Nutcracker - The Story of Clara, Australian Ballet, State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne, Wednesday June 7th 2017
"Nutcracker - The Story of Clara" choreographed by Graeme Murphy was presented by The Australian Ballet at the State Theatre, Arts Centre, Melbourne on Wednesday June 7th 2017For those new to my blog I write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre. I buy my own tickets. So if you want a re-telling of the story please refer to the links for further information or for further insights. Note, that I may provide different links for repeated main words or phrases. I write for my memories of what I have seen, and is more of a stream of consciousness.
"Nutcracker - The Story of Clara" choreographed by Graeme Murphy is my favourite version of this beautiful Christmas story. This is the fourth time I have seen this ballet presented by The Australian Ballet at the State Theatre, Arts Centre in Melbourne.
In summary the dancing was sublime but the scene changes in Act Two were clunky and created unnecessary pauses and disrupted the flow. So therefore my overall rating dropped from what should have been a minimum 9/10 experience.
On a more positive note the re-interpretation of the concept by Graeme Murphy and Kristian Fredrikson stands the test of time: being 25 years since "Nutcracker - The Story of Clara" was first realised. The more I see this ballet the more depth I see in Graeme Murphy's choreography. For the first time I realised the formation of the eighteen snowflakes at the end of Act One created the capital letter N - for Nutrcracker. Magical stuff.
I have tears in my eyes whenever I tell people about this version of "Nutcracker - The Story of Clara" as it tells the back-story of the origins of The Australian Ballet.
I adore the pre-show reveal of the children playing in the Australian backyard under the iconic Hills Hoist clothes-line.
Chrissa Keramidas danced the role of Clara, the Elder with grace and assurance. She showed us the wealth of her international experience and wisdom in her impressive performance. Welcome home Chrissa Keramidas to the Australian stage and we hope to see more of your charisma.
Clara, the Child was danced beautifully by Jessica Stratton-Smith.
Amy Harris danced the role of Clara, the Ballerina exquisitely.
The three Clara's danced together in short moments of recognition creating poignant vignettes.
Yes Colin Peasley knocked over one of the Babushka dolls and quickly picked it up and put it back in its position. He replaced this doll so naturally so as not to disrupt the line of dolls created by the group of Russian Emigre Friends. To break the perfect line would be to be disrespectful to their disciplined ballet training. By ensuring he contributes, to create the beautiful straight line of dolls, added a little bit of realistic tension to their relationships. I cannot remember this moment from previous viewings but it should be kept in.
The dropped bread in the picnic scene always brings gasps from the audience. This highlights the tension of the Russian class structure and is a simple device to provide so much background information and depth to the story.
I cannot rave enough about the quality of the dancing in "Nutcracker - The Story of Clara". The young children were flawless and exciting to watch.
Andrew Killian as the Doctor sat for an extended period of time before making the transformation to the Beloved Officer. Clara, the Ballerina danced by Amy Harris was breathtaking. The first entrance together down the stairs to Andrew Killian lifting her onto his shoulder was cautious and with foundation. I am in awe at the trust of these two brilliant dancers as he had been sitting for a long time and then in such a short walk is expected to be fully charged to support her. So me describing their first lift as cautious is such a tribute to the respect and delicate situation they portrayed.
Amy Harris and Andrew Killian were exquisite in their pas de deux. Yes slightly off balance and needed some correction - but this was team work. Some of the lifts are taxing. When Amy Harris threw herself into Andrew Killian 's arms - the audience drew audible gasps. The lack of applause was because the audience were internally beating their hearts in recognition of such incredible trust and beauty. I know my heart was pounding with admiration and I have tears in my eyes now as I remember this moment.
The picnic scene was danced beautifully by Christopher Rodgers-Wilson, Jake Mangakahia, Dana Stephenson and Valerie Terschechenko who differentiated the class structure to the two passing peasants.
The change-over from Clara, the Elder to Clara the Ballerina, in the bed upstairs, was not as neat as other performance. A small quibble, but I relished it as every other performance was seamless. I must confess that I wanted to see how they did the change-over. I knew it would be a simple stage trick but I had been imagining a secret compartment or a spring loaded bed (all in keeping with the magic of the Nutcracker's theme). So, I must admit I was very grateful for this revelation of magic. In doing so, my heart leapt with joy at the simplicity of the design.
The orchestra led by Simon Threw received thunderous applause for their brilliant performance. The most magical moment is the transition from the overture playing on the radio to the orchestra joining in. This is an absolutely priceless segue that highlights the magic yet to come.
I hope one day The Australian Ballet would do an entire season of Graeme Murphy's works, including "Swan Lake", "Tivoli", "Beyond Twelve" and of course "Nutcracker - The Story of Clara".
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