Atlanta
Ballet’s Nutcracker at the Magnificent Fox.
Have you ever taken the chance to see a classical
ballet? Well, indulge yourself in one of the holiday seasons most treasured and
adored performances, Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker. The Nutcracker Ballet is
based on the book called "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" written
by E.T.A. Hoffman. In 1891, the legendary choreographer Marius Petipa
commissioned Tchaikovsky to write the music for the Nutcracker Ballet. I went
to see the Nutcracker at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta GA just before Christmas.
The atmosphere was perfect to go on a date for this festive play. This is my personal
critique on my experience for Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker at the Magnificent
Fox.
The Nutcracker story
is of a girl with dreams of finding a prince from a transformed nutcracker who
eventually escorts her to a land filled with conflict, tragedy, and celebration.
Although the visuals were presented very clearly, I found the story rather hard
to follow. Without any dialogue, the audience has to rely on the performance by
the talent to express every emotion. This may have been why it was difficult to
keep up with the story of the ballet. While the story may have been slightly vague, I found the dancers and the different stage
set ups to be absolutely marvelous .
The
performances in the ballet were very well choreographed and kept me
entertained. Whether it was a small child or an old woman, each character
played their role very well. During intense scenes, none of the dancers or
actors lost their composer that would have ruined the audience’s perception on
the ballet. The actors and dancers also knew their boundaries on the stage
itself. They would know just how far to go to give the audience suspense and
without putting themselves in harm. The actors in costume were one the biggest aspects
to making the ballet believable. I personally know it must have been difficult
to see out of the costumes and yet all of them performed with flawless execution.
And if performance was not enough,
during the snow scene, they add had simulated snow actually fall onto the audience
up front. Now even this made me feel like a little kid again because of how mesmerized
I was in this spectacular.
The
design of the set was the establishing setting for the audience and also what
made the ballet better to understand. Designed to resemble a village in the
1800s, the set really helped me to imagine and believe the characters on stage.
The lights played a role in setting some of the moods that were depicted in
some scenes. For example the Rat King made
an entrance in a dark gloomy setting. Finally, to add to the overall design,
the orchestra performed at peak performance with classics such as the Nutcracker March and the Sugar Plum Dance.
In
my conclusion, the legendary Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky is great ballet to take someone
on a date or just some festive fun for the whole family. The story may be a
little difficult to understand but the performance do more than make up for this
divergence. The Fox theatre is Atlanta Georgia’s most beautiful marvels that
everyone must experience. Take the time to enjoy a classical play or ballet and
I guarantee it will give a better appreciation for theatre.
