New York City Ballet's annual run of "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker" begins next week and I will be volunteering yet again this season for the Information Committee. I only have 7 performances this year, which may seem like a lot, but The Nutcracker runs for almost 50 shows, I believe, and frankly, even I can only watch it so many times. Actually, I could watch the 2nd Act over and over, as it is all dancing, but the first act is a bit boring, what with the little kids running around and all. Still, that moment when the music swells and the Christmas Tree grows and grows and grows....I get tears every time!
The first shows are generally cast with the most senior-level dancers, and as such, Maria Kowroski will dance the Sugar Plum Fairy and Ashley Bouder will dance Dew Drop on opening night. Nobody is a better Dew Drop than Ashley Bouder, so I was not surprised to see her cast in the first performance. She goes for crystal clarity, and generally achieves it, with time to spare! Daniel Ulbricht is delightful as Tea and Tess Reichlen is a cool and mysterious Arabian. My first performance voluteering is December 6, so it will be a few days before we know who is cast, but rest assured I am watching the website like a hawk! As the season progresses we may see some exciting debuts. Last year we saw Katie Morgan debut as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Erica Pereira as Dew Drop; both are still young dancers in the Corps. I am looking forward to seeing what happens this year!
Here are the Snowflakes (danced by 16 of the newest Corps members) who close out the First Act. All photos courtesy of Paul Kolnik.
The Dew Drop Fairy - my favorite part of the whole ballet! Below is Sofiane Sylve who is no longer with the Company.
The Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier - the lovely Sterling Hyltin and Andrew Veyette.
And one more interesting tidbit. I attended a seminar at New York State Theatre on Tuesday night, and presenting were 4 current dancers from New York City Ballet. One of them, Jenifer Ringer, has been with the Company for many years, and a Principal Dancer since 2000. She said in her first year as a Corps dancer, she was required to perform 4 parts in The Nutcracker (not suprising) and learned them all only 3 DAYS before the first show! Can you imagine? She kept wondering when they were going to rehearse Nutcracker....and wondering...and wondering....and finally when casting was posted she discovered she needed to learn 4 parts in 3 days! I guess everything is faster in New York, just like they say...