Hey Dance News BC readers! About a week ago now I went to see the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's version of the Nutcracker presented by Ballet BC at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. I saw the matinee version on December 9th. The reason why it's been two weeks since it's happened for me to start writing this was that right after I went I quickly came down with a cold/flu for the past 8 days! But no worries, after a week of resting I am on my way to recovery, hence now that I am now writing this post! I was very excited to finally go to a new version of a Christmas classic! Previously, I've seen versions done by Goh Ballet, Moscow Ballet, and the Royal City Youth Ballet. Two of which you can see reviews I've done on previously as well! Since I really like to see how each ballet company takes the original and adds their own changes. I was fortunate enough to be able to go see it with my mother who gave it to me as an early Christmas present, which I was really happy to see :)
Once I arrived, it was already really busy in the theatre and I was happy to see that while we had thought we were in the third/fourth row, which we were, it ended up being like the first row since the first few rows were reserved for no one I suppose to optimize the best viewing of the show. A few things that I really liked about this version was that it logically made sense of certain sections that previously I had always been a bit confused about but let slide since it was the Nutcracker haha. Specifically, they made a boy (Julien-Drosselmeir's nephew) that Clara had a crush on at the Christmas party the Nutcracker prince in her dream. However, the toy version of the Nutcracker ended up looking much different than the one in her dream or in previous versions I had seen before. The dancer who played Julien did a great job and had wonderful technique! I really liked the comical value the show added by having the mouse king and mice battling with a cannon filled with carrots and peas. Another funny comical thing that they added that seemed to be a crowd favourite was the bear who showed up and tried to eat some of the food and looked through the window during the Christmas party scene.
I was also really impressed with how they were able to age all of the older characters such as the grandparents and parents, an aspect that is often forgotten. I was instantly impressed with the dancer who played Clara as her technique was impeccable along with her lines, turnout, extensions, and footwork. She also had great expressions of her emotions and was good on both pointe and in regular ballet shoes. I could definitely see her being a professional one day based on what i saw at the show! I was also impressed with the dancer who played Fritz, who displayed great a la seconde turns, turnout, and jumps. I have to say this was the most synchronized ballet I've seen in a while and the most synchronized Nutcracker I've ever seen! I was extremely impressed with their coordination among the trio of male dancers performing their a la seconde turns and jump combination during the Christmas party scene. Along with the Snowflakes and Waltz of the Flowers. I thought it was interesting how they added the bats to the bedtime sequence, as I thought it was nice addition to transitioning to the Living room scene. I also liked the addition of the dancers actually decorating a tree in Act 1.
One thing that stood out from me from the beginning was the Canadian twist on the entire show, which I really liked. Along with the sequence where the Nutcracker prince and Clara walk hand in hand and watch the Northern Lights. Particularly the addition of the Mounties, Mounted Police, and polar bears. The polar bears were super cute from the start and they had the most adorable costumes! I also liked the added sequence of the angels in Act 2 where the angels helped Drosselmeier bake a cake and eventually had the help of the Sugar Plum Fairy. I really enjoyed the Sugar Plum Fairy dance sequence as always, the dancer was wonderful! However, one thing I missed from this version of the Nutcracker was the series of piques near the end of the Sugar Plum Fairy variation, which you can see in the 2010 Nina Kaptsova version in the Bolshoi Ballet on Youtube.
A few differences I noticed included the Arabian dance, Chinese dance, and the Russian dance. The Arabian dance was done well but in comparison to previous versions the focal point was less on extreme flexibility than actual dancing. However, I did like how this involved more dancing, as there is a lot of promotion on extreme flexibility which can be damaging for young dancers who try to achieve these goals without knowing the long process and methods it takes to acquire these skills, and also to focus more on the technique of ballet. Although, I do enjoy watching the Arabian dance for the wow factor each year. The Chinese dance was different as there was only one dancer in this version and she also danced with Drosselmeier. The Russian dance was the most noticeable difference from previous versions, as they had three ballet dancers perform this section rather than a group of Russian dancers from Russia, as some ballets I've seen done in the past. It was well done, however, my mom and I did miss the excitement of the Russian dancers from previous versions a bit. However, I really liked the additional sequence at the end of the Nutcracker where Clara wakes up and goes outside to see the snow with her brother Fritz.
Overall, I really enjoyed this version of the Nutcracker and I think it was one of my favourite versions yet. It also had the best technique, synchronicity, and consistency throughout the performance of any Nutcracker I've seen! I was very impressed and I liked the additional Canadian touches to add on a twist! I also enjoyed to see a diversity of the cast and the amount of talent among the entire show. In conclusion, I would definitely go see this version again and I hoped that you all enjoyed this review and if you're reading this thank you for taking the time to read this entire review, as I know I can get a bit carried away when writing about dance haha :) Happy dancing! Oh, also if you know of any other versions of the Nutcracker that you think I should see next year feel free to let me know or of any other dance events that you'd like to see me review soon!
All photos are for (c) Dance News BC 2018
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