English National Ballet’s Nutcracker Dec 2022- Jan 2023

[LinMM]

[LinMM]

Here he is …though not my picture of him (he looks a bit moulty here) I do have one somewhere from the days before IPhones etc!! 
I think his name began with C and didn’t suit him much I thought …like Colin or Clarence or similar. 
If I turned up at the gate he would come charging over and stop dead very precisely at the gate …for a piece of apple or a mint!! 
The people who owned him owned some Llamas in a couple of bigger fields very close by but he was kept nearer the house. 

They’ve all gone now for some years but I do miss Colin or Clarence or whatever his name is he was very friendly with the most gorgeous eyes! 
 

[DVDfan]

Yup, that's Camelus bactrianus, aka Bactrian camel. 

[bridiem]

7 hours ago, LinMM said:

Here he is …though not my picture of him (he looks a bit moulty here) I do have one somewhere from the days before IPhones etc!! 
I think his name began with C and didn’t suit him much I thought …like Colin or Clarence or similar. 
If I turned up at the gate he would come charging over and stop dead very precisely at the gate …for a piece of apple or a mint!! 
The people who owned him owned some Llamas in a couple of bigger fields very close by but he was kept nearer the house. 

They’ve all gone now for some years but I do miss Colin or Clarence or whatever his name is he was very friendly with the most gorgeous eyes! 

 

Poor old Colin/Clarence. He's possibly the ugliest animal I've ever seen!! (Not that I want to offend you or your onetime friend, LinMM!!). Not sure he'd look quite right on the stage of the Coli...

[DVDfan]

Well, as Colin's appearance is entirely functional (adaptations for desert life) he would look better than some of the costumes. (Von Rothbart in Dowell's Swan Lake, for example.) There is at least some point to it.

[Dawnstar]

Found the review https://www.seeingdance.com/stuttgart-ballet-nutcracker-221218/

I think these camels look quite good! I imagine they operate in a similar way to the caterpillar in Alice but with only 2 dancers apiece.

 

[LinMM]

Ha ha Love it ❤️
I think this is definitely worth a trip to Stuttgart for a completely new Nutcracker lol ….I studied there for a while back in 68/9…..it’s a lovely place…or was! 

Would be great to combine a trip to Stuttgart and Munich Ballet Companies. 
But back to ENB…….

 

 

[zxDaveM]

3 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

Found the review https://www.seeingdance.com/stuttgart-ballet-nutcracker-221218/

I think these camels look quite good! I imagine they operate in a similar way to the caterpillar in Alice but with only 2 dancers apiece.

 

 

they'd give me the hump!!

 

[Sim]

28 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 

they'd give me the hump!!

 

Boom boom!

[LinMM]

🤔

[Emeralds]

6 Jan matinee-

Cast: Francesca Velicu (Clara), Daniel McCormick (Nephew), Skyler Martin (Nutcracker), Junor Souza (Drosselmeyer), Ivana Bueno (Louise), William Yamada (Mouse King)

Conductor: Timothy Henty 

 

It was a long, long wait to see this season’s ENB Nutcracker (first week was sold out quickly while awaiting casting information then illness led to us having to postpone the visit). Finally on Epiphany, we got here at last! We were originally scheduled to see Emma Hawes and Aitor Arrieta but we’re equally pleased to have Velicu and McCormick, who have always been stellar in supporting roles like Bluebird pas de deux in the classics, Velicu known for her dramatic gifts, and McCormick also made a splash in 2021 dancing the Ali role in the  Corsaire pas de trois in their Solstice mixed bill and as Abdul in Raymonda last year. 

 

What is enjoyable about Eagling’s version is that you get to see both leads in the first Act, in the transformation pas de deux, as well as the second Act, whereas for many Nutcracker productions, the two leads only appear in the second act, mime a bit, dance the grand pas de deux, and then that’s it (lovely as they may be in their brief appearance, it feels too short). The Nephew here dances with Clara and her friends when her brother Freddie is being too mischievous to partner her, although in this version they clearly are close and sometimes Clara is cheeky to him too. Ivana Bueno was an expressive and charismatic Louise, and also made her Mirliton pas de deux (danced by Louise and Drosselmeyer  in this production) a sparkly  virtuoso dance while emphasising the fluttery butterfly that she embodies in her sister’s dream. 

 

Velicu and McCormick are the youngest Clara and Nephew pairing I have watched in this production, with the roles often taken by seasoned principals on the dates I attended. They both brought a youthful innocence and energy to their roles, not overdoing the drama, while yet conveying the ups and downs of Clara’s brief journey into the grownup world in her dream. Velicu, who memorably made such a strong impression in the lead of Pina Bausch’s Rite of Spring that she was awarded the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance just shortly after leaving Bucharest to follow Alina Cojocaru to join ENB, showed her dramatic gifts here. She made sense of the often tricky/blurry dramaturgy in this production-despite having an injured arm after battling the Mouse King, her Nutcracker is able to overcome his injuries (in her dream) by the sheer power of her positive optimism and affection for her soldier-Nutcracker. Her despair at being unable and to help her little brother Freddie (in this version Clara initially confronts the Mouse King to save Freddie rather than the Nutcracker or toy soldiers) leads her to reimagine him as a strong adult in the middle of her dream. But where dreams often get interspersed with nightmares in our sleeping minds, the Mouse King won’t go away quietly but instead follows her clinging on to her hot air balloon  (remembered from one of the party gifts) and to the Kingdom of Sweets until her hero, Drosselmeyer’s Nephew, defeats him once and for all.

 

Another feature of Eagling’s Nutcracker that I love is the beauty of the Snowflakes ‘ Dance, enhanced by their beautiful tutus. The costumes and the  musicality and elegance of the choreography reminds me a little of Ashton’s dance for the Stars in his Cinderella with designs by David Walker- a production Eagling danced many times- whether it’s an affectionate tribute or a subconscious touch of the master passed on to another artist. (In contrast, although I admire Peter Wright’s choreography, the dresses and dances for the Snowflakes in the Royal Ballet production always make them seem to me more like young women dancing in the snow than actual snowflakes, which the ENB and BRB productions convey more convincingly.) I could actually watch just the ENB corps de ballet dance the Snowflakes scene as a gala excerpt (mice optional) and go home very, very happy. (They actually did this on BBC’s One Show and it looked wonderful.) 

 

So on to the divertissements this year. With Covid restrictions gone and Omicron Covid strains less of a threat this year, although the Covid/flu/RSV “tripledemic” still a menacing threat to audience attendance and dancer staffing levels, in addition to public transport strikes keeping many from getting to the theatre, Act 2 was not yet back to pre-2020 appearances. Conductor Timothy Henty, already at his podium before house lights went down, started off Act 2 briskly without taking time for orchestra bows and applause, there was no Arabian Dance. But what we did have was marvellous. Erik Woolhouse, having just danced Nephew 24 hours ago (Bueno was Clara!), led Chloe Keneally and Emilia Cadorin in a lively Spanish dance with energy and flair. Ashley Coupal, Noam Durand and Victor Prigent were neat and precise in Eagling’s martial art inspired Chinese dance, Coupal showing masterful control of her fouettes and pirouettes. After Ivana Bueno’s charming turn (and turns) in Mirliton, Ken Saruhashi led the Russian dance with the assured leaps, spins and technical wizardry that has made this dance one of his signature roles. Julia Conway, Jung ah Choi, Rhys Antoni Yeomans and Matthew Astley led an elegant corps de ballet in the Waltz of the Flowers, still dancing with enthusiasm and energy after an incredible 27 shows in the space of just 21 days.

 

There were a number of cast changes, some publicised and some not- we’re 99.2% certain we identified the right dancers, but apologies in advance if we inadvertently didn’t, especially under makeup/wigs/hats etc.

 

And the grand pas de deux? A beautiful display of grace and lyricism- McCormick reigning in the pyrotechnics to be an attentive partner in the adagio, and Velicu channelling her sweet  charm to highlight the confidence and grace of the adult Clara in young Clara’s dream. McCormick showed off the precision and control of his jumps with impressive soft landings in his solo, and showed a chivalrous touch in the coda by finishing his pirouettes early yet still on the music, to turn around and show the audience his partner so that they wouldn’t miss a single one of her pirouettes and fouettés. How sweet! And what glorious spins Velicu had- I’d never thought of her as a technical powerhouse before, but here she was turning out neat triple pirouettes, double fouettes, impressively centred, staying on the beat, all the while staying in character. Both of them displayed great focus and mastery, with precise, solid landings, not a wobble. Thrilling, impressive, stunning. 

 

There was a slight hiccup at the end where Poppy Kennedy having portrayed and danced Clara as a child so impressively in Act One didn’t appear in her bed and on the porch for the final two acting scenes with Freddie, so Alfie Napolitano as her brother couldn’t come on without her, and Drosselmeyer and his Nephew had nobody to wave them off at the door (the balloon did fly off successfully). We wondered if Poppy might have been injured or hurt perhaps in a fall on the way to the stage, or taken ill suddenly with no time to get an understudy into costume? Hopefully not trapped in a lift or some mechanical mishap. Alfie appeared at the curtain call with the rest of the cast but she did not- hope she is alright and fully recovered from whatever unexpected incident that kept her from being able to perform her closing scenes and take her bows. They had both been outstanding in Act One, as had all the Tring Park students portraying the party children.  It didn’t spoil it for us who had seen the production before, and nobody else in the audience around us, whether new to the production or not, seemed bothered by it (maybe they didn’t know). 

 

Glorious, sparkling and expressive performance of Tchaikovsky’s beautiful music once again from ENB Philharmonic- numerous performances we’ve seen over 10 seasons (one year cancelled by Covid) and never a stray note from this orchestra but always a performance of artistry, beauty and splendour-how do they do it year in year out, even on two-show days? They must have some magical music spell. 😊 A Nutcracker spell? 

 

All in all, a delightful  treat once again, and we made it home successfully on the  last train on our route (with just 7 minutes to spare!!) of the rail strike day (I’m SO relieved we saved several minutes from the Arabian Dance being cut 😝!) , after a detour via the Tube. There may be obstacles  and challenges, but Nutcracker magic always saves the day! 

 

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by Emeralds

[art_enthusiast]

Saw this production yesterday evening for the first time and thought it was superb, minus the removal of the Arabian dance. I find it far more believable that all the rather infantile parts involving Clara in Act One are performed by a child; it's not especially realistic to see a grown young woman sobbing over a broken Nutcracker doll, for instance. All the children were very good and obviously very well trained, also nice to see some diversity amongst them. I also really enjoyed the first Nutcracker/Clara pas de deux becoming an almost pas de trois with Drosselmeyer (it put me in mind of the Kirkland/Baryshnikov version I've seen on YouTube, which has the final pas de deux including Drosselmeyer - totally brilliant). I really liked the character dances, I preferred their Waltz of the Flowers choreography to the RB version - encapsulates the music better in my opinion, also gives more opportunity for non leading Flowers to dance. Snowflakes scene - gorgeous, loved Precious Adams and Emily Suzuki. I was also glad that the part in the RB Act 2 with the Nutcracker's mime/explanation to the SPF was instead replaced by the actual Mouse King/Nutcracker battle, which I found far more interesting to watch. Brooklyn Mack and Natascha Mair partnered each other extremely well throughout and in the final pas de deux, I loved their performances - their coda was quite dazzling. I really enjoyed seeing Natascha in the Nureyev Gala and was looking forward to seeing Brooklyn Mack since I heard he was guesting with ENB. I can imagine them both to be a brilliant pairing for Swan Lake as well. 

[alison]

1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

There were a number of cast changes, some publicised and some not

 

You did better than we did the other night, then!  "Michael Coleman"'s Grandfather was looking remarkably youthful.  Beyond that, I'm not currently familiar enough with ENB's lower ranks to say who else may have been replaced.

[Emeralds]

1 hour ago, art_enthusiast said:

Saw this production yesterday evening for the first time and thought it was superb, minus the removal of the Arabian dance. I find it far more believable that all the rather infantile parts involving Clara in Act One are performed by a child; it's not especially realistic to see a grown young woman sobbing over a broken Nutcracker doll, for instance. All the children were very good and obviously very well trained, also nice to see some diversity amongst them. I also really enjoyed the first Nutcracker/Clara pas de deux becoming an almost pas de trois with Drosselmeyer (it put me in mind of the Kirkland/Baryshnikov version I've seen on YouTube, which has the final pas de deux including Drosselmeyer - totally brilliant). I really liked the character dances, I preferred their Waltz of the Flowers choreography to the RB version - encapsulates the music better in my opinion, also gives more opportunity for non leading Flowers to dance. Snowflakes scene - gorgeous, loved Precious Adams and Emily Suzuki. I was also glad that the part in the RB Act 2 with the Nutcracker's mime/explanation to the SPF was instead replaced by the actual Mouse King/Nutcracker battle, which I found far more interesting to watch. Brooklyn Mack and Natascha Mair partnered each other extremely well throughout and in the final pas de deux, I loved their performances - their coda was quite dazzling. I really enjoyed seeing Natascha in the Nureyev Gala and was looking forward to seeing Brooklyn Mack since I heard he was guesting with ENB. I can imagine them both to be a brilliant pairing for Swan Lake as well. 

Glad you enjoyed seeing Natasha Mair and Brooklyn Mack, art_enthusiast - lovely review! You pointed out  the Waltz of the Flowers which reminded me why I prefer it (perhaps something Eagling was careful about as a former principal dancer with many years of experience in solo roles)- there are no steps where the whole ensemble has to try really hard not to wobble while performing a developpe (unfolding of the leg into a straight leg in the air) and holding it in position.  It’s easy to do it in soft shoes or bare feet but a nightmare in pointe shoes, and it’s not very nice for the audience to see it either. So, like you, I like Eagling’s Waltz of the Flowers more too (but after the first 10 seconds are over, the RB one is ok!) Very pleased for Mair that it was a success. I enjoyed seeing her performance as Clara in Act 1 in the lockdown film made for audiences to watch online. 

[Emeralds]

27 minutes ago, alison said:

 

You did better than we did the other night, then!  "Michael Coleman"'s Grandfather was looking remarkably youthful.  Beyond that, I'm not currently familiar enough with ENB's lower ranks to say who else may have been replaced.

Alison, do you mind me asking which cast you saw? (You don’t have to give a report/review but of course if you want to/have time to that would be fab!)

 

Am just curious to know if we all saw different casts, which would be fun if we did. PS you asked about doubling up that isn’t typical eg a dancer playing Louise also having to dance Snowflakes. I scanned as closely as I could while still trying to enjoy the actual dancing....didn’t see any. I did notice party guests who danced in Waltz of the Flowers or Snowflakes, of course, but that would be normal.

 

Re: Grandfather at our matinee, I must say the makeup and wig was so good that if it wasn’t Jose Maria Lorca Menchon (who was on the cast list) but another corps de ballet member  I wouldn’t have been able to tell. It definitely wasn’t Michael Coleman though. 😄