MCB Recent Review

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Recent Review

Metropolitan Classical Ballet brings traditional 'Nutcracker' to stage

Posted Saturday, December 19, 2009

By Punch Shaw
Special to the Star-Telegram

ARLINGTON – This Nutcracker has been to school.

The Metropolitan Classical Ballet production of Tchaikovsky’s beloved Christmas ballet — a late arrival to our mix of holiday shows with a Friday night opening of its four-performance run — is as traditional as eggnog.

The presentation is created by the ballet’s co-artistic director Alexander Vetrov (based on the original choreography by Lev Ivanov) whose roots go directly back to the Bolshoi Ballet in his native Russia. And although it is hard to escape the feeling that you are seeing exactly the same show that was seen by a few czars and Russian leaders, like Stalin and Krushchev, it glows with authenticity. You can almost see the steppes in the distance as the ballerinas twirl.

The production distinguishes itself from others in small ways. One of the most impressive aspects is how well it uses the students from its affiliated school, the Metropolitan Ballet Academy.

There are always some kids bouncing around any Nutcracker, but they are often there as window dressing or to make parent-donors happy. But Vetrov has taken the trouble to give his young performers some real work and prepared them well, resulting in some scenes where they rival their adult cohorts.

The women always own the show at the ballet, and Marina Goshko handles her prima job well. But as is the case with the youngsters, the men in this production also more than hold their own. Andrey Prikhodko dazzles often with smooth, controlled pirouettes and also does an unusually good job with his lifts, making them seem completely natural and effortless.

The best scene is the Dance of the Snowflakes, featuring the corps de ballet gliding gracefully through one of most convincing snowstorms you are likely to see in an indoor facility. Had it gone on for a few more minutes, schools would have been closed.

So it is arriving late, it is not staying long and it uses recorded music. But if you prefer a Nutcracker that is probably very close to the ones its composer saw, MCB has one for you — if you hurry.

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