INTERVIEW: National Ballet Theatre of Odessa visits NJPAC for ‘Nutcracker’
Photo: The National Ballet Theatre of Odessa will perform The Nutcracker Sunday, Dec. 16 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Photo courtesy of NJPAC / Provided by Prana Marketing with permission.
The National Ballet Theatre of Odessa from the Ukraine is making a rare tour of the United States and bringing audience members a fully-staged production of The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The iconic holiday staple will be performed Sunday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The show, which charts a young girl’s journey into a mystical land of toy soldiers and dancing mice, will feature 55 performers, said Igor Levin, president and CEO of Hollywood Stars International Management.
“It’s a classical production,” he said in a recent phone interview. “It’s great, great, great.”
The NJPAC performances will feature “authentic Russian choreography,” according to the theater’s official website. Levin added that there are only professionals of the highest level on stage; that means even the children parts are played by trained adults.
“Audience can expect from this performance great music, great production and high level of dance,” Levin said.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The National Ballet Theatre of Odessa will perform The Nutcracker Sunday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey. Click here for more information and tickets.
National Ballet of Odessa. “Sleeping Beauty” in Fort Lauderdale.
This is a third rate ballet company, unfortunately. The training of the dancers, their competency, and the choreography are all far below American and international high standards. Only two female dancers, in the roles of Aurora and Good Fairy/Lilac Fairy, were good, and their choreography was very rudimentary. In the entire first act, there were no male dancers; there were several walk-on males for scenery. The ballerinas were supported by female dancers of the corps. The music is recorded from different sources and sometimes a piano replaces the orchestra; it is disconcerting. The steps the dancers performed are very basic and simple, and were always repeated three or four times, as a first-time choreographer might do. I have never seen such dirty shoes, on both females and males; they obviously do not change very often. In the second act, of four male dancers, two could not place their feet in first position. Sad and sorry. There were many colorful costumes. (There were 23 “dancers,” not 50.)