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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1999)
'CuWracker Marches on As part of a long-standing holiday tradition, the 107 year-old ballet opens in Eugene on Dec. 17 / V Dance -e* rw)L%. 3*1 :—vV . .1 By Sara Jarrett Oregon Daily Emerald The “Nutcracker,” probably the most well-known ballet, has grown into an American holiday tradition. Its constant evolution since the first 1892 performance in St. Petersburg Russia’s Maryinsky The atre, makes every production a unique gift to the world of dance. The Eugene Ballet presents its yearly contribution Dec. 17-19 with five perform ances at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. The tale, derived from E.T.A. Hoff mann’s story, provides great entertainment for children with its wizards and toys that come to fife. The original idea behind the ballet, however, was to entertain the adults of the tsar’s court. The final adaptation of Hoff mann’s story left room for the folk danc ing, character roles and pure ballet danc ing seen on stage today that appeal children and adults alike. The first act depicts a Presents pour from beneath its branches, l And Clara becomes enamored with a Nut- * cracker doll she accepts from a wicked old man, Drosselmeyer, who befriends her. When the guests leave, Clara falls asleep and has a nightmare about a battle be tween mice and soldiers. When the sol diers win, led of course by her Nut cracker, she drifts off into a winter the dance of the snowflakes, the Ginger Clown, the Russian acrobats and the Sugar Plum Fairy. International sweets also come to life. To this day, “Nutcracker” is performed around the globe with increasing popular ity and its choreography is not crystal lized. The classical story told through movement and song has so many varia tions that Toni Pimble, artistic director of the Eugene Ballet Company, has no reser vations about changing it to suit her tastes. “Because there’s been so many different versions of it, I think it’s just fine,” she said. “The story is basically the same, we just add our own little touches. ” _ wonder before Pimble decided to choreograph a completely different variation. For two years now, this new rendition has been pleasing audiences throughout the Pacific Northwest. This season, the Eugene Ballet Company will present “Nutcracker” in 24 towns throughout five states and Canada. “It includes romance with Clara and Drosselmeyer’s nephew Hans, who is also the Nutcracker in full life,” Pimble said. In most editions of the story, Clara is younger than she is in Pim ble’s re-cre this choreog rapher, howev er, making Clara a bit older lends it self to the possibility of adding more drama to the show. ‘The small change in the storyline, plus new choreog raphy, enhance the visual ap noal anrl malra tVio cVinw ence Pimble said. The Mouse King char acter who challenges the Nutcracker to a duel during the dream scene, has taken on a major transformation in Pimble’s hands. “He’s a pirate mouse,” she said, “with an Errol Flynn flair ... He definitely has a mouse snout.” During what dance enthusiasts call the age of Petipa, Marius Petipa (1818-1910) is credited with choreographing about 60 classical ballets, “Nutcracker” being one of his most famous. His other well-known works include “The Sleeping Beautv.” “Cinderella” and “Swan Lake. The term classical means that his works vfrlinA to formal stan dards, with an emphasis on technical vir tuosity. This style is different from the bal lets previously seen during the Romantic era when dancers and dance makers ex plored more freedom in their range of emotional depth. Petipa strove to reinvent the grand style of dance seen in the courts of Louis XIV in the late 1600s. Though Petipa is the one with all the glory, most of the credit for “Nutcracker” and some of his other pieces should go to his assistant ballet master, Lev Ivanov. Early in his career, while dancing with the Russian Imperial Ballet, Ivanov en countered prejudices against his Russian heritage — the company was mastered by Jules Perrot, a Frenchman. Ivanov didn’t stand up to Perrot then, and he didn’t stand up to Petipa when Petipa took credit for the entire “Nutcracker”. As recent evidence has shown, howev er, Petipa was too sick to choreograph dur ing that time and was forced to hand over the entire assignment to Ivanov. Vsevolojsky, the Russian theater official of the time, decided to bring composer Py otr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Petipa togeth er as had been done with “Sleeping Beau ty. ” Tchaikovsky did not think very highly of the job, however. In his di ary he wrote, “The subject pleases me very little,” ac cording to “Dancing Through History,” a book by Joan Cass. He was a dedicated musician, however, and believed that it was his artistic duty to create even though he lacked inspiration. The expertise and talents of Conceptual Designer Don Carson, who has held a va riety of positions with Walt Disney Imagi neering since 1989, Costume Designer Amy Panganiban and Lighting Designer Lloyd Sobel have been gathered for the Eu gene show. In addition, four of the five Eu gene performances will feature the Eugene Opera Orchestra. “The Nutcracker” plays at the Hult Cen ter at 8 p.m. Dec. 17 and 18, at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 18 and 19, and at 7 p.m. Dec. 19. Tick ets range from $17 to $60 and are available at the Hult Center, 682-5000.