter the twist, I generally find the story tired and overdone. And, like you, I find it disappointing that this is typically the only ballet the general public have any experience with. As the production is a holiday tradition, I suppose it means that folks are at least seeing dance once a year. That doesn't really satisfy me, though. My question is how can companies build bridges from the Nutcracker to other, more varied, material? I think many try to do this through outreach which I think works to a degree. We're missing a base level of arts appreciation in this country, though, and I think it begins with educating young people in the arts (and specifically, dance) on the public school level, assigning the same value to these as reading or math. That's a big topic for a Nutcracker discussion, but I think it is relative as to why companies NEED The Nutcracker.
Hahaha.... I have some "words" about Great Russian Nutcracker, which I'll send over when I'm not typing from a phone (I hate that my Internet is down....grrr...). Hehe. :-P That said, I'm one of the few dancers out there who actually -likes- The Nut (during the month of December only, though). it's like a Disney movie: It's comforting because it's so familiar.
Or maybe I'm just a nerd. :-p
More coherent comment coming when I have computer capabilities again....
- Mary Butterfly
I love the Nutcracker. I hate the productions that are set somewhere else. I love the traditional versions. I've been going to the Nutcracker since I was very young and to me it never gets old.
I don't think the Nutcracker story is creepy, I think there are other just as creepy or creepier than that.
The story in most ballets isn't one I find creepy at all, but if you go back as close as you can get to the original ETA Hoffman tale, its quite creepy and gruesome at parts. Sort of like reading teh REAL version of a fairy tale, not as happy and peppy as Disney (or ballet) makes it out to be.
Selly
Hello, I (we) have been attending "Nut" since Anna was seven years old. She is now 21 and dancing ballet professionally. Actually we leave next week for her 2008 Nutcracker performance.
The youngsters have a chance to be on stage with professional or pre-pro dancers. The lighting and costumes, the rehearsals, the attention is what dreams are made of for them. It is Christmas at its finest.
It is one of the few ballets that young dancers experience outside of the Spring recital. You might remember that feeling of looking up to the older more polished dancers, especially Sugar Plum. How beautiful they were/are. It was magical
As a initial stage Mom, and then professional, working backstage, my work helping dancers of all ages discover self-empowerment and manage crisis was incredible.I functioned as the therapist extraordinaire. We did performance meditations, mental rehearsals, injury management, fall-down-on-the-stage-and cry-my eyes-out intervention, asthma management, Instructor meltdown soul mending, etc etc.
I love those girls. Dancers would tap me on the shoulder to do the "magic thing" (hypnosis and EFT) so they could dance with freedom and their love for the art.
Being backstage was the coolest experience I have ever had.
Spending time with these dancers during Nutcracker season taught me an enormous amount about what really goes on behind the glitz and lights. Perhaps the 'dimmer' side of dance.
I have to say, I still drop in to work back stage at the Nut. There s nothing more satisfying to me than watching a real sparkle in a dancers eye that says "Yes, I am ready now. I can do it."
I really have to be grateful to the Nut.
I may be that many never see any other ballet in their lives. Without the Nut, they would have really missed out.
Sanna Carapellotti, MS CHT
www.mentalperformances.com
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