What Dreams are Made of: A Nutcracker Ballet Review

The cast of the Connecticut Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Photo from The Connecticut Ballet

This is what dreams are made of— toy soldiers battling mice, dancing snowflakes, a land of sweets, and a Pas De Deux with a sugar plum fairy. The tradition of The Nutcracker Ballet meets Stamford, Connecticut’s gorgeous Palace Theatre. Under the direction of Brett Raphael, the Connecticut Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker adds another beautifully executed iteration in observance of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s timeless tale. This production brings to life the enchantment of Christmas, the joy of the theater, and the beauty of ballet.

Clara Stahlbaum, played by Florence Redpath, is gifted a Nutcracker doll by her uncle Herr Drosselmeyer, portrayed by Patrick Piras. The Nutcracker doll becomes the focus not just of Clara but also of her jealous brother. After an eventful Christmas Eve party, Clara leaves the wooden doll by the tree and tucks in to go to sleep. With a sprinkle of some magic, Herr Drosselmeyer gifts Clara an experience of a lifetime. Clara dreams of a battle and being saved by the Nutcracker, who becomes the thing of dreams— a prince. Snow fairies and maidens dance as Clara joins in, filling up on the wonder of the night.

As magnificent as the entire production is, the children add a layer of joy that makes the experience much more grand. The Mouse King, played by Gabriel DeRego, performed valiantly, even as the baby mice steal the show. The Snow King and Queen, portrayed by Carla Hernandez and Marcus Salazar, accompanied by the snowflakes (Clarissa Jackson, Violetta Komyshan, Mary Ann Massa, Colleen McKenzie, Camila Pino, Ava Prentice, Cassie Punzo, and Aneroid Re), dance elegantly in white costumes reminiscent of a fresh snowfall. The parade of sweets, bakers, Candy Canes, Dew Drop, and Sugar Plum fairies add whimsical layers to the dream sequence.

The intricacies of the stage design add to the awe— seeing the living room set fall away to create space for the exaggerated dream sequence, seeing the Christmas tree grow right before our very eyes in the smoothest stage transition I’ve ever witnessed is just a small portion of this production’s glory. John Salutz’s lighting design accents scenes and transitions seamlessly. Elena Comendador and Christina Giannini’s costume designs are beautiful, elegant, and vibrant accents to each scene, adding noticeable quality to each dancer’s movement.

Brett Raphael’s choreography and staging highlight elements of this production, Hoffmann’s story, and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s music in unforgettable ways. We’ve all seen different iterations of The Nutcracker; we’ve all heard Tchaikovsky’s numbers, be it in the ballet or in holiday films of any era, but the way this production’s choreography hugs the melody of each musical number uplifts each note, bringing the familiarity and genius of the music to the surface of our senses as we’re wrapped into each pirouette.

There is a lot that gets lost in the hand-me-down of tradition. While the overall work lives on, the importance of each element gets more and more lost with each generation. Brett Raphael and the Connecticut Ballet understands what is necessary to uplift each moving part of a ballet, as is evident in the ooohs and ahhhs of the audience throughout this production. There’s a delicate balance required to meld together the classic of a 207-year-old story, 131-year-old music, with the needs and desires of a modern audience that this production achieves.

While this Stamford performance was a two-night-only event, visit https://www.connecticutballet.org/ for tickets to the Friday, December 22nd, and Saturday, December 23rd, shows at The Bushnell in Hartford.