Taking boring out of ballet
Let's face it: The Nutcracker can be dull. So the Florida Dance Centre has decided to jazz it up.
By TERRI BRYCE REEVES
Published December 2, 2006
For 17 years, the Florida Dance Centre, formerly the West Florida Youth Ballet, has performed The Nutcracker for Tampa Bay area audiences.
This year, the satin pointe shoes are still there, but with a new spin.
There will be fresh music and 21st century choreography in this version, called The Contemporary Nutcracker. It's a Christmas concoction of old and new - a blend of ballet, hip-hop, lyrical and jazz, with a sprinkling of spicy salsa on top.
Andrea Carpenter-Ignatov, a choreographer at the Safety Harbor dance school, created the original story line. She said she was looking for a way to "showcase the students' exceptional talents" in disciplines other than ballet.
And she admitted that the classic version is a bit boring for some.
"There are people who don't identify with turn of the 19th century Russia," she said. "I've had people tell me they've seen The Nutcracker a million times and didn't really get it. This variation is something everyone will be able to relate to and understand."
The 11/2-hour show will be performed tonight and Sunday afternoon at James B. White Performing Arts Theater at Clearwater Central Catholic High School, 2750 Haines Bayshore Road.
Alexandra Kirsch, 14, of Dunedin plays the heroine, whose name has been changed from Clara in the Tchaikovsky version to Alex Winter.
In this adaptation, Alex is a modern girl who dreams not of a nutcracker but of her secret crush, who is a no-show at her birthday party. When the traditional Party Time march music garners moans from her friends, Alex switches to the N2K Nutcracker 2000, a funky, hip, techno version of the Tchaikovsky original.
And so it goes, her parents waltz to Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire by Nat King Cole.
Alex and Drosselmeyer boogie to Carol of the Bells by Mannheim Steamroller.
The Mouse King does a break dance.
As for the Sugar Plum Fairies, well, they are so yesterday. Now they are Sugar Rum Cherries dancing to blues music from The Harlem Nutcracker.
Kirsch said she has performed the classic ballet for 10 years.
"It gets boring after a while," she said. "This is much more exciting. It makes everyone happy, and the audience will be able to see new freshness and energy."
Amber Long, 14, who played Clara last year, agreed.
"Everyone is really excited about this year," she said. "The music is easier to dance to. I know my friends are going to enjoy it."
Kailee Sylvester, 8, who attends Ozona Elementary School in Palm Harbor, called the new show "a miracle."
"The music is amazing; our costumes are beautiful. I can't wait," she said.
The cast will be composed of about 60 adults and children from the Florida Dance Centre as well as Flex Performing Arts in Sarasota. Actor Timothy Foster from Miami will play the role of Drosselmeyer. Several other professional guest artists will join the production.
Last year, the dance studio purchased a production package from Oregon Ballet Theatre, which originally cost $1.2-million. The studio paid $60,000 and $18,000 more to ship it across the country.
With expenses like that, the studio wanted to be able to utilize most of the same sets, props and costumes, so in this version, Alex throws a Nutcracker-themed birthday party.
"It will keep you going, and it will keep you guessing," said Alicja Kirsch, Alexandra's mother and owner of the Florida Dance Centre. "It's completely out there."
Terri Bryce Reeves can be reached at treeves@tampabay.rr.com.