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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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