Nutcracker 2018

[On Pointe]

Boy,  could that second doll dance in the Royal version be problematic in the US!  I know it's supposed to be the Mouse King,  foreshadowing his appearance later in the act.  But the dancer looks like he's in blackface,  and when he tears the little white lady doll away from her cavalier,  it evokes images from Birth of a Nation.  Maybe I'm overreacting,  but that's the first thing that I thought of when I saw it,  exacerbated by the menacing tone of the score.

[canbelto]

1 hour ago, On Pointe said:

Boy,  could that second doll dance in the Royal version be problematic in the US!  I know it's supposed to be the Mouse King,  foreshadowing his appearance later in the act.  But the dancer looks like he's in blackface,  and when he tears the little white lady doll away from her cavalier,  it evokes images from Birth of a Nation.  Maybe I'm overreacting,  but that's the first thing that I thought of when I saw it,  exacerbated by the menacing tone of the score.

I also wonder what they'll do if they have a dancer of color wear the blond powdered wigs. IMO that's the kind of wig that only works for very fair-skinned dancers. 

I know one of their principals Francesca Hayward is from Kenya but she is extremely light skinned. Even so IMO she didn't look great in that powdered wig.

[volcanohunter]

5 hours ago, On Pointe said:

Boy,  could that second doll dance in the Royal version be problematic in the US!  I know it's supposed to be the Mouse King,  foreshadowing his appearance later in the act.  But the dancer looks like he's in blackface,  and when he tears the little white lady doll away from her cavalier,  it evokes images from Birth of a Nation.

I am puzzled by this comment, because the second doll dance in Wright's version is for a soldier and vivandière. Russian versions often include a "Saracen" dance in blackface (which is how a "Moor" made his way into Baryshnikov's old production for ABT), and battle scenes in some productions worldwide have cultural overtones, with the Nutcracker's toy soldiers doing battle with an army of mice from an enemy ethnic group, but Wright's first act is entirely European.

Edited December 30, 2018 by volcanohunter

[On Pointe]

Sorry for the confusion.  I refer to the dance which is linked in canbelto's post above.  It is a Russian company,  not the Royal Ballet.  In this version,  the soloist isn't a soldier.  He is a mouse king,   with a darkened face and a crown on his mouse head.  But the way the headpiece is fitted,  you see more of his face than you should,  making it reminiscent of blackface.  Then they repeat the bars at the end of the dance for a damsel-in-distress pas de deux with the girl doll from the first dance,  until the men at the party shove the mouse king back into his box.  The Russians tend to be insensitive when it comes to racial stereotyping onstage.

As for the Royal's blond wigs,  maybe it doesn't  concern them because they are accustomed to light colored wigs on dark people - nearly all of the Caribbean and African countries that were part of the British Empire retain the custom of judges and barristers donning white or gray wigs in court.

 

[canbelto]

3 hours ago, On Pointe said:

Sorry for the confusion.  I refer to the dance which is linked in canbelto's post above.  It is a Russian company,  not the Royal Ballet.  In this version,  the soloist isn't a soldier.  He is a mouse king,   with a darkened face and a crown on his mouse head.  But the way the headpiece is fitted,  you see more of his face than you should,  making it reminiscent of blackface.  Then they repeat the bars at the end of the dance for a damsel-in-distress pas de deux with the girl doll from the first dance,  until the men at the party shove the mouse king back into his box.  The Russians tend to be insensitive when it comes to racial stereotyping onstage.

As for the Royal's blond wigs,  maybe it doesn't  concern them because they are accustomed to light colored wigs on dark people - nearly all of the Caribbean and African countries that were part of the British Empire retain the custom of judges and barristers donning white or gray wigs in court.

 

Oops I mistakenly added the wrong video for the doll's dance. S___t. I will add the right video for the Royal Ballet and fix the post.

Thanks for bringing that to my attention. 

As for the vidoe I did at it's the Burlaka version from Berlin.

ETA: here is the link with the corrected videos:

https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2018/12/comparing-nutcrackers-across-pond.html

Edited December 30, 2018 by canbelto

[canbelto]

Did anyone go to the final week of Nuts? How was it?

[cubanmiamiboy]

On 12/30/2018 at 4:10 PM, canbelto said:

Did anyone go to the final week of Nuts? How was it?

I went to a very unfortunate Sunday 29 matinee. Leads were LeCrone and Veyette, who looked SO uncomfortable during their pas de deux that it was almost painful to watch. LeCrone's facial expressions was very harsh, which her extreme makeup didn't really help, and the very few times she attempted a smile it came out more like a facial angst.

Veyette looked heavy.

I was just praying that the over the shoulder lifts would get done. They did with no accident, and when the Adagio was finally over one could tell they we're IMMENSELY relieved. Too much tension, shaking hands...nervous partnering etc etc.

The Candy Cane lead missed on one of the hoop turns, the Marzipan lead lost her balance during the soutes on pointe, and the Spanish dance male lead-(a black guy)- totally lost track of the tempo during his final turn, and landed with no music altogether. The one highlight of the show was the girl who danced Dewdrop. If I can find my playbill I'll mention her name. Her and the adorable kids who played Fritz and the Prince were the warm touches to an otherwise insipid performance.

[canbelto]

Well LeCrone is someone I cant imagine as SPF. During the regular season she is almost cast exclusively in leotard ballets. She has struggled with injuries as well 

The Dewdrop was Gina Pazcoguin who is coming back from a major knee injury but was IMO the best Coffee. 

Thanks for your thoughts and too bad you didnt catch another cast. I tend to avoid final week Nuts bc in my experience fatigue sets in and performances get sloppier.

[cubanmiamiboy]

42 minutes ago, canbelto said:

Well LeCrone is someone I cant imagine as SPF. During the regular season she is almost cast exclusively in leotard ballets. She has struggled with injuries as well 

The Dewdrop was Gina Pazcoguin who is coming back from a major knee injury but was IMO the best Coffee. 

Thanks for your thoughts and too bad you didnt catch another cast. I tend to avoid final week Nuts bc in my experience fatigue sets in and performances get sloppier.

Well ..I really didn't have that many options, as my week had been basically packed. I HAD to put Damrau's Violetta, Netrebko/Beczala/Rachelishvili's A.L, The Rockettes and Ailey's finale at City Center before the Nuts...so I was left only with the matinee. 😪

[cobweb]

Megan LeCrone is about the least Sugarplum that I can imagine. She is best appreciated in leotard and Dark Angel-type roles. Glad to hear the dynamic but under-utilized Georgina Pazcoguin livened up the show.

Sounds like an action-packed trip, cubanmiamiboy!

[canbelto]

5 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

Well ..I really didn't have that many options, as my week had been basically packed. I HAD to put Damrau's Violetta, Netrebko/Beczala/Rachelishvili's A.L, The Rockettes and Ailey's finale at City Center before the Nuts...so I was left only with the matinee. 😪

Well looks like you had a packed trip! Sometimes dartboard casting at NYCB for Nutcracker does not work though ... The two operas should have been pretty great and Alvin Ailey is always amazing.

[cubanmiamiboy]

On 12/29/2018 at 10:18 PM, canbelto said:

I also wonder what they'll do if they have a dancer of color wear the blond powdered wigs. IMO that's the kind of wig that only works for very fair-skinned dancers. 

Carlos Acosta refused to wear it.

[balanchinette]

Went to the dec 27th perf with Maria k, Tyler angle, and unity phelan as dew (subbing for sterling). Best nut of the year for me. Maria is still the best SPF in my book - those beautiful extensions and the high back leg in arabesque during the promenade and the slide are pretty unique among nycb’s SPFs.  Rock steady on the slide (in contrast to the disappointing Sara mearns a few weeks back) and great drama for the shoulder lifts.  I’ve loved Maria’s spf since chuck askegard days, and she is just as good now.   I also loved unity as dewdrop.  I thought she was gorgeous with lots of presence.  Someone upthread wasn’t happy with her jumps but I found them to be more than adequate.  Certainly no worse than tiler peck, who doesn’t have a great jump either. And Phelan has beautiful extensions.  I tend to prefer taller dews, as well. Sad to have missed Tess reichlen as dew this season.  The other divertissement leads were all in fine form.  Thought Christopher grant was a wonderful hot chocolate - huge jumps including a nice double tour to end (that the other guys I saw omitted); spartak Hoxha was a good tea with big height on the jumps; segin a strong marzipan with no issues with the tricky hops on pointe; Huxley a fine candy cane; gerrity an ok coffee (agree pazcoguin is the best among the current crop- although no one has done it quite like Tess when she used to dance the role).  Best all round nut for me - so sometimes final week nuts can outshine earlier ones! 

[nanran3]

21 hours ago, balanchinette said:

Maria is still the best SPF in my book -

Glad to hear she was in good form.  I have seen some performances lately where I felt maybe her time has come to move on.  An elegant lovely dancer, I wonder if she is being considered for the AD position, or for a ballet master role...

[angelica]

10 hours ago, nanran3 said:

Glad to hear she was in good form.  I have seen some performances lately where I felt maybe her time has come to move on.  An elegant lovely dancer, I wonder if she is being considered for the AD position, or for a ballet master role...

Oh, please don't retire Maria just yet. She is my favorite dancer at NYCB, and I'm not ready to let those gorgeous legs and extensions out of my life just yet. Her turns seemed fine this season. And she leapt up onto Tyler Angle's shoulders in the blink of an eye--it was amazing to watch.

Edited January 3, 2019 by angelica
spelling

[nanran3]

34 minutes ago, angelica said:

Oh, please don't retire Maria just yet. She is my favorite dancer at NYCB, and I'm not ready to let those gorgeous legs and extensions out of my life just yet. Her turns seemed fine this season. And she leapt up onto Tyler Angle's shoulders in the blink of an eye--it was amazing to watch.

Haha!  Aw, no worries, she can stay!    She is very lovely, no doubt.

[sunshine67]

On 12/4/2018 at 11:14 AM, gallerina said:

I saw the Saturday night (12/1) Peck/Gordon Sugar Plum PDD, with Erica Pereira replacing Tess Reichlen as Dew Drop. Reichlen is still listed as performing tonight's Dew and SPF on the 14th, so my fingers are crossed that she is not injured. The other announced casting change was that Emma von Enck replaced Lily Frances Cosgrove as Harlequin in the party scene. As balanchinette mentioned, there were a few mishaps--though they were not quite as egregious as it seems they were opening night! In the battle scene, Marie's shoe missed the mouse king, and while he (Farley) still jumped and pointed at it on the floor, the action was missed by my non-balletgoing friend who was at the Nutcracker for the first time. Besides that, Tenzin Niles and Ines Gout were delightful--I missed Niles' prince last year, but saw his pantomime on the NYT Speaking in Dance feature, and he is just as princely and lyrical as he seems both in last year's video and in this fall's NYT feature on the two princes. 

Tiler Peck's variation at the beginning of Act II was stunning, though (in the second mishap of the evening for the youth cast) an angel fell getting into line at the front of the stage just after she finished dancing. The divertissements had some highs and lows, in my book. I thoroughly enjoyed Meaghan Dutton O'Hara's Hot Chocolate, but found Georgina Pazcougin's Coffee underwhelming. For an indulgent and luxurious piece, she seemed a little rushed and unsure of herself, and her command of the bells/chimes was not as musical as it could be. Both Claire and Emma Von Enck danced in Marzipan, and it was really interesting to see the two side-by-side in a featured role. I particularly enjoyed the evening's lead flowers--Laine Habony and Mary Elizabeth Sell (Habony, from her public facing Instagram, was the flower responsible for rescuing the shoe on opening night as mentioned earlier in the thread)--and they made me forget my disappointment in missing Tess Reichlen's performance. Peck and Gordon were stunning in the PDD--though I'll be interested to see them once they've performed it a few more times, it was the sort of magic you hope to be reminded of when attending the Nutcracker. Gordon--who has been flawless in the solo portions of his roles I've seen this fall--did stumble a bit at the end of a turn sequence, and overall, the pas was not as seamless as some of Peck's work I've seen recently with other partners, but I also had the chance to see her with Joaquin De Luz numerous times this fall, and that is quite the high bar! It seemed like they were both a bit hesitant on the shoulder sits, but their pas still felt pretty close to perfection.

I'm hoping to get tickets to one more performance--I'd love to see the Reichlen SPF and Hyltin Dew, and I'm sorry that I've already seen Pereira's dew as I'd really like to see Hyltin's SPF. 

I was at this performance and I still get a kick out of Laine Habony's shoe save which is on her Instagram post.  She was finally cast in a few roles as Flowers and Coffee last season - hopefully we will see her as SPF or Dew next year.  Not sure what caused Martins to drop her from the castings as she was on his radar in her early years.  Same with Dutton-O.