{"id":55992,"date":"2021-01-06T14:43:46","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T20:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=55992"},"modified":"2023-11-23T09:38:24","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T15:38:24","slug":"municipal-ballets-river-of-rosewater-isnt-your-grandmothers-nutcracker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/municipal-ballets-river-of-rosewater-isnt-your-grandmothers-nutcracker\/","title":{"rendered":"Municipal Ballet’s River of Rosewater isn’t Your Grandmother’s Nutcracker"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nFirst introduced in 1892, The Nutcracker<\/em> has been a Christmastime staple in the US since the mid-twentieth century. Municipal Ballet\u2019s condensed and sophisticated take on the ballet, River of Rosewater<\/em>, was released on December 23 via Youtube. If you stan a traditional Nutcracker<\/em>, be warned: this version will challenge you. If you care to read retired New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay\u2019s 10 Ways to Tell If Your \u2018Nutcracker\u2019 is Traditional<\/em> (I totes don\u2019t blame you if you decline), you\u2019ll discover that River<\/em> scores a 0\/10. But this doesn\u2019t mean Municipal has failed, and the 174 mostly positive comments prove it:<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was such an original and gorgeous interpretation!\u201d \u201cWhat a breath of fresh air!\u201d \u201cThis had such a serenity to it!\u201d \u201cI didn\u2019t want this to end! I couldn\u2019t dare but stare without blinking!\u201d \u201cCharming, clever, and innovative… a joy to watch.\u201d \u201cThe Arabian coffee and the Grand Pas de Deux took me to a level of awe I have not reached since the first time that I was in the Nutcracker!\u201d<\/p>\n

The year is 1927. A bluegrass version of Tchaikovsky\u2019s score begins playing. Clara is twenty-three years old and her pesky brother Fritz is nowhere in sight. Her godmother Drosselmeyer gives off the air of that curiously well-off aunt who has no children and frequently takes exotic trips. The party guests look like they walked straight out of a Great Fashion Designs of the Twenties <\/em>Paper Doll book. Their dancing resembles the traditional party scene choreography (tap your heel, tap your toe, do a chass\u00e9, repeat on the other side) with the Charleston thrown in. A handsome male doctor Godmother Drosselmeyer met during her travels appears and piques Clara\u2019s interest, but leaves after receiving an urgent message. Cocktails are poured and gluttonously gulped, and I believe Clara\u2019s ensuing dreams of The Land of Sweets are brought on by the amount of absinthe she consumes.<\/p>\n

The Spanish Chocolate, Arabian Coffee, Chinese Tea, and Russian Candy Cane (get those fouett\u00e9s, girl!) move at turns elegantly and energetically throughout the McCune Mansion, the sunlight from each room\u2019s massive windows illuminating dust particles that shimmer as much as the dancers\u2019 costumes. The choreography of these divertissements is not as extravagant as you\u2019re likely accustomed to but the racial stereotypes are absent, which invites my favorite Youtube comment: \u201cTHE CHINESE VARIATION OH MY GOSH!!!!! THEY DIDN\u2019T USE THE FINGERS!!!!\u201d Snowflakes, flowers, and the Sugarplum Fairy make appearances, and the mysterious doctor man returns for a pas de deux with Clara that mixes ballet with Fred and Ginger-esque partnering.<\/p>\n

River of Rosewater<\/em>\u2019s omissions are curious when you consider the narrative it\u2019s based on. The nutcracker dolls that flank Clara as she sleeps do not come alive, thus there is no Nutcracker prince to accompany her throughout her dream (maybe this explains the change in title). There is no battle between soldiers and mice. Mother Ginger is M.I.A. and I dearly miss her wild flamboyance that contrasts the polished, pristine nature of all who dance before and after her.<\/p>\n

New York City Ballet\u2019s Nutcracker<\/em> choreography inspired the version I performed for eight years as a child\/teen, and when I wasn\u2019t on stage, I was voraciously consuming NYCB\u2019s VHS recording starring Macaulay Culkin (interesting side note: River<\/em>\u2019s Clara, Kathryn Morgan, began her professional career with NYCB). I was viscerally shook when Municipal\u2019s dancers didn\u2019t perform the choreography that I studied through the aforementioned ventures, but I love that they leapt out of the box. It was an original, visually captivating performance that was easy to consume in this overly digitally-saturated time. I especially enjoyed how much the camera moved throughout the film, capturing architectural and decorative details of McCune Mansion and frequently focusing on the facial expressions of the dancers. This is a short and sweet video to watch if you want to hold on to the final whispers of the holiday season.<\/p>\n