It is, perhaps, the unmistakable sign of the beginning of Christmas in the Big Apple.
Since the end of November -and like every year-, the New York City Ballet brings its classic season of The Nutcracker, the choreography rescued from oblivion by George Balanchine and which brings together entire families every night in the hall of the David H. Koch Theater to experience one of the best-known Christmas stories.
It was not always like this: when it premiered in 1892, The Nutcracker passed unnoticed and was received with icy enthusiasm on the cold St. Petersburg night. The staging, in fact, was marked by unfortunate events: Marius Patipa, who was to be in charge of the choreography according to the original plans, fell ill and was barely able to be present while the ballet was being prepared.
It was his assistant, Lev Ivanov, who would take charge of finishing it and weaving together some of the most colorful parts that still survive from the original choreography, such as the snowflake dance. It was a very Russian story set in France, an adaptation of Hoffmann’s tale to a traditional tsarist house on the eve of Christmas. But its first act, almost without “ballet” and the story made up of narratively unconnected fragments, caused little enthusiasm and the performance slowly fell into oblivion.
It was, however, Balanchine, who saved The Nutcracker and made him part of the Christmas spirit.
Although some companies such as the San Francisco Ballet or the Russian Ballets of Monte Carlo had performed it in more or less happy versions years before, many believed that Balanchine was crazy when he decided to make a choreographic adaptation of a work that many considered a true failure. . It was, moreover, his first attempt at a complete ballet in the company. Balanchine, stubborn as he was, paid little attention to the criticism. He trusted his instincts and his memories: he had danced it since he was a child and at only 15 years old, he played the role of the Fairy Knight of the second act, the most complicated male role in the play. .
Balanchine maintained the external figure of the Russian ballet, but gave it another dimension, modernized the choreography, gave it his style, and the performance was a success. Since then (1954), year after year, The Nutcracker has continued to be performed and today, most companies in the world perform it in succession at Christmas time. In fact, many companies make their profits for the year from their performances of The Nutcracker.
So what is it about this ballet that, so long later, remains, perhaps, the only one capable of mobilizing a broad audience in a way that perhaps no other production does? The answer is simple, apparently.
Indiana Woodward and Anthony Huxley in ”The Nutcracker”, choreography © The George Balanchine Trust, New York City Ballet, David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, Wednesday, December 4, 2019, 11am. Credit Photo: Erin Baiano
Credit: Erin Baiano
The Nutcracker is, without a doubt, an initiatory journey into the world of ballet. A necessary and attractive baptism in the world of classical dance. His music, which initially became more popular than ballet, has a charm that is difficult to avoid. It is also the ballet that delves like few others into the dream world of the imagination: into the nightmares and “sweet dreams” (literally), the delusions, desires and fantasies of children that are as simple and funny as they are universal.
And in that sense, above all things, it is not only a ballet conceived “for the family”, that is, for children, where children dance and other children can see themselves represented. It is a ballet also intended for the child that we, adults, still are, who is excited by the spirit of Christmas, the gifts, the snow and the charms and paraphernalia that make the harsh days of the beginning of winter more fleeting.
The New York City Ballet performance not only preserves Balanchine’s choreography, but also the “nineteenth-century” spirit with which the great choreographer lived and thought about ballet. The NYCB is, in fact, one of the few companies that has not opted for overly spectacular displays and preserves a set that is as charming as it is traditional. This does not mean that it has not adapted to the times.
Balanchine himself, while he was alive, made numerous changes to the production and recently, was one of the first companies in the world to try to remake the now-controversial exotic dances of the second act to make them more inclusive and less racist in the eyes of some.
It is one of the most striking performances of The Nutcracker on the international scene and a delight of the pleasure of ballet, music and the never-aging charm of Christmas. It will be on display until the end of the year.
Indiana Woodward in “The Nutcracker”, choreography © The George Balanchine Trust, New York City Ballet, David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, Wednesday, December 4, 2019, 11am. Credit Photo: Erin Baiano
Credit: Erin Baiano
2023-12-23 19:51:12
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