Farah Merchant
Staff Writer
@farahmerchant_
FORT WORTH – The audience hushed as the lights dimmed, focusing on the velvety red drapes as they closed silently, yet swiftly. The dead silence was broken as the classical music swept the floors and the curtains flung open – the Texas Ballet Theater’s rendition of The Nutcracker had begun at Bass Performance Hall.
Act 1 – Synopsis
The two act ballet begins with Clara and Fritz preparing for the arrival of their family, who is trekking through the snow before entering the Stahlbaum house. At their arrival, the party grows festive as godfather Drosselmeyer draws everyone’s attention with two life-size dolls. These dolls capture everyone’s eyes as they perform before dwindling down, back to robotic figures.
After the performance of the dolls, Clara is given a nutcracker doll which grabs the attention of the party. Fritz, then becomes angry and breaks the head of the Nutcracker, but the toy is quickly fixed when Drosselmeyer places his handkerchief around the neck.
After the family leaves, the Stahlbaum’s fall asleep, but Clara, worried about her nutcracker, sneaks downstairs to check on him as she falls asleep with him in her arms.
As the clock strikes midnight, Clara is awakened, and surrounded by an army of mice, led by the Mouse King, who are defeated by the Nutcracker who emerges to life. The Nutcracker then turns into a Prince and takes Clara to the Land of Snow and the Land of Sweets, where they are amused with various cultural dances, the Dance of the Mirlitons, a dance with Madame Bonbonniere and her children, and the Waltz of the Flowers, before Clara is awakened.
Act 2 – Review
Being my first time to see a ballet, I was not sure what to expect, but at the end, I was amazed by the product.
The ballet started off kind of slow in a form of redundance before Drosselmeyer showed up with the life-size dolls. The dolls performance was far more entertaining than what I had previously witnessed. Their performance captured my attention with their slow, robotic style dance moves, before the lock was twisted on their back and they sprung in the air with beautiful leaps and turns.
After that, the first act seemed slightly dull; children just running around, their parents trying to control them. This scene took quite a turn when Clara was presented with the Nutcracker. Instead of continued chaos, the family finally emerged together and marveled at the star of the show.
This led to a better build of when Fritz broke the Nutcracker’s head, in which I assumed there would be a gasp from Clara, before realizing that there were no lines in the play, just actions that spoke the characters emotions.
After the first act and intermission, the dances really excelled as the Prince took Clara to the Land of Snow where the snowflakes danced in perfect harmony. The dancers really emphasized the twist, turns and graceful fall of real snowflakes before they disappear into a soft pile of snow.
Following Clara and the Prince’s goodbyes to the Land of Snow, the Prince seated Clara in front of a towering Christmas tree as he then performed a dance for her.
This part confused me at first because I thought the Sugar Plum Fairy would perform all the dances with the Cavalier, but I was pleased to find out that the last dance performed was by the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier – it was the Pas de Deux (step of two). Even through the confusion the dances mesmerized me as I watched skirts twirl with each jump.
My favorite dance was either the finale or the Chinese dance. The Pas De Deux was beautiful for both the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier performed together, unlike in the Arabian dance in which it seemed as if the female dancer performed, and her male partner either held her or watched her perform. You could see the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier’s strength and harmony as they fit perfectly together. The Chinese dance was interesting to watch as these two dances batted with sword while not missing a beat of their dance; it was very enticing.
Despite there being parts I did not like, I was overall pleased by The Nutcracker. The dances were very well-performed, making me long to be a ballerina on stage. Though most come for the marvelous ballet, the costumes were also a great highlight in the performance.
