Ballet may be unfamiliar to some audiences, but even those who find it intimidating are drawn to Tchaikovsky's candy-sweet holiday confection "The Nutcracker." First performed in 1892, it was widely panned by critics, but, today, it is one of the most enduring worldwide holiday classics. Northwest Arkansas audiences will have the opportunity to see an entirely different twist on the traditional story when Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker performs Nov. 17 at the Faulkner Performing Arts Center.
"It's different than any other production in the world," declares Moscow Ballet Executive Producer Akiva Talmi. "[When we created the Dove Ballet,] we created a unique character which no one else has." Two dancers perform the Dove Ballet, he says, each taking one huge wing to form the bird. "The unique thing about the Dove Ballet is that it's an acro-ballet. The purpose is to take Clara to the Land of Peace, and she travels around the world seeking peace and harmony in the world."
FAQ
The Moscow Ballet:
Great Russian Nutcracker
WHEN — 3 & 7 p.m. Nov. 17
WHERE — Faulkner Performing Arts Center on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville
COST — $29-$69
INFO —575-5387
The emphasis on world peace is no accident and is an integral part of the origins of the Moscow Ballet, says Talmi. The company originated in 1989 when it traveled the world with its "International Glasnost Festival Tours" celebrating the "open and transparent" political efforts promoted by Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union. "We started [on messages] of freedom of expression and civil rights."
In addition to the massive wings that make up the Dove in the Great Russian Nutcracker, the production also includes several other 12-foot-tall flying puppets, a historically accurate Victorian-style puppet show that foreshadows the plot of the ballet, a Christmas tree that grows to 50-feet tall and a ballet company of 36 award-winning dancers. One local surprise is included in the performance: Nearly 50 children from the University of Arkansas Children's Choir will be performing during the show.
"The original composer of 'The Nutcracker' intended that this one particular chorus should be sung by a children's choir," says Rachel Cornett, director of the UA Children's Choir. "Not many productions do that, but if you look in the original score, it's written that a children's choir should sing during the waltz of the snowflakes, when a prima ballerina is dancing while snowflakes are falling."
Cornett says it's a busy time for her young singers -- they're also performing with the UA's production of "Hansel and Gretel."
"We're really excited for the chance to share our music," she says.
That youthful excitement is not new to Alisa Bolotnikova , who, in addition to being a performer in the show, is the audition director for the Moscow company. She has been training as a ballerina since she started in a ballet school in Ukraine at the age of 6. She says one of the things she enjoys most about touring with the Great Russian Nutcracker is auditioning the younger children involved in the production who are cast as snowflakes, mice and other ancillary characters.
"When you see the kids on the stage, they are so excited to be with professional dancers and to be a part of a professional performance," she says. "It makes my heart warm. Now I understand that I live for a reason in this world -- if I can do something good for people and for kids, I wake up every day and say, 'Thank you, God, that I am here.' I'm happy because people around me are happy."
And "happy" is one emotion that their production might elicit from audience members, agree Bolotnikova and Talmi.
"It's a warm Christmas story that has become more and more central to holiday traditions," says Talmi. "Families are as attracted to it as they are to 'A Christmas Carol,' Handel's 'Messiah,' the Rockettes -- all are major symbols of the season."
NAN What's Up on 11/17/2019