Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Michelle Dorrance’s THE NUTCRACKER SUITE charmingly and energetically ushers in the holiday season

• By drediman
• November 23, 2024
• No Comments

Last night, Dorrance Dance opened The Nutcracker Suite, a jazzy, family-friendly tap dance adaptation of the holiday classical ballet staple The Nutcracker. The evening length piece originally premiered at The Joyce Theatre in 2019 just before the pandemic struck and changed the world. For the first time since then, the production is being mounted for a brief weekend stint at the much larger New York City Center, where it’s poised to become a new holiday tradition. Co-created by the trio of Michelle Dorrance, Josette Wiggan, and Hannah Heller (all three also appear in the production), this swift, joyous riff is set to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s swinging 1960 jazz arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s immortal ear worm of a score.

The piece commences with a winning opening segment lovingly hosted by Aaron Marcellus. Featuring a small but lively onstage band, the prologue casually introduces the genuinely amiable Dorrance dancers, as well as the evening’s special guest (on Friday night, it was none other than beloved New York City Ballet principal Tiler Peck, who appeared in full Sugar Plum Fairy attire). From there, the production segues nicely into the 30-minute Ellington-Strayhorn suite, which ingeniously experiments with most of the major musical themes of the ballet. As compact as the suite is, Dorrance and company manage to essentially cram in all of the underlying ballet’s narrative, although there’s admittedly not that much plot to work with in the first place. Even if some of the storytelling is a bit rushed, there’s a scrappy “let’s put on a show” appeal that I find utterly charming. The piece was energetically danced by the company — led by an Wiggan’s ebullient performance the “Sugar Rum Cherry” — who nicely settled into the choreography’s laid back musicality and the production’s overall celebratory vibe.

From a programming standpoint, it’s a smart idea for The Nutcracker Suite to precede New York City Ballet’s definitive version of The Nutcracker — which begins performances next Friday — consciously avoiding any overlap with the behemoth George Balanchine production (as we learned in the past, New Yorkers have only have so much appetite for Clara’s adventures). Wittily and creatively designed — the sets are by Peiyi Wong, the costumes are by Andrew Jordan — there’s an intimacy and easygoing quality to the whole affair that distinguishes the work. And at only an hour long, production doesn’t outstay its welcome, making it ideal entertainment for families, especially during the busy holiday season. If anything, it left the audience wanting more. As such, the production is a welcome new addition to the city’s crowded lineup of holiday entertainment, and a terrific way to kickstart the season.

RECOMMENDED

THE NUTCRACKER SUITE
Dance
New York City Center
Approximately 1 hour (without an intermission)
Through November 24