The Nutcracker

The boxes in the Coliseum

We've sort of made an annual tradition to go see the Nutcracker every year, luckily it seems that the British also have that tradition, so I don't think we are going to run out of different productions to see for awhile.  This year it was the English National Ballet version at the Coliseum.  This was a much more traditional version than last year's at Sadlers Wells.  I think I preferred the first act of this year's production.  The sets were amazing, and there were a lot of dancers on stage.  They had enlisted young students from ballet schools and performing arts schools.  They even had the kids sing the section in the first Act.  I think the orchestra was much better this year and since we were only 4 rows from the stage we could see right down into the pit.  I think the dancers were technically a lot better too, they are really amazing the things they can do with their bodies and yet still be so tiny.

But I think Matthew Bourne (from last year) is a much better choreographer than whoever the ENB had for this production.  I think whoever did the choreographer actually left in 2010 so I'm not sure why they are still using his old moves.  The second act seemed to degenerate into some weird So You Think You Can Dance (Ballet Edition).  The story completely disappeared, the mouse king was killed off in the first piece of the second act and then it felt like they had nowhere to go from there.  It felt like we were now watching some ballet school end of term recital, and whilst the dancers were obviously incredibly talented, I need a story, plus it felt like often the dancing didn't really go with the music.  Then to make matters worse at the end of each piece the orchestra stopped, and the dancers started bowing and the audience started clapping!! That's when it started to get really weird to me, you don't clap in the middle of a piece, the music is meant to still be going, you are meant to be in this world, built by the music and the dancing.  Not suddenly some live television audience applauding whenever the dancers did some especially high leap.

But the first act was great, having the children on the stage and then singing was really good, and you were really inside the world of the Nutcracker.  I just wish the choreographer had put as much effort into the second act.