CriticalDance Forum

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:<P><B>Pennsylvania Ballet gets plum Cleveland invite</B><BR> <BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>In a major coup, the Pennsylvania Ballet has been invited to perform its "Nutcracker" in Cleveland next December.<P>The George Balanchine production, with music by Tchaikovsky, will be presented at the Allen Theatre in Cleveland's Playhouse Square Center from Dec. 3-8, 2002.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://dailynews.philly.com/content/daily_news/2001/12/13/features/NSID13F.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A><BR><p>[This message has been edited by Basheva (edited December 13, 2001).]

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:<P><B>Curtain call</B><BR> <BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>EVERY HOLIDAY SEASON, the Academy of Music curtain goes up on Clara's Christmas party and the Pennsylvania Ballet production of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker."<P>But the audience never sees the dedicated army that raises and lowers the sets, manages the props and works hundreds of light cues night after night.<P>The Academy is still a "hemp house," an old term meaning that the curtains and sets are raised by ropes.<P>Probably the last major house in the country not operated by hydraulics and motors, it will be overhauled next summer as the whole fly area and roof are replaced.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://dailynews.philly.com/content/daily_news/2001/12/13/features/FNUT13F.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A><p>[This message has been edited by Basheva (edited December 13, 2001).]

I'm glad they explained the meaning of 'hemp house'.

Ticket sales are ahead of last year's and the talent is wider and deeper - all hopeful signs.<P>From the Philadelphia Inquirer:<P><B>Back at the Academy, a diverting 'Nutcracker'</B><P>By Elizabeth Zimmer <BR>FOR THE INQUIRER <P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Things being how they are, you'd expect great demand this month for a safe and traditional show such as George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. Ticket sales for this Pennsylvania Ballet perennial running until the end of the year at the Academy of Music are, in fact, ahead of last season.<P>On opening night last Friday, Philadelphia's glitterati were down the block at the Kimmel Center. The Academy drew the die-hard ballet fans, their daughters and sons, the terrific ballet orchestra under the baton of Beatrice Jona Affron, and the Philadelphia Boys Choir directed by Robert Hamilton. The Nutcracker tickets were cheaper, and the array of native talent wider, deeper and younger, than at the celebration that made the headlines.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/12/19/magazine/NUT19.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A> <BR>

I just read the article above about the Pennsylvania Ballet “Nutcracker” crew’s work behind the scenes.<P>“The show is like a runaway train - once it starts, it goes. The sugar plum fairy glides in the second act, doing an arabesque on one foot while standing on a piece of Teflon. She moves with a wire tied to a boat winch, and we practice it every night. We're careful to make sure things move off the stage like clockwork, because if they move too fast, it's a distraction." <BR>- Tony Costandino, <BR>stage manager<P>When Darci Kistler was University of California, Irvine’s Chancellor’s Distinguished Artist a few years ago, she was speaking with David Allan (a dance department faculty member) in a public interview. They showed the clip from the Balanchine “Nutcracker” video that showed Darci as Sugarplum gliding on the floor. He asked how it was done. Darci said something like, “That’s a secret. If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” Apparently the stage managers are excepted from that particular blood secret.<BR>

A moderately interesting article from the Philadelphia Weekly that details a day in the life of a corps dancer (during Nutcracker season): <A HREF="http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/article.asp?ArtID=1360" TARGET=_blank>http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/article.asp?ArtID=1360</A> <BR>

Just reading that article left me breathless - feel like I should take a nap!<P>Seriously, thanks Katydid - really great article.

In the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Angels are 'Nutcracker' sweet
From the Cleveland Plaindealer

MORE...

<small>[ 12-01-2002, 12:13: Message edited by: 2 left feet ]</small>

Pennsylvania Ballet brings classic show to Cleveland
`Nutcracker' puts emphasis on youth - Roll over, Baryshnikov, and tell Tchaikovsky the news: Kids get central roles here. By Elaine Guregian for The Beacon Journal (Ohio)

There's a new Nut in town.

For the first time in its history, the Pennsylvania Ballet is taking its production of The Nutcracker on the road, and the destination is Playhouse Square in Cleveland. The company will give eight shows, Tuesday through next Sunday, at the Allen Theatre.

About 70 Northeast Ohio dance students will perform along with a professional cast of 48. (See sidebar with details.) Cleveland's Singing Angels will sing the vocal parts in the Snow scene, and a pit orchestra of some 45 area musicians will play Tchaikovsky's score.

Representatives from Playhouse Square visited Philadelphia a couple of years ago to view the show there. They asked artistic director Roy Kaiser if he might be interested in bringing the show to Cleveland for Playhouse Square's new dance series. The answer was yes, so the Philadelphia company is following the American Ballet Theatre on Playhouse Square's ambitious first dance season.

click for more

Nutcracker' is gently sweet; its simplicity a charming treat

From the Cleveland Plaindealer

MORE...

Thanks for posting these reviews! Pennsylvania Ballet hasn't performed this far from Philadelphia in a while, so it's good to get an outsider's perspective...I did fear that Cleveland audiences would find the Balanchine Nutcracker a bit quaint after seeing a Nahat version for some many years (I haven't seen his, but I can imagine...). Hopefully, audiences won't be put off by this, though, and will be able to appreciate the differences. The Balanchine Nutcracker is enormously popular in Philadelphia, anyway

A history on the Balanchine ballet:

<a href=http://ae.philly.com/entertainment/ui/philly/stage.html?id=46488 target=_blank>More</a>

Philadelphia Inquirer
Review by Elizabeth Zimmer

An article about the fundraiser party:

<a href=http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/columnists/pauline_pinard_bogaert/4803928.htm target=_blank>More</a>