Philadelphia Ballet’s George Balanchine Nutcracker at The Kennedy Center by Sylvana Christopher

Philadelphia Ballet’s George Balanchine Nutcracker

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Saturday November 28, 2024

Reviewed by Sylvana Christopher

(Cover Photo Credit: Artists of Philadelphia Ballet in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®,” choreography by George Balanchine, The George Balanchine Trust. Photo by Alexander Iziliaev.)

^Click to hear an audio transcript of this review.

Nothing quite captures the holiday spirit like The Nutcracker, and the Philadelphia Ballet’s Balanchine Nutcracker directed by Angel Corella at The Kennedy Center is a must-see.

Conducted by Beatrice Jona Affron, The Kennedy Center Orchestra and Arlington Children’s Chorus provide a stunning accompaniment to the ballet. The flawless ensemble production stars Dayesi Torriente as Sugar Plum, Arian Molina Soca as Cavalier, and Sydney Dolan as Dewdrop.

The live music performed by The Kennedy Center Orchestra conducted by Affron is superb, and the snow scene is particularly breathtaking, with fast tempos and an athletic corps de ballet.

What makes this production a “Balanchine Nutcracker” is the casting of youth in major roles such as Marie/Clara and Drosselmeyer’s nephew/The Nutcracker Prince. The starstruck way that Marie and Drosselmeyer’s nephew shake hands is particularly charming.

The party scene is well-crafted, with exceptional formations and musicality from the young dancers. Drosselmeyer’s gift boxes with live action wind-up dolls are a treat, and the battle scene between the mice and soldiers/Nutcracker and Mouse King is both thrilling and humorous.

I noted the eye-catching old world Morion helmets atop the mice as well as these red slippers with an insignia worn by the Mouse King designed by Jim Henson grant recipient Emily DeCola. A piece from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty was inserted which sent a violin soaring to heavenly heights. In the program, we learn that this extra piece was composed during a time of great loss for the composer while he was on tour to Philadelphia. The snow scene is fantastic with fast tempos and an athletic corps de ballet. The handheld snowball wands like that used in this New York City Ballet version are distinctive.

Now to the land of sweets. Torriente’s dark brown hair and milky white skin are reminiscent of Snow White. Due to the difficulty of this role and the amount of time on stage a ballerina who dances this role must be judicious about how much energy they are letting go of and endure to the end of the ballet. A certain amount of stiffness may be appropriate for the music box ballerina of a two hour ballet. As a child, I loved to behold Kristina Windom dancing the part of the Sugar Plum in rehearsal. I had the good fortune studying with Windom at Metropolitan Ballet Theatre & Academy. Windom is a current faculty member of The Philadelphia Ballet.

A step performed by the Sugar Plum in her pas de deux with the Cavalier are gargouillades, defined by Siegeris Dance as gargling (from old French gargouille meaning ‘throat’ or ‘waterspout’). The action imitates the circular movement of water in the throat (as when gargling) or water swirling down a waterspout (gargoyle). The step was introduced by Marie Lyonnais in the mid-eighteenth century.

Tea Dance starring Nayara Lopes was clean, sharp and festive. Dolan’s Dewdrop is flashy and gorgeous. Coffee danced by Yuka Iseda highlighted her hyperflexibility as she danced with zils (finger cymbals). Was curious to see how the Chinese dance would be portrayed and was glad to see there was no random finger pointing. Read this New York Times article. The youth Candy Canes held their striped hula hoops and lead Alexander Roxander wowed us with his showmanship.

Overall, the Philadelphia Ballet’s Balanchine Nutcracker is a magical and enchanting production that is sure to delight audiences of all ages. If you’re looking for a festive way to get into the holiday spirit, this is the ballet for you. To experience the nostalgic magic of Balanchine’s choreography for yourself, you can venture to Philadelphia to see this production now playing through December 1st.