Maria and the prince boogie the night away in Ballet San Jose's innovative 'Nutcracker'

Janice Berman, Special to The Chronicle

Monday, December 19, 2005

Everyone, of course, has a favorite moment in "The Nutcracker." But Dennis Nahat's version of the Tchaikovsky classic for his Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, which opened Thursday night for its annual run, is rife with them. Most have to do with Artistic Director Nahat's inventive ebullience, embodying enough wit and drama to keep this "Nutcracker" in high gear.

Nahat arrives onstage in full Godfather Drosselmeyer rig -- 1840s purple suit, twinkling eyes -- to tell the audience the story of the Nutcracker (it's pretty complicated, but Nahat makes it interesting, especially the part about the mice gnawing on the Nutcracker's legs) and to thank the evening's sponsor by weaving a tale about how he went to a store in Los Gatos that sells these odd inventions called automobiles. In comes the live music, beautifully rendered by the company orchestra, conducted by Dwight Oltman.