'The Nutcracker', a real treat for ballet lovers

'The Nutcracker', a real treat for ballet lovers

By Tri Hafiningsih

JAKARTA (JP): Classical ballet performances have been rare events in the last few years. So The Nutcracker, performed here last weekend at Taman Ismail Marzuki, was a real treat for ballet fans.

The performance by dancers from the Namarina ballet school, supported by a few of the limited number of professional ballet dancers here, also attracted children as it featured their idol, singer-actress Sherina Munaf, who skyrocketed to popularity with an orchestra-backed album of songs and smash hit film Petualangan Cinta last year.

Choosing her to play Clara, one of the leading characters in the classic with music composed by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, was a smart move to make the show more appealing to the locals. The shows were packed even though most of the audience were probably unfamiliar with the legendary Christmas season classic.

People also probably turned out because ballet performances are such a rarity here. Colorful costumes and stage backgrounds were displayed throughout the two-hour show, while the dancers skillfully performed some difficult numbers of the New York City Ballet's version of the dance choreography with notable technical precision.

The opening scene featured the opulence of a 19th century Christmas party at the Stahlbaums family residence. The colorful, shiny costumes of the women and girls attending the party appropriately prepared the audience for the dreamy, out of this world atmosphere of the next scenes.

The costumes of the gentlemen guests, on the contrary, were rather dull and too modern-looking. It created a bit of a gap, separating the men characters, played by non-dancers, from the women, played by Namarina dancers. It was a little uncomfortable to see the men dancing awkwardly with the skilled women dancers in the ballroom scene of the first act.

Sherina and Kanumara Sianturi, who played the Stahlbaum children, were able to portray perfectly the excitement of the children at the joyful Christmas party. But Kanumara, who played Clara's brother, Fritz, seemed to have difficulty keeping up with the others (all the other boy characters were played by girls), in the scenes in which he had to dance.

Ginastera Sianturi, who played the Nutcracker, clearly had better experience and was able to show his ballet skills in some of the scenes, but he lacked the range of expression and appropriate costumes to support the change of characters. It was difficult for the audience to see him completely assume different roles -- as the guest of the Stahlbaum party in the opening scene, then the Nutcracker toy coming alive (the blond wig and beard helped a little) in the first act, and finally as the handsome prince who had to lead Clara in the dream. He seemed to remain Ginastera, rather than as the leading character of a grand ballet performance.

Then again, the scenes and characters in the first act were presented to build the proper atmosphere. The lack of skills of the gentlemen performers were easily forgotten with the grand costumes of the ladies, the games and shows of the mysterious, playful, magician character, Uncle Drosselmeyer, and the funny gestures of the toy soldiers and the Mouse King. All of those attractions mostly appealed to the children in the audience, who laughed, clapped and cheered at those particular scenes.

The mysterious Uncle Drosselmeyer, who came to the party to entertain the children with games and gifts, was successfully played by Edmund Gaerlan with the perfect support of a black cloak and eye patch. He also played the Cavalier Prince, dancing the grand pas de deux with the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Grand Finale just before the closing scene. In the party scene the uncle gave Clara a nutcracker toy soldier as a Christmas gift.

The first act ends with the death of the Mouse King, killed at the tip of the Nutcracker's sword. Clara helped the Nutcracker and toy soldiers, who become big and alive in Clara's dream, to victory against the invading mice.

The second act was a continuous display of skilled dancing and complicated choreography, originally designed by Lev Ivanov of the Russian Ballet at the turn of the 19th century. It started with the dancing Snowflakes, in which 12 dancers in white, flowing tutus danced the classical number on point shoes. The falling snow in the final scene featuring all the dancers, as well as Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, created a perfect, dreamlike, atmosphere.

In the Kingdom of Sweets, the Sugar Plum fairy entertained Clara with colorful dances of Hot Chocolate, Arabian Coffee, Chinese Tea, Madame Bonbonniere, Spanish, Russian and the legendary Waltz of the Flowers.

The number featuring Madame Bonbonniere was perhaps the most attractive for the by now wide-eyed, amazed children in the audience. The madame, or Mother Ginger, made a grand solo entry in her shocking-pink costume. Her ballooning petticoat-skirt surprisingly "managed" to conceal all the dancers of the Candy Cane and the polichenelles.

The second act closed with the grand pas de deux of the Sugar Plum Fairy, played in turns by Namarina's Jetty Maika and Rialita Wijaya, and the Cavalier Prince. The difficult movements and choreography of the final duet dance were perfectly carried out by the skilled, professional dancers. But it would have been even better if the dancers had more relaxed expressions during the particularly complicated number.

The elements of surprise were in the closing scene. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince bid farewell to the residents of the land of Sweets, and the audience, while "flying" over the stage. There were a few worried expressions from Clara and the Nutcracker during the short scene, showing the amusing aspects of live entertainment. And then the curtain came down, too soon for some, on a charming and diverting performance.