'CuWracker
Marches on
As part of a long-standing holiday tradition,
the 107 year-old ballet opens in Eugene on Dec. 17
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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.