Fox Theatre, Redwood City
December 17, 2011
Artistic Director Bruce Steivel has
created a delightful “Nutcracker” for one of the South Bay's
charming professional companies, Peninsula Ballet Theatre. In its
second year of production, Steivel's version of the Christmas ballet
keeps to the traditional story yet offers some very appropriate
narrative additions. For example, the first scene's party guests are
dignitaries representing the nations that will re-appear in Act II's
'Land of the Sweets'. This makes so much sense and offers a
new-found continuity. And, when it came to Act I, Scene three's
'Kingdom of Snow', Steivel's intricate choreography came alive with
dynamic range and technical skill.
A gorgeous lift opened the snow scene
as the Snow Queen (Chelsea Hix) made her regal entrance. Supported
by her Snow King (Nathan Cottam), Hix floated through the air
completely upright, in a breathtaking standing lift. The snowflakes
had equally impressive moments, especially their first canon
sequence. As each group began Steivel's delicate choreography, an
actual snowfall emerged onstage. Staggering the corps' movement
allowed for a real-time experience of winter weather - light and calm
one moment; heavy and chaotic in the next. With the snow music being
in ¾ time, it obviously lends itself to waltz combinations but,
envisioning unique and creative choreography for this well-known
score can be challenging. In addition to the typical balancé
and piqué vocabulary, Steivel was able to inject some steps that fit
well with the waltz tempo yet are less frequently used in this
vignette – the ballonés were my personal favorite.
As
the principal snow scene dancers, Hix and Cottam shone in their
lifts, their solo work and the majority of their pas de deux. Their
side by side grand jetés were fantastic – expertly matching each
other's height, extension and landing. Where they struggled was in
some of the supported turns and promenades. Though the exact issue
was unclear, I imagine that it was due to a combination of balance
and timing on both of their parts. Hix fell off of pointe during
several of these partnered turns and balances (though she covered
well) which indicated something was clearly off during their duet.
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