ABT – The Nutcracker – Cornejo & Reyes 12/30

Haglund saw his final Nutcracker of the season yesterday afternoon when Herman Cornejo and Xiomara Reyes took the stage for the first time as principals in ABT’s new production at BAM.  Sitting in a part of the theater he had yet to try out during the ABT run, he realized what a glaring oversight it has been not to write about Jennifer Tipton’s marvelous lighting of this production.  Her shadowing of Drosselmeyer and the Mice in Act One and later the Flowers peering through the front gate of the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy in Act Two delighted the audience.  As the faces of the Flowers appeared from the dark into the line of light at the gate, Haglund overheard a male voice remark “Aren’t they beautiful!”  And yes, they were.  Those Flowers got a lot of attention from the audience, especially when they were tossed in the air from Bumble Bee to Bumble Bee, one after another, first from the left and then from the right, over and over, as the brass played the melody from Waltz of the Flowers.

Tipton’s lighting of the final PdD, where the doors at the back of the stage open and the grownup Clara and the Nutcracker Prince emerge to come face to face with their child versions who then leave us through those same doors, looked almost heavenly.  It was some of the most complimentary lighting for men in white tights that Haglund has ever seen, and yesterday, when applied to Herman Cornejo, made him look like the Prince of all the other Princes.  Sorry all you big guys, but those dark curls and sculpted thighs are the kind of prince we all dream about. 

 

Cornejo dispatched Ratmansky’s complicated allegro effortlessly.  Let’s face it, the guy’s legs slice up allegro like a teppanyaki chef’s flying knives.  Reyes looked a bit unsettled with the fast choreography but she fully realized the magical transformation from Little Clara to grownup with a charming “Is this happening to me?” expression of disbelief.

Some of the superb details of the PdDs probably escaped the casual Nutcracker audience members.  But how interesting it was to see in the supported finger pirouettes that the ballerina changed her spot so that she looked at her Prince with each revolution instead of out at the audience.  How dramatic it was to see the Prince conclude a blistering variation to one knee with his head bowed and arm stretched to the front like a toy Nutcracker might have done.   How touching to see the The Nutcracker Prince pause in the same pose initially formed by The Nutcracker Boy with his arms outstretched, face and chest lifted toward the heavens – all under Tipton’s wondrous lighting.

Some of the PdD’s supported moves suffered awkwardness, including the final pose, but for the most part, it was yet another fantastic interpretation of this story.

 

The Kitchen Scene, which included the ever-theatrical cook, Jeffrey Golladay, dancing maids, the Nanny/Sugar Plum Fairy (the fabulous Zhong-Jing Fang at all the performances which Haglund saw), and of course the mice, is but one of the many unique pluses of this new production.  Haglund surmises that some might have been disappointed with it because there is nothing that can be attributed to Balanchine.  It is all different and original.  There are no overdoses of saute arabesque, glissade, saute de chat, no showy dew drop, and no hula hoop.  No doubt, when Balanchine decided to capitalize on the nation’s mid-century fixation with the circus-inspired hula hoop in his Nutcracker, eyes rolled and heads shook, but that hula hoop gimmick has worked pretty well for a half century – even when the hula hoop fad died long ago. 

 

Ratmansky’s version of The Nutcracker for ABT, with its uniquely beautiful Snow Scene and Waltz of the Flowers, and its unique concept of viewing the story through young Clara’s perspective will have a growing and lasting impact.  What do you bet we see Kitchen Scenes crop up in little Nutcracker productions all over the country before too long?

 

Back to yesterday’s performance – there were many fine efforts. The Nutcracker Sisters managed their difficult en dehor fouette, en dedan, en dehor sequence with gleaming precision. The Russians held the audience in the palms of their hands with their perfect comedic timing.  The Snowflakes were glistening perfection. But, oh, those Flowers, those dresses.  Not since Veronika Part showed up on David Letterman in that teal Christian Cota number has Haglund been so infatuated with fashion as he has been with Richard Hudson’s pink ruffles for the Waltz of the Flowers. He needs one of those dresses.

 

So, once again, to the Waltz of the Flowers, Haglund bestows a stylish pink satin Christian Louboutin Pump Bump Award:

Comments

[Marie]

This is wonderful to read. Having been out of town, I'm only back in time to see Cornejo and Reyes on Sunday. Even without your description, I would have been excited of course, but the review makes me even more eager. I had thought I might avoid all reviews until seeing the production for myself . . . but then I became curious. And I'd like to think that in general, one can still make up one's own mind, while respectfully reading other opinions! All the same--I'll look for the lighting and the numerous choreographic details.

[marina harss]

(I'm having trouble sending you an email, so I am posting this message!)

Thank you so much for your note, which was forwarded to me... I thought it was so wonderful the way Ratmansky wove the little Ashton references into his Nutcracker, the Birthday Offering touches in the dance for the Nutcracker’s sisters, and the (to us, at least) clear reference to The Dream in the pas de deux. Of course, seeing Gillian in the pdd made the connection even more evident...she is such a wonderful Titania! The little shakes of the shoulders and plush use of the upper body sent shivers of recognition down my spine. I noticed this much less in Veronika Part’s rendition, of course, but her interpretation had other depths.

Cheers, and happy new year!
Marina

[Ivy]

The hula hoop was not a "fad." It was in the original 1892 Ivanov staging and Balanchine performed the candy cane solo on the Mariinsky stage. He was reproducing something he remembered from his childhood.

[Haglund]

Hi Marina. I got your email. Thanks much.

I doubt that Ratmansky intentionally wove any references to Ashton into the choreography. My guess is that any similarities to other choreographers' work were unintentional except for the Grigorovich lift, which is now simply part of every Bolshoi danseur's basic vocabulary.

It is interesting how we sometimes seek out these similarities. I've known people to observe a simple 1st arabesque saute and automatically think the choreographer was quoting Balanchine. However, we each are the composite of our experiences, and Ratmansky certainly has a lot of different cultural experiences from which to draw inspiration. I doubt that he intentionally referenced Ashton, but it would be a great question to ask him someday.

Thanks for reading my blog and thanks for your dedicated reviewing of the dance scene.

[Haglund]

Hi Ivy, and thanks for the clarification and correction on Balanchine's source of inspiration for the Candy Cane hoop dance. But I'll bet you're not old enough to know that the hoop or hula hoop was indeed a very hot fad during the 1950s and early 60s. First they were made of hard rubber and later lighter plastic in a multitude of colors - 50 cents each at Ben Franklin's 5&10. Doing a double-spin hoop-swoop like the Candy Cane does these days was what kids aspired to do back then.

The hoop dance is reported to have been part of the Lakota Indian culture as well. All very interesting stuff, isn't it.

Edited to add: Ivy, you've started a blog!! A blog of dance and opera and culture. Ivy's blog address is http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year. 2010 wasn't great for a lot of people, including myself, but 2011 will undoubtedly be better.