Not a hard nut to crack

When the yuletide season rolls along, it isn’t surprising that we get our annual dose of "The Nutcracker." Somehow, Christmas won’t be complete if we don’t have a "Nutcracker" moment during the holidays. Its mutations are endless: full-length ballet productions and student dance recitals, a program of its popular music in a concert, and even a movie called Barbie in The Nutcracker to amuse the little kiddies, not to mention a segment in Walt Disney’s classic Fantasia, which has given the music a whole new life.

Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, Ballet Manila artistic director, says the ballet’s enduring appeal lies in the story’s heart: "‘The Nutcracker’ is about a child with a generous heart that still knows how to fall in love unconditionally. It is this kind of love that can magically transform a wooden toy into a warm-blooded prince…"

More than its story, the Russian composer Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky blessed the ballet with timeless tunes that have caught the public’s fancy. The mystical sound of the celesta, which Tchaikovsky "discovered" for this music, has since been equated with snowflakes and things magical.

Ballet Manila restaged "The Nutcracker" last month after a year’s break, moving the production to the bigger Aliw Theater to accommodate crowds. When the company last staged it in 2003, it did 27 productions. Counting this year’s show, it has staged this ballet five times since the company’s founding in 1995. This year, it juggled four casts to fit a tight schedule before the company’s departure for a winter tour of six Russian cities.

For this year’s production, Ballet Manila mounted the Vainonen choreography as restaged by BM artistic associate Osias Barroso. It is the classic version of the ballet: her uncle Herr Drosselmeyer gifts Masha with a nutcracker for Christmas. In her dream, the Nutcracker Prince battles King Rat who, with his minions, invades the living room. The Nutcracker Prince kills King Rat with a thrust of a sword after Masha flings a shoe at the enemy and distracts him. Afterwards, the Nutcracker Prince is transformed into a handsome prince, while Masha becomes a beautiful princess. They journey to a magical kingdom where she is entertained by a parade of dances. When she wakes up, she realizes that it was all just a dream.

This version of "The Nutcracker" is close to Macuja-Elizalde’s heart because she danced the lead in this ballet at the Kirov 21 years ago as a graduating student; she was the first foreigner to ever dance the lead in this ballet at the school.

Indeed, Macuja-Elizalde dazzled as the Princess during the production’s gala night; she remains peerless. She projected joy and poise, qualities the Princess possessed. The Prince and four danseurs dance with the Princess in a spirited number that is the epitome of gracefulness; Macuja-Elizalde twirled, leapt and flew in the air with aplomb, denying the difficulties of the piece.

As the Prince, Jerome Espejo thrilled with his youth and athleticism. He had the bearing to match many of our best danseurs, and the talent to boot. His leaps were secure, his partnering matched to Macuja-Elizalde’s rhythm. Although he was still settling in as her partner that night, no doubt with more work, he would become one of her best partners.

Dancing as the Princess in the second cast was Marian Faustino. Her youth added freshness to her dancing. She could easily assume the role from Macuja-Elizalde any time and give the role her own spin. With her regular partner Gerardo Francisco, she was grace and wonder; you could see that she enjoyed dancing this role. Francisco was likewise princely as the Prince, his dancing as marvelous as in his past roles, his partnering secure and confident.

Productions of "The Nutcracker" often come with big casts, and with four rotating casts, this was, in a sense, Ballet Manila’s biggest production. Most of the characters appear in the Act 1 pantomime, and the company cast its best dancer-actors in the pivotal roles of Masha and Drossellmeyer.

BM veteran Marcus Tolentino gave life to the much-ignored role of Drosselmeyer. The plot of "The Nutcracker" might be old hat to many balletomanes, but for little kids and students, this would be all new to them. It is the character of Drosselmeyer who clarifies the story in the opening half of Act 1, and Tolentino with his polished acting did just that.

The Mashas in the two casts were Danica Rili and Patricia Hermosa, while Arnulfo Andrade and Kenneth del Rosario played the Fritzes. The cat-and-mouse play between Masha and Fritz make the story believable.

BM’s experienced dancers performed the character dances. The Act 1 dances were performed by Harold Salgado and Marvin Medina (King Rat), Sofia Sangco and Mylene Aggabao (Columbine), Rudy de Dios and Jerome Espejo (Moor), and Roduardo Ma (Harlequin). Dancing in the Act 2 divertissement were Sandra Lynn Huang and Francis Cascaño (Spanish), Marian Faustino and Gerardo Francisco, and Danica Rili and Roduardo Ma (Chinese), Roduardo Ma, Alexa Sayson, Yanti Marduli, and Jerome Espejo (Russian), Arnulfo Andrade, Bea Castañeda and Patricia Hermosa, and Kenneth del Rosario, Dawna Mangahas and Bea Castañeda (Pas de Trois), and Sarah Abigail Cruz and Jonathan Janolo (Arabian).

With this production, Ballet Manila showed that it can still dazzle ballet enthusiasts with a splendid production of "The Nutcracker." It is no wonder why many consider it to be the perfect Christmas ballet.