'Nutcracker' offers thrilling spectacle

The 64 local children who danced in the Moscow Ballet's "Great American Nutcracker" Monday night assuredly were part of a thrilling spectacle they will never forget.

The 1,965 people in the audience at the Show Me Center probably won't soon forget this "Nutcracker" either.

Tchaikovsky's sumptuous melodies were augmented with dramatic sets, brilliantly colorful costumes and, in the second act, huge animal puppets representing elephants and horses and even bears playing balalaikas.

You didn't have to be a balletomane to appreciate the extraordinary abilities of this company and the designers and choreographers behind them.

This "Nutcracker" differs from the one American audiences are used to in that the heroine, named Masha instead of Clara, travels in her dream to the Kingdom of Peace and Harmony instead of the Land of Sweets. The Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Arabian and French dancers all leap about the stage together in the finale.

Another difference between classic Russian ballet and the approach American audiences are more accustomed to was evident Monday night. The tiny, lithe Russian ballerinas flew weightlessly above their partners and the men leapt about the stage like gymnasts. The Mouse King's pirouettes were like whirlwinds. You had the feeling you were witnessing an athletic as well as an artistic event.

Tatiana Predeina in the role of Masha and Anatoli Emelyanov as the Prince danced a romantic pas de deux in the first act. Other standouts were the sinuous Arabian dancers Elena Petrichenko and Serguei Tchoumakov.

The Moscow Ballet's Corps de Ballet was extraordinarily strong and exquisitely synchronized. If the local children in the ballet weren't too excited to watch, they must have learned quite a bit Monday night.

The local children in this "Nutcracker" were anything but superfluous. They were given demanding and integral parts as Party Guests, Mice, Angels, Snowflakes, Butterflies and Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Arabian and French dancers. They and their parents and families should be very proud of their performance.

At the end, Drosselmeier (Valery Lantratov) led all the children onto the stage for the curtain call. The 60 Russian dancers were wonderful, but guess who got the biggest round of applause.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182