On Haglund's Calendar – Yorkville Nutcracker & the brand new Joffrey Ballet School/Gelsey Kirkland Academy Nutcracker

The calendar is getting crowded.  Francis Patrelle's Yorkville Nutcracker opens December 9th at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College.  Jenifer Ringer, who is dancing radiantly, will be the Sugar Plum Fairy.

This may have slipped under your radar.  The Joffrey Ballet School and the Gelsey Kirkland Academy have a new production of The Nutcracker which will open at John Jay College's Lynch Theater on December 17th.  The choreographers are Gelsey Kirkland and Misha Chernov, who co-direct the Classical Division at the Joffrey school as well as run Gelsey's new academy. 

Now before you launch into the Sleeping Beauty histrionics, keep in mind that Gelsey's rich history includes at least two first class Nutcracker productions:  Balanchine's and Baryshnikov's.  She knows a little something about building this story into a great ballet, and she knows a little something about tidy and luminous dancing.  Haglund isn't going to this in order to see a lot of spinning around or fancy costumes which are everywhere this season; he's going to see what Gelsey has achieved with the students' upper bodies and the development of their theatrical aptitudes.  We all should be interested.

 

 

Comments

[Marie]

The Gelsey Kirkland production escaped my radar. She's said repeatedly she wants her students--and dancers in general--to understand the narrative power of ballet. Given that there are so many interpretations of the Nutcracker, it'll be interesting to see which story she's chosen.

The Times also did a small piece on her school earlier this year and how a few students destined for more "name" schools have chosen to study with her instead.

Who says ballet is dead!

[Haglund]

Hi Marie. I am definitely looking forward to it.

[myo]

I have fond memories of the Yorkville Nutcracker - my daughter was a student dancer in several years' versions. It does a nice job of injecting a lot of New York into the story.

[Haglund]

Hi myo. Francis is pretty good at telling a story through dance. I always look forward to his productions.