Christmas Traditions: The Moscow Ballet's Nutcracker

Principal dancers, Mykhailo Shcherbakov and Olga Pasternak of The Moscow Ballet.

Perhaps nothing harkens back to a traditional Christmas like The Nutcracker Ballet.  First performed in 1892 in St. Petersburg, it like Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty are Russian ballet to its core. Undergirded with music by the renowned composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker celebrates its 75th anniversary since it was first performed here in the US in December of 1944.

The Moscow Ballet is now on its 27th North American Tour, making 144 stops along the way. Each stop requires a meticulous set up of special stage matting as well as lighting, scenery, costumes, and effects. Rehearsals are done on stage prior to the first performance to allow a thorough warm-up.

Warming up with rehearsal time before The Nutcracker performance.

The Moscow Ballet's Nutcracker production offers much more than the original, classical ballet. Included are extremely powerful, yet controlled grande jetes and tour en l' air by the male danseurs, yet innovative moves showing extreme flexibility as shown in the Arabian Variation in Act II.  
Some of my personal favorites included the high-speed pirouettes by The Nutcracker Prince and the tender pas de deux between him and Masha. Other highlights included the corps de ballet for the Waltz of the Flowers and the Sugar Plum Fairy's dance. The whole production is absolutely breathtaking and ethereal!

Mykhailo Shcherbakov exquisitely danced the part of The Nutcracker

Mykhailo shared that this was his first tour with the Moscow Ballet. He began his studies back in Russia at age 10 and is now in a different city nearly every day.  As a principal danseur, he has the added difficulty of performing with a masked costume, (see him holding it here).  None the less he put in a stellar performance with both sword and mask in tow. 

Shcherbakov is both explosive and masterful in his dance portrayal of The Nutcracker

Olga Pasternak as The Kissy Doll

Olga has been on tour with The Moscow Ballet for all four seasons and has been the prima ballerina in the troop's production of Romeo and Juliet. She began her dance studies at age 5 and is a principal ballerina for this ballet troop.  Her extreme flexibility and strength allow her to personify a beautiful yet mechanical ballerina doll in the ballet. She looked just like the ballerina in my musical jewelry box...an outstanding performance!

Olga Pasternak as the prima ballerina in Romeo and Juliet

The Moscow Ballet will be performing The Nutcracker at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theater on December 13th and 14th. This is a lavish holiday celebration for the entire family but you'll need to get tickets early as the program I attended was practically sold out. 
One of the reasons is that The Nutcracker includes a large cast of children from local dance schools so their parents and relatives are often also in attendance.
Still, if you want to see a Russian ballet like The Nutcracker, you will not see a more opulent and authentic production than that performed by The Moscow Ballet. Get tickets and tour dates online at: Nutcracker.com 

The Lobby at Raritan Valley Community College Theater in Somerville, NJ

Photo by James Birder-Tour Manager for The Moscow Ballet