Review: NUTCRACKER at San Francisco Ballet Casts an Enchanting Spell for the Holidays

I will admit I find it a bit hyperbolic when folks make claims like “dance can heal the world,” but after experiencing the transcendent opening night performance of San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker, I feel they have a point. Seeing a stage full of dozens and dozens of dancers, many of them world-class, in a virtual rainbow of skin tones and ages as they happily danced their hearts out to bring a timeless holiday tale to life felt like a utopia of sorts, even if it only lasted for two hours. When you throw in the endlessly alluring snow scene that concludes Act I, in the words of Ira Gershwin “Who could ask for anything more?”

SFB’s Nutcracker was choreographed in 2004 by its former artistic director, Icelander Helgi Tomasson, as a salute to his adopted hometown of San Francisco, and it veritably bubbles over with affection for the City by the Bay circa 1915. The massive Act I party scene takes place in a majestic Victorian replete with various holiday shenanigans before the proceedings move on to the Land of Snow and the garden of the Crystal Palace. Along the way, various magical events unfold to delight children of all ages.

19 years after its premiere, the production still looks fresh as newly fallen snow. Michael Yeargan’s sets beautifully conjure the San Francisco of a bygone era, even if his Crystal Palace décor feels a tad under-designed and indistinct in comparison. The late great Martin Pakledinaz’s hundred-plus costumes enchant from the ladybug outfits for the tiniest children to the sparkly snowflakes for the adult women and pastel petals for the Waltz of the Flowers.

From the crisply lilting first notes of the string section under conductor Martin West’s sure hand (has the SFB orchestra ever sounded better?), it was clear this was going to be a good night. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that the peerless Tchaikovsky score tosses off one delicious tune after another for the entire two hours.

In the central role of young Clara, San Francisco Ballet School student Danielle Hillman was everything you could want – sweet, joyful and with a dash of real gumption that showed she was definitely up for an adventure. Steven Morse was equally beguiling as Clara’s father, a role that often reads as a cipher. Morse was so understatedly gallant and attentive to his daughter, wife and party guests alike that he hearkened back to an earlier time of chivalry and comity.

Another highpoint of the party scene was the luxury casting of soloist Julia Rowe in the tiny role of a dancing doll. It’s the kind of brief and zingy solo guaranteed to get an ovation, but Rowe brought new dimensions to it. She managed the paradoxical feat of dancing with such metronomic angularity as to seem virtually animatronic even while her subtle facial expressions and the specific tilt of her head gave the doll something like a soul.

Act I ended with the rapturous snow scene that no matter how many times I’ve seen it never ceases to entrance with its crystalline patterns under a wintry sky. It reaches an apex two-thirds of the way through when the softly falling snow becomes a torrential winter wonderland. As my companion remarked afterwards, “It was so cool that you could actually hear the snow falling. It brought back memories of being a kid and rushing outside to get swept up in it.” The dancing here was once again top-notch, with Jasmine Jimison making a terrific Queen of the Snow, so impressive in her fluid and floaty line with contrasting sharp edges – the very personification of a snowflake.

The marvelous Sasha De Sola kicked off Act II as Sugar Plum Fairy, welcoming us into the world of the Crystal Palace with an amplitude of movement and extravagant line that made her a most gracious hostess. Later on, when called upon to whip through a lightning-fast series of chainé turns in the Waltz of the Flowers, De Sola showed off the dazzling technique she is known for.

The Act II specialty dances were cast with a riot of international talent. What a thrill it was to see the Japanese-born Norika Matsuyama dance with Iberian fire in the Spanish variation. American Steven Morse returned for the Arabian sequence as almost the polar opposite of his ingratiating father figure, this time all inscrutable mystery. Italian Luca Ferrò literally flew through the Chinese dragon sequence, the ultimate flibbertigibbet. Best of all was Cuban Alexis Francisco Valdes as the leader of the Russian Trepak trio. His aerial work was utterly astonishing, each mid-air split right on the money, every single time.

The scene culminated in the Grand Pas de Deux gorgeously danced by Nikisha Fogo and Aaron Robison. Fogo was truly radiant, dancing with an inner light that seemed to burn even brighter when executing the trickiest moves, such as being held triumphantly aloft in a precarious upside-down position or bounding fearlessly into a fish dive. She was more than ably aided by her magnificent partner. Robison’s stouthearted support of Fogo allowed her to truly fly, and his solos were master classes in elegance, whipping off soft-as-butter landings and gaining exceptional height in his leaps while hiding all the work.

As the Crystal Palace scene concluded with scores of dancers joyously whirling about the stage in unison, I couldn’t help feeling “Now, that is the world I want to live in.” You have until December 30th to catch the magic. Casting will change with each performance, but the depth of SFB’s talent ensures you’ll see some spectacular dancing no matter when you attend.

(all photos by Reneff-Olson Productions)

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Performances of San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker continue through Saturday, December 30th at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA. Running time is approximately two hours, including one intermission. For tickets and additional information, visit www.sfballet.org or call (415) 865-2000, M-F 10am-4pm.

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