The Nutcracker

Dana Benton as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Yosvani Ramos as the Cavalier Photo: Amanda Tipton

Kevin Gaël Thomas as the Soldier Doll and Gregory Gonzales as Herr Drosselmeyer Photo: Amanda Tipton

The story—adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, by way of Alexander Dumas' adapted story The Nutcracker—is, simply put, about an eccentric and mysterious man with an eye patch who gives his goddaughter a nutcracker doll for Christmas, precipitating a series of wild, wonderous, and dreamy events, with insightful psychological undertones.

The ballet is filled with highlights, beginning with Herr Drosselmeyer's (Gregory K. Gonzales) incredible toys—the Columbine (Mackenzie Dessens Studinski) and the Soldier (Sean Omandam)—that come to life to dazzle the children. As always, Gonzales' pantomime says it all, as he tends to Drosselmeyer's creations which, humorously, in a mechanical fashion, imitate "real" dancers.

Leah McFadden as Clara and Artists of Colorado Ballet Photo: Amanda Tipton

Soon after Drosselmeyer's magic, which regales young and old partiers alike, Clara's dream sequence begins, with a symbolic retelling of recent events—her brother Fritz (Kevin Gaël Thomas) and his friends chasing her and her nutcracker doll at the her parents' party becomes, in her dream, the Mouse King and his soldiers chasing her and then doing battle with the Nutcracker Prince. The mice, whose death-rattle histrionics, when they are later defeated by the Nutcracker Prince's troops, are hilarious, as the audience laughter attests.

But in the process of defeating the Mouse King, the Nutcracker Prince suffers a mortal wound that, once again—just as he repaired the toy Nutcracker doll after Fritz had broken its arm—Drosselmeyer fixes, bringing the Nutcracker Prince back to life, sans mask, as Clara's coming-of-age dream partner.

Artists of Colorado Ballet Photo: Amanda Tipton

After a beautiful pas de deux between the handsome Nutcracker Prince (Jonnathan Ramirez) and the darling Clara (Leah McFadden), we are transported to the land of snow, where the snowflakes come alive, and the snow flurries on stage increase in intensity, until Clara and her Prince sail away on a magical sleigh.

Jennifer Grace and Colorado Ballet Academy students Photo: Amanda Tipton

After intermission, having observed the kids in the lobby gleefully trying to decide which character doll in the store best suits their tastes, the second act kicks off in the Land of Sweets, where Clara and the Nutcracker Prince meet the Sugarplum Fairy (Dana Benton) and her Cavalier (Yosvani Ramos), who sparkle in every detail and gesture.

As always, the lead roles and flashy divertisements are double-, triple-, and quadruple-cast, so the performance experiences are spread around, depending on the evening: Spanish Chocolate, with its snappy flair; the intimate and seductive Arabian Coffee; the comical, six-legged dragon and vaulting rider that represent Chinese Tea; the coquettish, showy Marzipan; those athletic and indefatigable Russians; the cute kids as Polichinelles; and the uproarious Mother Ginger with her contemporary dance moves.

Meistro Adam Flatt and the Colorado Ballet Orchestra perform a bright and perfectly-paced rendition of Tchaikovsky's famous score.

The Colorado Ballet's presentation of The Nutcracker runs through December 24th. For tickets: tickets.coloradoballet.org.

Bob Bows