Joffrey polishes its ‘Nutcracker’ to a high gloss
December 11, 2006
BY HEDY WEISS Dance Critic
link to article here: Chicago Sun-Times
“Look, Mom — it’s the orchestra!” shouted one tiny tot in a long velvet dress as she scampered up the aisle of the Auditorium Theatre.
“Is that real gold?” asked another child, craning his neck toward the gorgeous ceiling of the Louis Sullivan architectural masterpiece.
And all this was before the curtain rose Friday on the opening-night performance of the Joffrey Ballet’s luminous production of “The Nutcracker.”
Sure, “The Nutcracker” is the quintessential initiation into the world of ballet and theater for young audiences. But the truth is, those who think of this production solely in kiddie
terms are cheating themselves out of a grand experience, for the Joffrey dancers invariably perform this full-length work with exceptional fire and exuberance. And the company looks better than
ever this year.
Of course the dancers understand that this is their best chance to inspire audiences of the future. But their passion and perfectionism go deeper than that: “The Nutcracker” is a sensational
showcase for the full roster of the company, allowing more of its artists to strut their stuff in a great variety of ways than in many other programs.
From start to finish there is a huge amount of full-out and highly demanding dancing and deft characterization in this ballet — from charming glosses on the social dances of
Victorian era America (the period in which Robert Joffrey set his production) to little specialty numbers (soldiers, dolls, candy variations and more) to Gerald Arpino’s rapturous Victorian bouquet, “The Waltz
of the Flowers” (danced with particular brilliance on Friday), to the Snow Kingdom royalty (Victoria Jaiani, Fabrice Calmels and Calvin Kitten) and the grand pas de deux for the Sugar Plum
Fairy (Maia Wilkins) and her valiant Nutcracker Prince (Willy Shives).
All of this is enhanced by the presence of a corps of dancing children (their ballet master, Carla Graham-White, has tapped some distinctive little personalities, and her charges perform their
complex and extensive duties with high polish); several local children’s orchestras and the Chicago Sinfonietta, whose playing of the ever-beguiling Tchaikovsky score was light and luminous under
the baton of Leslie B. Dunner.
In addition, this company is never content to rest on its laurels. Little things are continually being tweaked, sharpened and enhanced.
The partnership of Wilkins and Shives is such a well-established model of synchronicity and technical perfection by now that it is easy to take it for granted, but the dancers were in top form
on opening night. Their elaborate pas de deux, coming at the end of a long evening, was spellbinding — and most impressively of all, it kept the rapt attention of an audience full of children
well past their usual bedtimes. Earlier in the evening, the frosty elegance of Jaiana and Calmels also cast a lovely spell, with Kitten, as always, commanding the stage as the Snow Prince — spinning
through the snowy landscape with the speed and grace of a wind-swept snowflake.
But there were dozens of other dancers who embellished this work in beguiling ways: The impossibly sensuous Coffee From Arabia (Emily Patterson and Thomas Nicholas); the gyroscopic, high-flying
Cossacks dubbed Nougats From Russia (the exhilarating Erica Lynette Edwards, John Gluckman, David Gombert and Mauro Villanueva); the light-stepping, exquisitely linked Marzipan Shepherdesses (Elizabeth
Hansen, Suzanne Lopez and Megan Quiroz), and the sublime Flowers (Kathleen Thielhelm, Julianne Kepley, Joanna Wozniak, April Daly, Alexis Polito, Christine Rocas, Lauren Stewart and Allison Walsh).
Brian McSween reprised his role as the mischievous uncle Dr. Drosselmeyer, with Heather Aagard lovely and understated as Clara, the little girl who comes of age on Christmas Eve and is caught up
in the maelstrom of battling mice and tin soldiers, automated dolls and all the rest.
Several rotating casts will carry the company through the marathon schedule of “The Nutcracker” during the next couple of weeks, revealing the impressive depth of talent in this company
that continues to burnish its image.