Review: LA Ballet Shares THE NUTCRACKER with Hometown Audiences for the Holidays

LA Ballet returns the essential holiday tradition of THE NUTCRACKER ballet to hometown audiences during the month of December, including venues in Glendale, Hollywood, Westwood and Redondo Beach. This production is the perfect introduction to classic ballet for the whole family as there are many children of all ages in the cast, all students of Los Angeles Ballet School. And given the number of touring companies bringing productions to Los Angeles, it's nice to be able to support a hometown ballet company where many of the featured dancers were born in our area.

For those unfamiliar with the story, it's Christmas Eve 1912 and the Staulbaum Family (Colleen Neary, Adam Lüders) is preparing for their annual celebration. Their two children, Clara and Fritz (SarahAnne Perel, Hudson Treadwell), are especially excited to see their Uncle Drosselmeyer (the company's Ballet Master Zheng Hua Li) since he makes wonderfully magical clocks and dolls. Clara dreams of being a prima ballerina and loves playing with her favorite dolls including Marie the Ballerina, Marie's Prince, and many other dolls from around the world. But this year is even more special when her uncle brings a life-size Nutcracker.

After the party, Clara climbs into bed and quickly falls asleep with the Nutcracker sitting next to her bed. She awakens to witness a battle between several toy soldiers, The Mouse King and his entourage. This scene delighted many children in the audience as the mice were joyously silly.

The rest of the ballet shares Clara's Dream as she and her beloved Nutcracker travel to the Land of Snow and onto the magical seaside Palace of the Dolls where all of her favorite doll companions come to life including Marie, Marie's Prince, The Spanish Quartet, The Arabians and Russian Dolls, Clara's Harlequin and Columbine, many beautiful Sunflowers as well as a perfect rose, and Mother Ginger arrives with several Hansels and Gretels in a perfectly delicious gingerbread house.

With so many wonderful characters and such glorious Tchaikovsky music, each dance number is more spectacular than the last with ballet members celebrating the joy of childhood dreams with the audience.

The performers I name portrayed their characters in the performance I attended at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on December 10, 2016. Be sure to check your program for the current performance cast list when you attend as several roles are double cast.

Clara was played by SarahAnne Perel who brought pure childhood joy and wonder to the role and is quite an accomplished dancer. Marc LaPierre portrayed The Nutcracker beautifully, adding in the many stylized movements to bring the doll to life. The duo duets were breathtakingly lovely, proving how well trained young dancers are as members of Los Angeles Ballet School.

The ultra-feminine Snowflakes were magical at the end of Act 1, seemingly floating on air as snow fell on the stage. Their intricate line crossing movements created wonder in the eyes of the children seated around me in the audience.

Featured dancers in Act II's Palace of the Dolls included Marie and her Prince, danced by the incredible Allyssa Bross and gravity-challenging Kenta Shimizu who captivated the audience with their skill and overwhelming charm.

Standout doll dancers were The intertwining Arabians (Elizabeth Claire Walker and Joshua Brown), Harlequin and Columbine (Bianca Bulle and Tigran Sargsyan), the leaping Russians (Jay Markov, Javier Moya Romero, Robert Mulvey) and the exquisite Rose (Kate Highstrete). What a fabulous assortment of dancers and dances, each choreographed perfectly with the music and supporting players.

I encourage you to take your children and open their eyes to the wonder and beauty of ballet thanks to this marvelous production of THE NUTCRACKER by the Los Angeles Ballet. Remaining performances: Dec 16, 17 & 18 at Royce Hall, UCLA, 340 Royce Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095 and Dec 22, 23 & 24 (Special Christmas Eve Matinees!) at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd. Redondo Beach, CA 90278. To order tickets by phone, call (310) 998-7782, Monday-Friday, 10am - 5pm. For more information, visit www.losangelesballet.org.

Photo credit: ReEd Hutchinson

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