Bevy of kids, delightful dancing
When The Nutcracker premiered in 1892, Russian critics complained of the children invading the stage. The ballet was, as one critic put it, a production “primarily with children for children.”
Over 100 years later, The Nutcracker remains one of the few ballet opportunities for young dancers to move among adults. On Friday night, children from across the state joined 12 professional dancers and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra at the Robinson Center in Little Rock for the Ballet Arkansas production of The Nutcracker.
At their head, Clara, danced by Emily Hede, led the way out of the ballet’s opening party scenes, through the chaos of raton-child combat and into a world where sweets dance for her pleasure.
With so many young bodies onstage, there is bound to be a stray hop. But it is a truly cool heart that can watch a ring of young rats, swaying their tails back and forth in mischievous glee, unmoved.
Friday night’s performance marked the first for artistic director Michael Fothergill, who since moving to Ballet Arkansas in July has started to overhaul what was at times a wayward production.
Under his guiding hand, the rat queen flees the stage before she can find her king and, as in former years, trample upon Tchaikovsky’s transcendent crescendo. Taking over the music the queen once owned, Hede throws herself into the role of Clara with an abandon not seen in her first tentative steps.
Fothergill seems to recognize the futility of overwhelming Tchaikovsky’s music with feats of balance and strength. As the Sugar Plum Fairy rises 3 inches off the ground, back melting into her cavalier’s hands, she is infinitely more moving than in the climactic leaps that precede it. Turning in his arms, one leg vibrating chaotically against a rigid calf, her body seems at once firm and uncertain.
Like Tchaikovsky, Fothergill knows what it means to see as a child.
The Nutcracker continues with shows at 2 and 7 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Sunday. Information on tickets, ranging from $23-$73, can be found at ticketmaster.com or by calling (501) 244-8800.