Not just for kids!
The Nutcracker is an old Christmas favourite. A story about a little girl Clara and a dream she has about her toy nutcracker (a Christmas gift from a sometimes-sinister godfather/uncle/watchmaker figure... portrayals of this character vary) in which he battles the rat king and takes her to a land of confectionery. There's a lot more to the story if you want to go digging into E.T.A. Hoffmann's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King or Alexandre Dumas' The Tale of the Nutcracker but the ballet, to those of us who didn't do the research, is very much the broad strokes of the story.
The last time I saw the Nutcracker I was probably about 8 years old. I remember having nightmares, mostly about the figure of the nutcracker himself. And while it is true that this is a family friendly ballet that seems to be aimed at children, I think I enjoyed the experience much more as an adult. As a fidgety child it was all creepy inexplicable creatures, shadowy mansions and too much dancing. As an adult I can appreciate the fantasy and the symbolism and much more importantly the fluid and dynamic grace of the human body as it moves to music. (Tchaikovsky's score is a treat in itself and was beautifully played by the Vancouver Opera Orchestra.)
The Goh ballet is a training studio and there are certain things you need to expect: some very young children on stage (surprisingly professional and disciplined for their age), large group scenes that give everyone a “time to shine,” and rotating main characters from night to night (my head hurts when I think how challenging it must have been to rehearse such a huge cast when every performance has different principles).
Many of these dancers are still learning their craft. That said, I think ability was well matched to role size and complexity. The little mice were just adorable (and I'm not usually one to coo over children) and the older dancers certainly held their own. I would like to particularly congratulate Shoya Ishibashi, Sara Carver, Janica Grenier and Vlademir Pereira. I felt that the standard of performance was very high. The “acting” at the beginning went on a bit too long and indicative, but it was a ballet, not a play and the dancing was precise and heartfelt.
The only really disappointing element was the “grand pas de deux” between the Sugarplum Fairy and the Cavalier Prince, the two imported principal dancers. It looked to me like perhaps they didn't have time to rehearse or choreograph that piece (I have no idea how long guest performers get to work with the company) because it was evident that the dancers were very talented and the choreography up to that point had been interesting to watch. Unfortunately that particular piece is meant to be the climax of the show (with some really stirring crescendos in the musical score) and it fell rather flat. Michele Wiles performed a great number of technically very impressive pirouettes -- but after the first dozen, I just did't care any more. And Cory Stearns didn't seem to have much to do other than steady his partner and twirl her around a little. I'm not sure what was missing in that scene, I'm not a ballet connoisseur, but I felt it was repetitive and disconnected. Not nearly as emotionally or spatially interesting as the pieces that had come before it.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Goh Ballet's Nutcracker and I encourage those of you who think it's “just a kids show” to go anyway. The ballet has a rich history and you never know what nuggets you might stumble upon. The dancers at Goh Ballet are certainly very talented and I look forward to seeing their next production.