Monday, December 18

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Nutcracker recollections and reflections by Deborah Weiss for Bachtrack.

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My first experience of dancing in it, was in 1978 when I joined LFB. It was Ronald Hynd’s wonderful 1976 production, and I was tasked with dancing a guest in the Prologue, followed by a snowflake in the Snow Scene, and a “bloom” (as we called them) in the Waltz of the Flowers. What I wasn’t fully prepared for was the really taxing nature of the season. We would do a full orchestral dress rehearsal on Christmas Eve, even if we had already done a few weeks of it on tour. Christmas Day was free and we dutifully stuffed ourselves with turkey and pudding. On Boxing Day we would return for a matinee and evening performance (breathe in, to have your tutu done up!). And from that day on, except on Sundays, we would do two performances every single day for three and a half weeks.

 

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Backstage at Colorado Ballet Society's Nutcracker.

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Clara played by Grace Contoveros dances with the rest of her cast during a dress rehearsal of A Colorado Nutcracker in Colorado Ballet Society’s studios on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. The production set to be shown at Pikes Peak Center on December 19 and 20 includes over 160 performers across two casts and will be accompanied with live music performed by the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs.

 

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Backstage at the Twin Falls Ballet Company's Nutcracker.

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Amelia Miles practices the Waltz of the Snowflakes on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, during a rehearsal for the Nutcracker at the Twin Falls Ballet Company.

 

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A review of Alexei Ratmansky's new "Coppelia" at La Scala by Roslyn Sulcas in The New York Times.

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He hasn’t done this with “Coppelia.” Instead he has created original choreography while sticking faithfully both to the Léo Delibes score and the original libretto. (“Coppelia” was first choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1870, but the ballet we know today is largely based on the 1884 version by Marius Petipa.) The effect is similar to seeing his “Swan Lake” or “Giselle” revisions, in which a wealth of detail and nuance suddenly seem alive — as if a carapace of formulaic presentation and interpretation has been cracked open.

 

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Portland Ballet presents "A Victorian Nutcracker."

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Adjusting to the relatively small but comfortable venue, which hosts the Maine State Music Theatre each summer, the ballet relied on recorded music but will bring along an in-person orchestra and chorus when the company moves on to the more spacious Merrill Auditorium in Portland for performances Friday and Saturday. What they did present at Brunswick was a corps of well-prepared and enthusiastic dancers and actors, including many children.

 

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A review of the National Ballet of Canada by Denise Sum for danceviewtimes.com.

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John Cranko’s “Onegin” is a touchstone for the National Ballet of Canada, performed consistently since its company premiere in 1984. It is a well-rounded production with Pushkin’s engaging storytelling, Cranko's interesting and challenging choreography and an evocative arrangement of musical works by Tchaikovsky. It has all the elements for a timeless full length ballet that is both accessible to the casual ballet goer and rewarding for the balletomane. The NBoC last performed “Onegin” in 2016, so it was due to be brought back to the stage, this time with some exciting debuts.