So my friend and fellow ballet-lover, Nina2, and I took the easy trip down there this week-end to see all that beauty, and I suggest that everyone in SoCal do the same for one of these final seven performances of 2024, beginning tonight.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-16-at-8.56.00\u202fPM-e1734544969463.png\")
<\/a>Photo courtesy of ABT, as is the one at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n
The Nutcracker<\/em> is perfect to see at a matinee because there are sooo many kids in the audience. First of all, it\u2019s fun to hear their mirth in the funny parts, and their oohs and ahhs in the especially pretty parts. And an audience full of children, (especially well-behaved ones,) is appreciated because their short heads are great to sit behind!<\/p>\n I’m sorry that I took so few notes to share with you, but it was hard to look away from this beautiful production for even a moment. Sadly, I can\u2019t laud individual dancers by name because the cast changes at each performance, and the only place they\u2019re listed is in the QR code on the program, which, no matter how hard I tried, I could not get it to show me the cast for the date I was in attendance. So that may be on me and my lack of tech skills. But perhaps next<\/em> year, if ABT understandably doesn\u2019t want to incur the expenses of including one cast list sheet in each program, they should just put up a board in the lobby featuring who\u2019s who for that day or night. I\u2019m always here to help performers, especially dancers, get their due!<\/p>\n ABT\u2019s The Nutcracker<\/em> opens with a surprise scene that takes place in the kitchen of the family that is hosting the Christmas Eve fete. I usually don\u2019t love when a classical ballet deviates from the established norm, but I really enjoyed this frivolity. And it featured the absolute cutest little mouse I\u2019ve ever seen! He was actually my favorite dancer of the whole presentation, making me smile every time he appeared, including during the curtain call\u2014his face when he took the mouse head off, and his little bow, showed a true love of dance. He really sold the role, and didn\u2019t look like just a kid running around. He was adorbs and<\/em> professional. (I saw the Sunday December 15th show at 12:30, if anyone knows who he is.)<\/p>\n While I\u2019m on the youth in the show, the young Nutcracker\/Prince was beautiful, and the young lady who danced Clara was impressive for her age.<\/p>\n The curtain call. The little boy mouse is third from the left, and young Clara and the Prince are next to the man with the beard on the right. Their grown-up counterparts are in the center, of course. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Speaking of ages, I was a tad confused as to what characters the adult main dancers were supposed to be. I\u2019ve always seen Clara and the Prince performed by each company\u2019s principal dancers who just look<\/em> young, so when they were actual<\/em> children in this one, I was somewhat surprised. The famous pas de deux near the end is supposed to be between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her beau, (originally written as the Cavalier,) and that\u2019s how I\u2019ve always seen it. But by researching the topic later, it appears that the two of them in this<\/em> ballet are grown-up versions of the Nutcracker and Clara in the latter\u2019s dream. (I<\/em> usually dream about missing a party, or being seen without hair and make-up, so I\u2019m a smidge jealous of her<\/em> dream!)<\/p>\n But just as I learned to be not so strict about how an Afternoon Tea service is supposed to be served, I\u2019ve decided to embrace the differences among how all ballet companies present The Nutcracker<\/em>. As long as they\u2019re beautiful, I just enjoy what I\u2019m seeing. And I enjoyed ABT\u2019s version immensely. I consider myself fortunate to have had this wonderful experience.<\/p>\n One of the most stunning parts of ABT’s The Nutcracker. Photo courtesy of ABT.<\/p><\/div>\n I actually had only two teensy issues with the entire production. First of all, one of the highlights of most Nutcracker<\/em>s is that the giant Christmas tree in the first act party is supposed to grow much bigger right in front of our eyes. It\u2019s usually spectacular. But in this one, it barely grew, and even then, did so as it was moving off the stage, and then the bottoms<\/em> of three<\/em> trees showed-up in its place! So that was a bit disappointing.<\/p>\n And then I couldn’t figure-out what was up with the Mouse King\u2019s costume. He was wearing a cape that has a bunch of mouse heads on it. I was wondering if that meant he had killed his own men, and was showing it off, which was not ideal. But my later research on The Nutcracker<\/em>, in general, told me something I never knew before. And that is that the Mouse King had seven heads in the original version of the ballet. ABT is not doing everything else exactly as written, so I feel that they should lose that confusing part of the wardrobe.<\/p>\n Speaking of those rodents, I was wondering if the excellent mice costumes would be a tad too scary for kids, but several parents assured me their children were fine with them. I have to semi-jokingly admit that they frightened me<\/em> a bit, but that\u2019s probably because of my personal<\/em> mouse story, (which I\u2019ll share at the end of this review.)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>