16 replies to this topic

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A listing of local Nutcrackers by Matthew J. Palm in The Orlando Sentinel.

The biggest Nutcracker news of Orlando's season is the return of live orchestral accompaniment to Orlando Ballet's annual presentation of the holiday favorite.

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A review of San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker by Toba Singer in The California Literary Review.

The party scene at the Stahlbaum’s poses the first of several problems, large, medium and small, with this production. Its now-ordered, now-chaotic tempo suffers from an absence of discreet dramatic beats. Were they there, they would underscore the important events which in an understated way are supposed to import themselves into Clara’s dream in the second half of Act I, streaming content for the mimed recounting of his heroism by the Nutcracker Prince. Without that information cascade, the drama flattens, and the audience is unprepared for what is to come. One can still enjoy the costumes and dancing—and the sets where there are sets—but the dramaturgy stops short of bringing us on board for Clara’s somnambulant journey.

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An interview with Ashley Tuttle, who's dancing Sugar Plum with Evansville Ballet Theatre.

Tuttle will dance opposite Jens Weber, a former principal with the Berlin Ballet, who will perform the role of Cavalier. Francis Lawrence, a member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, will be featured in the Arabian variation, and Mark Bush, the company's artistic director, will return as Drosselmeyer, the mysterious Christmas guest whose gift of a nutcracker launches Clara's night of magic.

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The Toledo Ballet presents its Nutcracker.

Adron Ming will conduct the Toledo Symphony in the timeless score by Tchaikovsky.

Returning to dance the major solos as Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier will be soloists Mary Carmen Catoya and Renato Penteado, from the Miami City Ballet, last seen in Toledo in 2010.

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Utah Regional Ballet presents its Nutcracker.

Colledge, who founded URB in 1980, trained under the direction of William F. Christensen, who founded Ballet West and is largely credited with bringing the full "Nutcracker" ballet to the United States. While Colledge said much of the choreography in URB's "Nutcracker" is unique, Christensen's influence is still felt throughout the ballet. "Even though the steps are different, I wanted to capture the charm and the elegance that he had in his original production," she said.

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A preview of the Nutcrackers on offer in Vancouver.

The RWB's current Nutcracker has only been seen here once, in 1997. A traditional Nutcracker, with choreography by Galina Yor-danova and Nina Menon, its particular spin is its setting, in a mansion on Winnipeg's Wellington Crescent in 1913. It starts with street hockey and a snowball fight, party guests include soldiers in uniform, and the fight scene is a battle between mice and Mounties.

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Reviews of the English National Ballet's Nutcracker.

The Telegraph

The choreography given to the adult Clara and her prince is quick, clean and ecstatic, and Klimentova and Muntagirov danced it not quite to perfection, but to something more driven and dazzling. Her cut glass limbs give a weighted, sculpted quality to her every line, while his immaculate classicism and joyous, springy elevation become ever more delightful to behold. The remarkable Muntagirov now has two partnerships of the highest quality, with Klimentova and with Rojo herself, who dances on Saturday.

The Independent

Wayne Eagling’s production, created in 2010, is getting more streamlined as it beds in. The party scene feels like a proper party. When Michael Coleman’s mischievous grandfather shows off a dance from an earlier generation, the other guests join in gradually, watching and picking up the steps until everybody’s dancing. Students from the Tring Park and English National Ballet Schools are spontaneous as they play and dance, oohing over new toys and rushing to join in the games.

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A review of the film of the Mariinsky's Nutcracker in #D and the English National Ballet by Matthew Paluch for The Arts Desk.

Valery Gergiev directs the orchestra, and if you have a passion for Russian ballet, or Nutcracker in general, this venture should be seen, though the Mariinsky dancers' flat facial expressions translate as if they've been doing the same gig for years. For me the 3D aspect was beneficial at times, but highlighted the production’s dated feel both choreographically and design-wise more than anything. (Official trailer below.)

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Sergei Polunin returns to the U.K. to appear in the Turkish prison ballet we've all been waiting for.

The 22-year-old, who was made the Royal Ballet's youngest principal dancer at 19, quit Covent Garden in January, blaming pressure, boredom and the desire to seek a normal life. But now it has been confirmed that next April he will play the lead in Midnight Express, a ballet called a "visceral celebration of balletic ability", based on the true-life book by Billy Hayes about an American's experience in Turkish prison after a drug-smuggling conviction.

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A slideshow of Alameda Civic Ballet's Nutcracker.

Alamedans have been experiencing the magic of The Nutcracker locally since 2005, when Alameda Civic Ballet debuted its first full production of the Christmas classic at Kofman Auditorium. The show – either performing in it or taking the kids to see it – instantly became an tradition (our son was a tiny cherub in the show’s first or second production and we’ve gone to see it almost every year since).

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Grand Rapids Ballet Company's Nutcracker opens this weekend.

Saturday afternoon’s matinee has sold out the orchestra and mezzanine levels of DeVos Hall, totaling more than 1,800 seats. But GRBC has opened additional seating in the balcony.

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A look backstage at the costume preparations for Ballet Minnesota's Nutcracker.

In order to keep costs manageable, the company pays close attention to the cleaning and maintenance of its massive collection of costumes and props.

Starting in September, volunteers gather at Ballet Minnesota's headquarters in the Jax building in downtown Saint Paul for "sewing Sundays" to help with preparations. Rips are repaired, sequins are replaced, and rhinestones are brightened using alcohol applied with a toothbrush.

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A preview of the two Nutcracker productions on offer in Olympia, Washington.

A new prince has come to Ballet Northwest’s holiday ballet: Iyun Harrison of Seattle.

“He graduated from Juilliard and danced in New York and moved to the Northwest to teach at Cornish (College of the Arts in Seattle),” Ken Johnson said. “He danced with Dance Theatre of Harlem and Ballet Hispanico and Ailey II, Alvin Ailey’s second company.”

Read more here: http://www.theolympi...l#storylink=cpy

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Northern Ballet Theatre presents its Nutcracker.

[Jared] Mesa, who performs the Russian and Arabian dances, is the assistant director and ballet master for Burklyn Ballet Theatre, a summer dance program headquartered in New Jersey. He is the former artistic director of Yuma Ballet Theatre in Arizona, where he has choreographed original works as well as the 'Nutcracker.'

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Preview in brief of Alabama Ballet's Nutcracker. Video.

The Alabama Ballet is one of seven companies in the world licensed by the Balanchine Trust to perform "The Nutcracker," meaning all of the choreography comes from the original works of George Balanchine himself.