The Miami City Ballet ushered in the holiday season with exuberance and magic in its opening weekend of "The Nutcracker" performances in Fort Lauderdale. The Saturday evening performance, led by a sparkling Nathalia Arja as the Sugarplum Fairy, provided a second opportunity to view the lavish costumes and sets created by Isabel and Ruben Toledo, and expanded projections by Wendall K. Harrington as the company made their Fort Lauderdale "Nutcracker" debut. Noted is that MCB will also offer free performances for over two thousand children with their expanded community engagement programs in South Florida.
Performances continue at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach.
After viewing the new production last year for the first time, with the encompassing projections, new look in sets, costumes and color, and multiple elements glittering and flying, it was a pleasure to sit back and really watch the performance as the festive treat that it is intended to be.
The well-known Tchaikovsky score cannot be heard often enough during this season and the masterful choreography by George Balanchine speaks for itself. In this production, the first act is very much about the children and the second act is very much about the dancing. Both of those elements have not changed. However, we are in a time when anything is possible in production value. Dance is competing with larger than life, and anything goes, so the performance has to hold its own without losing the very essence and the beauty of dance itself.
Depending on your taste, you can like or not like details that engulf this production, but what does remain is that the dance is still front and center and the entire "Nutcracker" performance is magic.
The flying owl and angel are projected during the overture (how beautiful to listen to the wonderful Opus One Orchestra), and then the audience is taken from a bird’s eye, snow globe view of Nuremburg, into the village, onto a street, into a surreal paper cutout house, to finally settle on a bustling room as parents and maids prepare for a holiday party. Then, the "Nutcracker" tale unfolds.
Kudos to Didier Bramaz as Stahlbaum, for his elegance and visibility during the party. It’s a busy scene, inclusive of energetic, well coached children (who had excellent fifth positions), and his presence was constant. Herr Drosselmeyer played by Reyneris Reyes, a veteran in the role, was an austere master of ceremonies who introduced a charming Mayumi Enokibara and Alex Manning as the Columbine and Harlequin dolls. The fetching costumes the duo wore are colorful and playful juxtaposing the elegant attire of the guests. Satoki Habuchi, who stepped in for Shimon Ito, was perfectly sharp and staccato as the stern soldier doll.
The ovals on the walls of the party scene make sense once they come alive with mouse ears, seeping drips, green and yellow light changes and eerie blasts of colors that start the dreamlike sequence of events to follow. The transformation and growth of the Christmas tree leading into the battle of mice and soldiers is spectacular and surreal. The tree grows and grows, the room disappears and the entire battle happens under the tree in an Alice in Wonderland-esque world that includes a Bunny (Dev Jones), Sentry (Julia Libhaber), Trumpeter (Victoria Sanz de Acedo), diligent young soldiers and comical mice.
The final view of Act I takes place in the land of snow, a Dali-esque scene of ambiguous snow trees amidst falling snow. It is a lovely scene that would be even more magical if the snowflakes were more conscious of staying together and carrying their exits into the wings. All in all, though, most everything is captivating in Act I.
As the curtain opens to Act II, the backdrop, similar to last year, is an adjustment in expectation. The chocolate woven pretzels carry a darker, perhaps heavier look than the frothy sweet confection that is the usual “Land of Sweets.” Little angels swooping across the stage never fail to appease the audience, but the true delight comes when Arja enters the stage. She's a"dancer’s dancer," meaning that she is versatile, artistic and proficient. Arja, who is strongest in neo-classical work, is a lovely Sugarplum. Energetic with just enough elegance, and warm, as a “queen” should always be, Arja radiated an honesty and vulnerability that is nothing short of captivating.
Daniela Yunis as Marie and Alastair Page as The Nutcracker and Little Prince are absolutely professional in their delivery as a MCB dancer should be. Yunis is confident and vivacious throughout the entire performance and her stalwart Prince, Page, commands with authority.
The stage is the perfect setting for Hot Chocolate. The blues and browns blend harmoniously with the back drop and enhance the couples led by Nicole Stalker and Chase Swatosh. Habuchi stepped in for Ito, again, for a wonderful delivery in Tea, flanked by the pristine Tsukino Ishii and Ling Minucci, immaculate and poised dancers from the MCB pre-professional program.
Renan Cerdeirois a smiling and elegant Candy Cane leading a proficient team of young "canes" who used their feet beautifully in each step. The Marzipan Shepherdesses, in this difficult dance, are led by a commanding Jennifer Lauren, who make the challenges look effortless, especially in a beautiful final pirouette to the knee. The charming costumes of the Pulcinellesare soft with plenty of movement that contrasts the very slow moving Mother Ginger.
Emily Bromberg is a standout in flowers and warmth is the strength of Jeanette Delgado’s Dew Drop.
Arja and her Cavalier, Rainer Krenstetter, presents a lush pas de deux with well placed moments of elegance and engaging moments of complete abandon. Both seasoned dancers are confident with clean moves that never resort to tricks or overt pyro technique. They capture the beauty of dance in their performance.
Enhanced and brighter lighting allow for clarity to see all of the divertissements on the stage in the bow for a performance that sets the stage for the wonderment of the holiday season.
The Miami City Ballet's "The Nutcracker" performances continue at the Adrienne ArshtCenter, 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132.7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 14, Saturday, Dec. 15, Wednesday, Dec. 19; Thursday, Dec. 20, Friday, Dec. 21, 2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 15 and Dec. 22, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 16 and Dec. 23; noon, Monday, Dec. 24.
Also, at the Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 ; 2 and 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 28, 2 and 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 29, at 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 30.
Download the Miami City Ballet Cast List For Arsht Center Performances >>
Call for ticket prices and information to the Miami City Ballet Box Office, 305.929.7010 or 877.929.7010 Toll Free or 877.929.7001 Group Sales , email: boxoffice@miamicityballet.org; Box office is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.