Also adapted, it seems, is the transition scene between Young Clara (Kaia Rodeheaver, who has a sweet, flowing aura) as the Nutcracker Prince leads Elder Clara into the fantasy land.Ĭertain other things stick in my mind from this production. As the Mouse Queen, Chloe Eggers catches the eye in holding her own against pro Johnson as the Soldier Doll on stage and in the outcome (their characters die at each other’s hand). The vision of Timothy Josephs in choreography and presentation this year seems to have added juice in the battle scene between the soldiers and mice and little mice – more action, an elevated level of excitement, more little scene-making within the larger scene of turmoil. Many take multiple roles in this large, elaborate, colorful production set in motion by the beautiful and exciting music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Northeastern Wisconsin Dance Organization artistic director Timothy Josephs reports that 96 dancers from the area are part of this year’s production. Johnson in Act I commands the scene with the Soldier Doll – military/dance precision infused in his performance. Meindersee is a picture of grace, always on. The two decorate scenes in “The Land of the Sweets” following or interspersed with dancers from the company. Other pros new to this production are from Milwaukee Ballet, Janel Meindersee as Elder Clara and Erik Johnson as Nutcracker Prince. One microsecond in the duet hung as Stafford and Hanna paused as if placing a stop perfectly “right there” like an exclamation point – ! – in the scene. It’s a pleasure to see ballet dancers with mustard – all the discipline and devotion distilled into the beauty and flow of physical artistry. Stafford is sure in “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” as she is in the climactic duet with Stephen Hanna (of the New York City/Broadway dance scene) as her muscled support/Cavalier. It’s the music-box dancer thingie, with tinklely sounds and a vision of a sugar plum fairy dancing in your head. On opening night Friday in Meyer Theatre, it was interesting to be a part of the experience of the audience reacting – by non-reacting, in rapt silence – as Abi Stafford of the New York City Ballet came to the fore to present one of the signature pieces of whole ballet. The big change is the featured professional dancers who have been brought in to apply the icing on the cake. This year’s “Green Bay Nutcracker Ballet” is quite different than the last, though they all are different from year to year.
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