The Nutcracker ... Re-Imagined

The original story of "The Nutcracker" ballet was written as a novella in 1816 by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Titled Nussknacker und Mausekönig, it is set as you would assume by the language in an affluent Prussian manor house at Christmastime.

In 1892, the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov turned Alexandre Dumas pere's adaptation of the story into the ballet "The Nutcracker," which became one of Tchaikovsky's most famous compositions, and perhaps the most popular ballet in the world.

future dancers in the lobby

We have seen it countless times performed by many ballet companies. The American Ballet in NY, The Washington Ballet in DC. The San Francisco Ballet in CA. We have seen other interesting interpretations in the US as well. The Pacific Northwest Ballet's version with costumes by Maurice Sendak comes to mind. And Mark Morris's imaginative "Hard Nut" which he choreographed for the Monnaie Dance Group in Brussels.

If we traveled at Christmas and it was being performed where we were, we'd go. We've seen it performed at Christmas time by the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden and the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany, both choreographed traditionally after Petipa . We saw a version by the Royal Danish Ballet at Tivoli Garden in Copenhagen which had been re-choreographed and set in the winter forests of Scandinavia.

tutus

But  the one with which we are most familiar is the New York City Ballet's version choreographed by George Balanchine. A staple of our Christmas season for many years, we must have seen the NYCB version 35 times or more! It is also choreographed after Petipa and has a very Russian feel.  And no matter how many times I saw it performed, I would always cry with happiness when the Christmas tree grew and grew and grew on stage. It was just so beautiful!

We recently went to see the Joburg Ballet's  newly re-choreographed version of "The Nutcracker" which they have dubbed, "The Nutcracker Re-Imagined." It is set in South Africa and while the plot and the music are the same, the choreography and staging are anything but Russian.

the Sangoma

To begin with, Herr Drosselmeyer is no longer a Herr. Herr is a she. And she is a Sangoma. Makes sense as the original Herr Drosselmeyer was a toymaker / inventor who also dabbled in black magic.

Like the original, it takes place on Christmas Eve and the family has gathered with friends and relatives to sing and dance and feast. The children of the house, Clara and Fritz, and their friends join the party with the adults.

Instead of setting the ballet in a snowy Prussian manor house, this Nutcracker has been re-imagined in a Colonial-style hunting lodge in the green hills of KwaZulu-Natal. The house is decorated with spears and shields and animal trophies. The chairs are upholstered in  leopard print and the curtains are zebra-striped!

The guests include the Sangoma who presents Clara with a magical Nutcracker for Christmas. But this Nutcracker is zebra-striped too. Instead of Fritz pretending to be a soldier to annoy his sister with his noisy pop gun, he gets in the way with his new soccer ball, another gift from the Sangoma. After Fritz is reprimanded for being a nuisance, he still gets even with Clara by smashing her new Nutcracker though.

After midnight, the Sangoma's magic really takes over. The tree in the background becomes an enchanted baobab Christmas tree decorated with birds of paradise and proteas.

Namaqua daisies

Instead of dreaming about giant menacing mice attacking her and the injured Nutcracker in the parlor, Clara's dream takes them underground where they are confronted by acrobatic miners wearing headlamps!

The Nutcracker turns into a Sun god, saves Clara and takes her to his magical land. Not through a pine forest to a candyland filled with candy canes and sugar plums though. The Sun god takes her instead to the vast Kalahari Desert.

In place of snowflakes dancing in falling snow, there are San rock art figures that come to life to perform. The Sangoma summons a mighty rain to wash over the thirsty Kalahari turning the desert into a valley of flowers. Not roses like in the traditional Nutcracker story. In the re-imagined version, Namaqualand daisies dance the Waltz of the Flowers!

Gumboot dancers

And there aren't any Russian Cossacks jumping and kicking up a folk dance in this version either. Instead, we had Johannesburg Gumboot dancers. (Gumboot dancing was conceived by black miners in South Africa as an alternative to drumming which authorities restricted. Like the Russian Cossack dance, the Gumboot is highly athletic and animated.)

A Dew Drop and her Cavalier would be out of place in the wide open Kalahari. In their place the Sangoma has conjured up the Sun god and Moon goddess whose eclipse dance blots out the stars to convey their impossible love.

By re-imaging this most famous European ballet and giving it a distinctly South African edge, Joburg Ballet did a great job of making The Nutcracket ballet accessible to a young South African audience. And quite frankly, to some jaded older Americans as well. I had no interest in seeing the classic version here in South Africa. The inevitable comparison would have only led to disappointment. This version however was fresh and fun and kept us enthralled.

Bravo Joburg Ballet!