The Nutcracker Tickets

It was more than I could imagine. I had an experience of my life.

This was the first ballet my husband and I had been to in some time and I had not seen the Nutcracker since my elementary school days. It was a lovely production with beautiful scenery and performers. We especially enjoyed the young local dancers - what a great touch! Going to the Nutcracker has reminded us how important it is to include the arts in our lives and we will be going again sooner than later!

Brought my 4 year old boy to see his first Nutcracker. He loved the 1st act with the fighting mice etc, but when those twirling ice princesses came out in their pink tutus, it was all over for us. He couldn't sit still for the rest of the show. I guess I should have predicted this. I really enjoyed the show as usual, great costumes and set design. I enjoyed the fact that they switched it up to give it an "Ottawa" feel with the changing of the guard and the parliament buildings. A nice night out for the family.

This version of the Nutcracker was a beautifully danced updated story took nothing away from the original. I first saw the Nutcracker about 30 years ago, when my great grandmother was still alive, the Christmas setting might very well have been one she recognized as a girl, and with that reference I found the story was one to which I could relate. Today's five year olds are unlikely to have an easy reference to that period - making the traditional gifts of Marzipan, Chocolate, Coffeee and Tea seem less wonderful and special but rather odd choices, and thus the story perhaps too inaccessable. This update bring the story forward just a few decades to about World War I, and makes the dances of these gifts simply ballet interpretations dances from the countries. Another touch was to bring the story to Canada - with some distinctly Canadian touches like street hockey during the overture. This said, an audience member familar with the traditional meaning of the dances would find that they were maintained and beautifully performed. I have removed one star, and this is because of one small distraction. I found Drosselmeir's inclusion in the later dances to be inappropiate. The program describes him as Clara's Godfather and the Grand Uncle to Julien approximately Clara's age (performed at about 16) which would make Drosselmeir at least 48 and likely older, yet he danced like Julien's peer. This was particularly distracting when Drosselmeir danced as part of the pair for China (Tea). China was stunningly beautiful with immaculate hair and make-up and her costume ornate making her role clear as a bell, while Drosselmeir had rather shaggy looking mop of hair, in a brocade vest and attire quite appropriate for a Eurpoean or Western Christmas in stark contrast looked out of place. Although he performed these dances well, this break in character distracted from the enjoyment of them. This distraction however did not mar the overall enjoyment and I would see the perfomance again. The only other thing I would have enjoyed to have would be the original story, made available in the program - for those of us that liked it well but need a refresher.

SECOND ACT WAS A LITTLE TOO LONG. BUT OVERALL, A VERY GOOD SHOW. ALL DANCERS ARE GOOD, MUSIC WAS INCREDIBLE.

I didn't really enjoy this version of the Nutcracker. Though it was advertised as the "traditional holiday classic," the Canadian content was irritating. The WWI soldier storyline was very strange, and the continuous presence of the Uncle in almost every scene was distracting. The timing of the dancers was off and the execution of many of the dances looking sloppy and uncoordinated. (i.e., the Russian dance and the Spanish dancers (?). I was also confused about the character of Clara's little brother. Clearly, costume and wig design was poor. As the dancer is very tiny, why not just make her a little girl? All in all, a disappointing performance.