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Flash Review 3, 1-3:
Nutcrackers Galore
New York: It's Still a Helluva 'Nutcracker' Town
By Tara Zahra
Copyright 2000 Tara Zahra
Faced with the prospect
of seeing two Nutcrackers in two days (from New York Theater Ballet
and New York City Ballet), I decided there was only one viable strategy:
to try and look at the productions through the eyes of first-timers.
The NYTB's one-hour staging
by Keith Michael, geared especially towards young children, invited
precisely this approach, starting with an oral introduction to the
ballet and its plot (explaining the concept of ballet itself) and
the distribution of New Year's Eve hats and noisemakers at the door
for the performance I saw, December 31.... The NYTB made the most
of a small cast and performance space by transforming "The Nutcracker"
into an intimate family event, making me feel almost as though I
was listening to a bedtime story rather than sitting in the Florence
Gould theater of the Alliance Francaise. (One of the best parts
of the performance was listening to the kids' outloud responses
to the ballet, which didn't even seem inappropriate: "They all look
the same!" one little boy shouted when the snowflakes made their
entrance....). The party scene, battle scene, and snow scenes were
all cleverly abbreviated in this production, keeping long pantomime
sections to a minimum -- a welcome relief to the attention span
of children and adults, which detracted very little from the overall
experience.
The miniature and minimalist
scale of the production was both its main strength and its occasional
weakness: At times even four dancers on stage at once seemed to
overwhelm the space, especially when the choreography (as in the
snow scene) was packed with jumps and large patterns. Likewise,
the costumes for the Waltz of the Flowers seemed too loud and large
for an up close and personal production. In general though, the
performers' closeness to the audience was inviting and enabled dancers
to relate more personally with their young audience. Dan Renkin's
benevolent Drosselmeyer and Elena Zahlmann's Clara were the standouts
in this respect. I also liked the way Clara remained in the production
throughout the second act instead of becoming an audience, dancing
with the Nutcracker Prince and the flowers in the Waltz. The divertissments
included professional juggling in the Russian variation and the
dancing dolls usually seen in the first act in the place of Mother
Ginger. Cynthia Sheppard was everything you could ask for in a Sugar
Plum Fairy: regal, warm, and elegant, with particularly lovely extensions.
What was lacking in technical virtuosity was usually compensated
for in spirit, and the dancing was clean throughout, though Michael
might have done more to hand-tailor the choreography to individual
dancers' technical strengths. While the production was generally
not the showplace for technical virtuousity or large-scale spectacle,
the NYTB "Nutcracker" offers a warm and inviting community feeling
and generous spirit -- an excellent first-time dance experience.
You could not ask for
a bigger contrast to the NYCB's blockbuster version of the classic
on the other side of town, seen Saturday. The sheer spectacle of
the NYCB production of Balanchine's version secures its place as
the most magical in town for the young viewer. These dancers truly
seem to come from a place as far away and imaginary as the Land
of Sweets, and the atmosphere in the New York State Theater transports
you there (rather than to a cozy living room, where Uncle Drosselmeier
is telling a good story). Awed, hushed silence replaces the outloud
chatter that reigned in the Florence Gould Hall.
Yet, recently promoted
principal Jennie Somogyi provided a pleasant contrast to flying
sled, trick platforms, and Broadway-style effects with a girl-next-door
Sugar Plum Fairy, a sprightly big sister to Faith Score's Marie
rather than an otherworldly queen. Her variation was full of beautiful,
understated contrasts -- the quick and precise feet in her petit
allegro coexisting perfectly with an exquisitely relaxed and fluid
upper body and soft, easy balances. Monique Meunier's melancholy
Coffee was another highlight of the second act, alongside the young
Abi Stafford as Dewdrop. Stafford dances with composure and control
well beyond her years while maintaining the enthusiasm and energy
of a newbie to the role. She also offers technical surprises in
surprising moments -- the height of her rond de jambe jumps, for
example. Stafford's enthusiasm and energy were topped only by the
young performers in the Mother Ginger and Candy Cane variations,
who threatened to outshine the more perfunctory performances of
the company members with whom they shared the stage. Dazzling as
the canes were Sophie Alpern, Emma Coleman, Lydia Greene, Allegra
Gurfein, Jessica Seigel, Skyler Sourifman, and Allegra Thoreson.
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