One of my favorite holiday traditions is attending Ballet West's annual production of The Nutcracker and I am so happy that I had the opportunity to see it last night! I love everything about this ballet and I await every scene with great anticipation, especially the party where the Christmas tree is revealed to all of the children and Clara (Olivia Humeniuk) is given a nutcracker by Dr. Drosselmeyer (Tyler Gum), when everything is magically transformed to an enormous size and the nutcracker defeats the Mouse King (Jake Preece) with Clara's help, when the nutcracker becomes a handsome prince (Noel Jensen) and takes Clara to the land of the Snow Queen (Jenna Rae Herrera) and the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Amy Potter), and when all of the divertissements arranged for Clara's entertainment are performed. I always really love the Arabian dance because it is so exotic and the Russian dance because the leaps and spins are so athletic but last night I was also really impressed with the Waltz of the Flowers because Emily Adams and Hadriel Diniz danced the Pas de Deux so beautifully. As always, my favorite moment in the entire ballet is the Grand Pas de Deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier (Brian Waldrep) because the music by Tchaikovsky used for this dance is one of the most romantic pieces in the classical cannon and William Christensen's original choreography really complements it. This is the first time that I have seen Potter dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy and I thought her performance was so beautiful because she seemed to glide across the stage and whirl effortlessly through the air! I also really enjoyed the young dancers in the cast, particularly Bean Shane because he was the naughtiest Fritz I've ever seen and all of dancers hiding in Mother Buffoon's skirt because they were adorable! The sets and costumes were updated a few years ago and I love the jewel tones used in the party scene and the pastels used in the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. All of the special effects are magical, particularly when the Christmas tree grows in size, when the snow falls in the land of the Snow Queen, and when Clara flies away with her prince in a sleigh. No matter how many times I see this ballet it always puts a smile on my face and I highly recommend getting a ticket. There are evening and matinee performances at the Capitol Theater through December 24 (go here for tickets).
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