Photo via Milwaukee Ballet
This holiday season, Milwaukee Ballet transports us back into the 19th-century and inside the wondrous world of Michael Pink’s The Nutcracker: Short & Sweet. The new adaptation features Ballet’s world-class company of dancers as they cast magic onto the stage with show-stopping costumes and graceful movements. Their brilliance is on display for a limited time only, as the ballet runs from On Demand from through December 27.
With COVID-19 in full swing, and numerous health regulations hovering over us, Pink and his team have shrunk the famous holiday classic into a 35-minute screening, complete with scores that pay homage to the original work, and pivotal dance scenes (such as the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”) performed by renowned dancers who adorn themselves with equally impressive costumes. The ballet’s short run time at about half an hour each gives a boost to its successful deliverance—the story is compressed into a bite-sized version of the ballet, with a much smaller cast, making it easier to follow for both people who are new to traditional ballet, and families who are watching the production at home with their younger ones.
The “watch online” option gives subscribers and one-time viewers the opportunity to rewatch the ballet as many times as they want between a 72-hour rental period. Viewers have the ability to relive the magic by being able to pause, fast-forward, rewind or replay the whole experience. The special performance is performed by two casts: “Sugar” and “Spice,” who are students of Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy. Audiences are given a choice to watch the production with either one of the casts, or with both for an “extra holiday treat.”
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The ballet’s narrator, Drosselmeyer (played by the talented Benjamin Simoens in the Sugar version), begins the story by gifting Clara (Annia Hidalgo) and Fritz (Barry Molina) their Christmas presents. Both siblings are delighted with their gifts—although Fritz has a moment of jealousy with his sister’s Nutcracker—marveling at them with wonder as they twirl and spin to their heart’s content before falling into a pleasant slumber. We are thrown into a climax with the arrival of the dangerous Rat King (played by Isaac Allen), bringing the Nutcracker (Randy Crespo) to life.
What follows is a battle between the two, a sweet pas de deux between Clara and her beloved life-sized Nutcracker, and a humorous dance with Fritz and Jack-in-the-Box. A colorful montage of special performances are then presented to us as our magical toymaker calls upon a group of dream-like dancers, gracing the stage with each of their expertise. As the ballet nears to an end, Drosselmeyer closes the performance by posing a question, asking the audience whether or not the whole experience was real, or a mere, unworldly dream conjured by the imaginative minds of Clara and Fritz.
The ballet itself is exceedingly easy to follow. Along with its convenience of being shown in video format, Simoens does well in narrating the ballet with clarity and character, while also shining a light on its kid-friendly atmosphere with exaggerated tone and movements. There are instances of mild humor, mesmerizing solos, and clever moments of wording that impressively connect ballet terminology with children’s rhyme. In addition to Milwaukee Ballet’s promise to keep the magic alive this holiday season, Pink’s decision to create a shorter version of The Nutcracker in order “to maximize health and safety” as well as leave room for audiences to “appreciate the technical expertise of our professional dancers” does well in achieving both a successful production that abides by state laws while also honoring the spirit of festivity during a time of uncertainty.
Despite this harrowing pandemic, seasonal concepts of “merriment” and “appreciation” are not shadowed by a cast who don COVID face masks throughout the course of the entire performance. Instead, the strange, but warranted, wardrobe choice adds to the overall aesthetic of the ballet, blending into the seamless folds of a particular Victorian face-covering that combated ill-health nearly two centuries ago. That is not to say that “COVID attire” is free of its cons: the casts’ voices are slightly muffled at times, and it is difficult for the audience to discern various expressions enacted by the performers' whose faces are half hidden beneath masks as they do their pirouettes.
On top of The Nutcracker: Short & Sweet, Milwaukee Ballet is also offering an additional viewing, free of charge, which takes viewers behind the curtain to witness all that went into the creation of the ballet with “The Nutcracker: Making the Magic.” The documentary gives us a sneak peek inside the workings of the annual production by bringing us footage from past performances, all while dissecting the magic of everyone’s favorite holiday show with the inclusion of enchanting backstage scenes, rare rehearsal footage, and a brief look inside the dazzling costume shop. A true gift during a time of hardship for all.
