NYCB NUTCRACKER 2010 #5

Wednesday December 29, 2010 @ 2:00 PM – Today’s treat: candy canes!

In the final week of New York City Ballet‘s annual NUTCRACKER season I decided to brave two matinee shows – knowing they’d be packed with tiny tots – in order to see some of my favorite dancers who have taken on new roles in this ballet this Winter. This afternoon I saw Lauren King as the Dewdrop and Vincent Paradiso as Drosselmeyer. Both of these dancers had made their debuts in these roles earlier in the month. Tomorrow I will see our newest Sugar Plum Fairy, Rebecca Krohn who just debuted in this role opposite Zachary Catazaro (another first-timer).

In the week between Christmas and New Year attendance sometimes falls off a bit at the NYCB NUTCRACKER but today the House seemed pretty well packed. Aside from one terribly loud cellphone ringing, the audience was pretty well-behaved.

Vincent Paradiso’s Drosselmeyer (seen in a backstage photo, above) is dance-oriented in its movement and his characterization is detailed and fully-formed. It seems that, aside from some basic blocking, the NYCB Drosselmeyers can develop the character each in his own way. Vincent leaves off the arthritic old-man stuff; just having white hair doesn’t automatically make you a senior citizen: my hair was completely white by the time I was 30.  Vincent plays Drosselmeyer as a vigorous gentlemen, young and strong enough to lift Austin Laurent’s soldier doll and carry him back to his gift box after his solo. Using his arms and hands beautifully, Vincent’s is clearly a dance-based portrayal, and in fact he broke into a jig at one point and even added a touch of flamenco footwork. His rapport with the individual children and with the party guests was easy and natural. As the party was winding down, Vincent began sizing up the room and planning his magic spells for the upcoming scene where he will make everything grow. It’s good to see such a polished and well-thought-out portrayal – the latest in a long line of Drosselmeyers at NYCB that stretches back to Jerome Robbins and to Balanchine himself.

The party scene seemed especially pleasant today, perhaps as an antidote to Ramtamsky’s unfortunate concept as presented in the new ABT version. Amanda Hankes as the graceful Frau Stahlbaum and Henry Seth as her spouse welcomed their guests elegantly and worked hard to keep their naughty son under control. Aside from Austin Laurent’s tall soldier, Sara Adams and Callie Bachman were sweet and charming as Harlequin and Columbine. In the snow scene I very much enjoyed watching Lauren Lovette while in the meantime trying to figure out who some of these new faces in the corps belong to.

Teresa Reichlen’s Sugar Plum Fairy is so dreamy to watch: her beautiful floating-on-air quality in the solo is matched by the gentle radiance of her facial expressions. Her two big jetees just before she leaves the stage to the Spanish dancers were so remarkably stretched out and silky. In the pas de deux, Tess and her cavalier Ask LaCour use their height to exude a regal feeling; they moved securely thru all the many dangers that Mr. B has set in their path and reached a climax with an exciting balance from the ballerina.  If Tess was an opera singer instead of a ballet dancer, she would be one of the great lyric sopranos of all time. I’m looking forward to what the coming Winter repertory season might have in store for her.

Mary Elizabeth Sell and Daniel Applebaum danced Spanish; Mary looks superb and – speaking of balances – she had one phenomenal one. She reminds me more and more of Alexandra Ansanelli, quite a high compliment in my book. She and Daniel were going great guns with some wonderfully spacious dancing; Daniel had to put a hand-down in the final pose but it really didn’t spoil the effect of their flavorful dancing.

The long-limbed Gwyneth Muller danced Arabian with evocative fluidity of movement; when viewed from above the dancer in this piece casts a triple shadow. Giovanni Villalobos was a musical and technically precise Tea, and Adam Hendrickson spiced up his Candy Cane by increasing the speed of his hoop-leaps as he came down the center line. Later in the finale Adam added an extra jump thru the hoop as he made his exit. Erica Pereira’s Marzipan reminds us how difficult this solo is – and how easy she makes it look. Cameron Dieck’s Mother Ginger has become a more detailed characterization in the course of the season; I expect we’ll soon see Cameron as lead dancer in Spanish and eventually as the Sugar Plum cavalier. He’s too princely of a dancer to keep him in a hoopskirt for very long.   

Kokyat photographed Lauren King (above) when she appeared in a Zalman Grinberg pas de deux (with Vincent Paradiso partnering her) at the Young Choreographers Showcase at MMAC earlier this year. This fetching young ballerina caught my eye right from her first appearances on this stage and it was simply a great pleasure to watch her Dewdrop today. She was wonderfully quicksilver in her movement and with a smile that so clearly shows her pleasure in being able to dance as she does. After seeing her in the Grinberg duet, I feel certain she will be dancing Sugar Plum – and several other major roles – very soon. Georgina Pazcoguin and Rebecca Krohn were the demi-flowers, both thoroughly lovely.  

Although the Balanchine NUTCRACKER has had a bit of friendly competition this Winter from the new ABT/Ratmansky setting at BAM, today’s performance at New York City Ballet – coming at a point in time when the dancers, musicians and stage crew are probably suffering keenly from NUTZ-exhaustion – served as a reminder that this timelessly classy version with which Mr. B brought the Tchaikovsky score back to prominence is the one that will endure. Its old-world charm may seem dated to some people, but its perfect fusion of music and choreography makes it indispensable.

From spotting the cat in the Stahlbaum’s window (who has been sitting there for a half-century) to that stunning moment at the end of the Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux when the ballerina lets go of her partner’s hand in a sustained balance, the Balanchine NUTCRACKER continues to cast its spell, however often I see it.