‘Great Russian Nutcracker’ goes virtual
‘Great Russian Nutcracker’ continues a holiday tradition — virtually
The Moscow Ballet’s “Great Russian Nutcracker” is still dancing this holiday season — just in a different venue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rather than its annual stop at Detroit’s Fox Theatre and others around the country, the seasonal production of the Tchaikovsky ballet has moved to the virtual realm with a “Christmas Stream” that debuts Saturday, Dec. 19, and runs through Jan 1 via MarqueeTV.
“This is a tradition for a lot of people, and we think that tradition is something people want to maintain,” says producer Dan Talmi, who’s been coordinating ballet instruction online with the Moscow Ballet since the pandemic hit. “We wanted to put something out there that would make it feel at least a little like the holidays usually do.”
In addition to archival footage of the performances, the “Christmas Stream” also will include backstage and behind-thescenes footage and interviews, including with principal dancer Karyna Shatkovskaya.
“From a consumer experience, just watching the show online is a pale imitation to the actual thing in the theater,” Talmi says. “So we figured, ‘Why don’t we build more of a Netflix-style documentary piece that uses the show as the central anchor but goes a little deeper?’
“Hopefully this makes it something different, but just as enjoyable.”
Tickets for “The Great Russian Nutcracker: Christmas Stream” are $24.99-$69.99 and are available via 313Presents.com/Moscowballet.