Christmas has come early for South African ballet enthusiasts as Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein presents The Nutcracker.
The classic ballet fairy tale is one of the festive season’s entertainments that has become part of theatre tradition. It does not matter how many times you have seen The Nutcracker you cannot get enough of it. The ballet show premiered in 1892 in St Petersburg, Russia. The Nutcracker was not performed outside of Russia until 1934. Since then, it has been performed many times in different countries and different versions for more than 100 years. The theatre brings back the story to excite ballet lovers.
For Joburg Theatre, which has been unable to stage shows for 50 people due to Covid-19 regulations, The Nutcracker officially opens the season. When TimeOut visited the rehearsal of the production at the Ballet Theatre in Braamfontein, artistic director Ian MacDonald and dancers were putting final touches on the show.
An hour and 30 minutes watching the ballet dancers is enough to understand the hard work that goes into the twists, turns and jumps that we see in many ballet shows. There is a lot of hard work put in making sure the technique is perfect and executed accordingly.
The Nutcracker is based on the story The Nutcracker and the King of Mice written by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann. It is a story of a young German girl who dreams of a Nutcracker Prince and a fierce battle against a Mouse King with seven heads. The story starts on Christmas eve when the Stahlbaum family (played by Revil Yon and Nicole Ferreira) host a Christmas party with friends and family members in attendance.
Stahlbaum’s daughter Clara (played by Chloe Blair), is waiting patiently for the arrival of her Godfather, Dr Drosslmeye (Gabriel Fernandes) and his son Karl (played by Ruan Galdino) who Clara is in love with. The godfather Drosselmeyer arrives and he is a skilled clock and toy maker who always full of surprises.
At the party, Drosselmeyer becomes the centre of attraction as he shows off his artistic skills and presents two life-size dolls. He brings presents for the kids, with girls getting china dolls and boys bugles.
The story is told through an amazing body language, which is dance, without uttering a word. The dancers mesmerise you with a combination of arabesque, combined with a series of chaînés, coupled with en pointe and fouette steps that leave you in absolute awe. The movements are accompanied by beautiful music composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The story is complemented by a fabulous stage setting and colourful costumes.
Catch The Nutcracke from today until October 17 with two performances on some nights.
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