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Recent Review

Posted on Saturday, December 22, 2007

By Matthew Erikson
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

ARLINGTON – Metropolitan Classical Ballet's The Nutcracker has a thick Russian accent and plenty of muscle.

Friday evening, the Arlington-based company presented the holiday favorite at the University of Texas at Arlington's Texas Hall. Those who might feel jaded by too many performances of Nutcracker can at least be refreshed by the authentic Russian touches that this company brings to the Tchaikovsky ballet..

Choreography by co-artistic director and former Bolshoi dancer Alexander Vetrov offered variety, as did a storyline that differed slightly from more familiar American versions of the ballet.

More memorably, this ballet was a bravura showcase for the company's dancers, appealing to both children and adults.

The athleticism started from the very start of the ballet, with even the young Clara (winningly played Friday night by Ema Watanabe) en pointe during the family festivities of Act I. Other young students from the company's ballet academy added an endearing dimension to the evening, from the mischievous mice of the opening to the bon-bons and sleigh toys of the final act (here, a "magical enchanted kingdom," rather than the traditional "land of sweets").