Nutcracker

ROYAL WINNIPEG BALLET’S NUTCRACKER disappoints

It might come as a shock to some to know that NUTCRACKER, whose performances have become a world wide Christmas tradition, was dismissed as “completely insipid,” “corpulent,” and “pudgy” when the ballet was first performed in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1892. Obviously, views have changed!

There was never any question of the quality of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s music, but the story was deemed to be incoherent and hard to follow.

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet is back in Cleveland to present its version of the fantasy story of Clara, a young Canadian girl in this version, and her love affair with a nutcracker prince.

As the fine orchestra played the overture, which highlights the themes of the great score, an outdoor hockey game, snowball fight and the arrival of guests, is portrayed.

Yes, it’s the night before Christmas and everything and everyone is stirring, including guests, mice, a giant stuffed bear, a dream of a sugar plum fairy, dancing snowflakes, angels, waltzing flowers, and a nutcracker prince.

The Canadian company puts out full effort, but they fall short on fantasy. All the elements are there, just the dance quality and creative choreography are missing. The usual squeals of delight of the children in the audience, especially, the young girls, were not present. The usual Cleveland standing ovation was not garnered. No “bravos” were shouted after the showcase Grand Pas de Deux. This was a rather slow moving, unspectacular, if adequately danced program.

The first act was especially slow moving. There was a lot of walking around and posing. Drosselmeier lost his magic touch and was nothing more than a master of ceremonies. The much anticipated Christmas tree was there, but it was not eye popping and its usually visually entrancing growth was rather unspectacular. The battle between the Nutcracker prince and his soldiers, and the Mouse King and his henchmen, was boring. Even the cannons didn’t create much of a boom. The highlight was the Dance of the Snowflakes, which was nicely performed and the presence of 50 child locals portraying various parts.

The second act picked up a little with some fine performances by the Pas deQuatre and the Arabian duo. The Sugar Plum Fairy danced adequately well, but did not mesmerize and many of the other specialty dances did not compel attention.

As I sat watching this performance, my mind scrolled back to the days of the Cleveland-San Jose Ballet and Dennis Nahat’s glorious version of the NUTCRACKER which was often performed on the same State Theatre stage. It often starred the luminous Karen Gabay and Raymond Rodriquez, her real life prince. Those were the presentations which elicited the “ohs,” “ahs,” and “bravos.”

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet is an adequate company, but did not display the quality of dancing and creative choreography to make it a world class troupe. The women dancers often didn’t stick point, and sometimes stood at odd angles as they attempted to hold poses. The lead dancers were adequate, but not of the quality that should be expected.

Capsule judgement: Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet lacked the necessary excitement, fantasy and fine dancing to make its’ NUTCRACKER a compelling evening of dance.

Nutcracker

Underwhelmaing ‘NUTCRACKER’ by Winnipeg Ballet at Allen

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ‘NUTCRACKER’ is a musical score that lends itself to a dynamic ballet. It is musically filled with passion and lyrical texturing. In the hands of a creative choreographer and the proper lead dancers, the stage explodes with excitement and delight.

Unfortunately, though they presented a ballet that was proficiently danced, the overall effect of the Winnipeg Ballet’s presentation of the Christmas time classic was a lack of passion. It was bland. Maybe those north of the border would say, “Canadian sensibility” prevailed.

Traditionally, ‘NUTCRACKER’ is set at Christmas time in Tchaikovsky’s Russia in the late 1800s or a British Victorian home. This version is set in Canada in 1913. The plot revolves around 12-year old Clara, whose family is hosting a large holiday party. Clara receives nutcracker from Drosselmeier, her Godfather. She takes the doll to bed with her and spends the night dreaming of various adventures including a fight with mice and a magical swan sleigh ride.

On the positive side, the usual excessive amount of walking often found in ‘NUTCRACKER’ stagings is eliminated, the sets are gorgeous, the costumes era correct, the orchestrations work well. A cute bit with a Canadian bear, the delightful young corps of local children, and a charming snow ballet complete with falling snow, add to the positives. A clever device of having hockey players cavort during the overture, which shows guests arriving for the party, is definitely a Canadian addition.

Anyone who saw Karen Gabay and Raymond Rodriguez, of the late Cleveland Ballet, dance Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, know how enthralling the performance of those roles can be. On Thursday night, Vanessa Lawson danced the role of Clara. Lawson is a fine dancer, but lacked the necessary enchanting presence. Gael Lambiotte, who performed as the Nutcracker Prince opposite Lawson, was also competent, but lacked the needed prince charming charm. Alexander Gamayunov didn’t radiate the dynamism usually inhabited by Drosselmeier. The battle between The Mouse King and the Nutcracker Prince lacked excitement.

Positive performances were mounted by Maureya Lebowitz, who was delightful in the Chinese segment of the Kingdom sequence, as were Jo-Ann Sundermeier, as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Robert Pleschke and Liam Caines in the Arabian segment.

Not once during the presentation were the cries of “bravo,” so common at well-performed ballets, heard. There was no traditional Cleveland standing ovation during the curtain call. The children sitting around me were not entranced. Not an “ooh” or “wow” came from their lips. Their eyes were not twinkling with wonder.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: At the conclusion of the performance of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s ‘NUTCRACKER,’ the adorable nine-year old girl sitting behind me was asked by her mother, “Did you like it?” Her response was a perfect review of the evening. She sighed and said, “It was okay.”