Nutcracker always a Christmas treat
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen The Nutcracker. Yet during a dress rehearsal at the Kelowna Community Theatre earlier this month the first strains of Tchaikovsky’s famous Nutcracker Suite brought a lump to the throat.
The Canadian School of Ballet with principal dancers from Ballet Kelowna presented the 29th edition of this worldwide holiday tradition Dec. 8-9. The fascinating aspect of this local, local, local production is its continuing evolution.
Hannah Zobel, who shares the leading role of Clara with 15-year-old Isabella Perini, has been dancing for 14 years, since she was three.
Kurt Werner, who shared the leading role of the Nutcracker with Seiji Suzuki, has been with Ballet Kelowna for seven years.
The Central Okanagan has a relatively small (and growing) number of ballet aficionados so you tend to get the same people out performance after performance, year after year.
So fans get to see children and young people graduate from minor to major roles as their performance abilities increase. And to see their favourite Ballet Kelowna dancers in not only a variety of classic ballet roles but as their artistry matures.
That being said, the latest edition of The Nutcracker was another delight.
For those who haven’t experienced this wonderful ballet, it’s a showcase that seems to have the proverbial cast of thousands, everyone from crowds of young children to teenagers to their parents. Not only the parents involved in the production, but the parents of all these offspring should be (and likely are) proud.
As parent Milena Perini said, these young people work hard, perform at a high level for their age, and their reward is audience appreciation through sustained applause and standing ovations. They not only learn some of life’s most valuable lessons (by getting out of the house and away from phone/computer screens) but it’s healthy physical activity in a team setting. And who says kids can’t have fun in ballet?
The opening scene basically says it all: a joyous Christmas party for several families with a special guest who gives daughter Clara a special gift of a nutcracker and a magic dream which takes her to a magical kingdom of the Nutcracker, Sugar Plum Fairy, Cavalier, soldiers, mice and rats.
The party is full of humorous bits, from a female guest who has a scarf wrapped around her head so she can’t see to a tipsy guest to misbehaving boys. There are also unintended laughs when a young boy accidentally drops his horn and you catch a glimpse of a costumed angel preschooler peeking out from the side of the stage at the performance.
There are so many entrancing moments that it is hard to highlight just a few. A personal best was a fluid Werner (Kelowna’s Fred Astaire) as the Nutcracker dancing with a very mature Hannah Zobel as Clara. And Desiree Bortolucci as the Sugar Plum Fairy in her unofficial spins-and-leaps competition with Valentin Chou as the Cavalier. Ballet Kelowna is so fortunate to have someone with her grace and style. She’s always a vision of beauty with a self-assured Chou as counterpoint. Perfect role models for the students.†
The second half is a multicultural feast with Spanish, Russian, Arabian and Chinese dancing, together with the always entertaining Madame Gigone and her children under a huge skirt. The Dance of the Snowflakes and Waltz of the Flowers were just two of many ensemble pieces that entertained.
Another Nutcracker success.