‘Nutcracker’
chauffeurs in winter season
By Jack Schneider
On-line Forty-Niner
 Witnessing
the awesome transformation of reality into
a wonderland dream, audiences were pleased
with the Festival Ballet Theater’s
and the Children of Southland Ballet Academy’s
production of “The Nutcracker” Saturday
at the Carpenter Center of Performing Arts.
Gallant
ballet performances choreographed by Salwa
Rizkalla, lavish sets and the Cal State
Long Beach symphony, led by Richard Rintoul,
all helped make the transformation.
Rintoul
led the 75 piece orchestra with vigor and
perfection, a performance that Tchaikovsky
would be pleased with if he heard it today.
The acoustics in the auditorium along with
every little note played made the music
come to life.
The
main character, Clara, played by Hannah
Ray, is taken by surprise to find that her
broken nutcracker has the power to change
a simple household into a winter’s paradise.
Included in that paradise are snow angels,
toy soldiers, gigantic mice and, of course,
the Sugar Plum Fairy played by Meghan Van
Winkle.
Van
Winkle, in addition to playing the fairy,
portrayed the grown up Clara and an Arabian
dancer. All of her performances were nothing
short of graceful, blending the music and
dancing in superb synchronicity. Her
performance as the Sugar Plum Fairy proved
to be rather comical as she performed the
robot and the running man (or better yet,
the running fairy.)
Along
with Van Winkle was Griff Braun, playing
Cavalier. Braun’s ballet skills wowed the
audience and stole the heart of Clara. Aeronautical
leaps and stylish ballet moves were a hit
with the crowd. The couple had excellent
chemistry on stage.
Along
with the dancers came the sets, design and
the costumes. The costumes were very elegant
with lush syrupy colors that seemed to tailor
the dancers perfectly. Each sequence would
flash from rich warm colors like red and
yellow during a scene with high rhythmic
dancing, to the mellow cold colors of blue
and white when there was a scene of
sadness or tranquility.
One
thing that could have been worked on were
the sets, in which the backdrop could have
been more three dimensional, as opposed
to a flat fake-looking setting. Above all,
“The Nutcracker” was a smash at the Carpenter
Center and will continue to dazzle audiences
throughout the holidays.
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