The Metropolitan Ballet's "The Nutcracker"

Image found here

Every year since 2011, I try to see the ballet of The Nutcracker. I was originally going to see it at the Kennedy Center, but their performances are usually during the week of Thanksgiving, and this year I was traveling. But I recently learned about a local company, the Metropolitan Ballet, which features many students from the DMV area. I knew it wouldn't be the same as seeing a professional company like the Joffrey or Ballet West, but I'd still get my Nutcracker fix.

The performance was at Montgomery College's Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center. Google Maps directed me to the campus' technology building, so I did make my way through and around buildings for a while before I finally spotted a map and made it to the right place just in time. 

Claire Gotzman, above, played Clara the day I saw the show. Image found here.

As usual, I took notes during the intermission and afterwards on what I thought of the performance. Here are my thoughts:

• Some of the dancers wore masks, and some did not. I'm not sure if it was a personal preference thing, or the larger groups had to because they were together... Clara was the only character who started out wearing a mask but removed it later. It was a little strange to see performers in masks, but then again, COVID-19 is still a very real threat right now. 
• Since a lot of the dancers were young students and this isn't a world-renown company, of course the dancing wasn't the best. Many of the kids seemed to be off the beat of the music, which is kind of crucial to good dance! Even some of the older dancers, like the snowflakes, were not cohesive in their movements; if the group is not in sync, even if only one person is off, it brings the whole group down. Amr Farouk Mohyeldin as the Snow King almost missed his lift! But I do think Claire Gotzman who played Clara has some potential. While her pantomiming was a bit over-the-top, she was very graceful and seemed quite talented. I also thought the prince, played by Shady Mohamed, was one of the stronger dancers (and was giving me total Regé-Jean Page à la Bridgerton vibes). Some of the dancers were technically sound, like Nicole O'Keefe as the columbine doll or Ava Garzan as the French marzipan, but I wasn't getting the joy and grace from them like I expect from ballerinas; it was more like they were just going through the motions.
• I was pleasantly surprised to see so many women playing roles that are traditionally played by men. I assume this is because not many men continue to do ballet unless they become quite successful at it, while women who love to dance keep doing it. I really liked Jennifer Hausdorfer as Drosselmeyer, and women also played the role of the soldier doll and the nutcracker.
• None of the costumes blew me away, but again, I wasn't really expecting much from a local company. But some of the costumes really didn't do it for me. The little boys at the party in the beginning looked like race horse jockeys (and played their trumpets like trombones; so distracting!), and Ashley Gray as Dew Drop looked like she was wearing a child's leotard. No tutu or anything!
• I wasn't a fan of their interpretation of the mice. Little kids were playing the mice, which is fine, but some of their dance included wiggling their butts at the audience and other characters, which I thought was very weird and almost inappropriate. I also didn't like that one of the mice was actually SHOT by a cannon and had to whimper her way across stage; no one wants to see an animal, even a fake one, wounded (plus, with all of the school shootings going on, I just thought this was in poor taste). I think this could have been done in a better way.
• I also though many of the "Kingdom of Sweet" dances left something to be desired. The Spanish Chocolate dance really didn't seem that flamenco-inspired, and both the Chinese Tea and Russian Candy Cane dances I felt were short and awkward. I do love the music of the Arabian Coffee part; it always makes me think of the dancing fish in Fantasia (video clip here). But in this version, it was mostly a bunch of girls doing yoga moves on stage, like three-legged dog and standing splits. I also think the midriff costumes, while certainly traditional, are harder to pull off when you aren't a professional ballerina; I'm all for body positivity, but I do wonder if some of the young women felt uncomfortable having to wear tummy-baring tops.

This is by far my favorite interpretation of the Arabian Coffee dance:

But all in all, I was quite pleased with the performance. Seeing as I came in with low expectations, I did enjoy myself, and thought most of the dancers did a pretty good job for mostly students. I was pleasantly surprised, and I am glad I didn't miss my annual Nutcracker tradition!

You can see some more photos and videos on the Metropolitan Ballet's Facebook page. If you would like to see this traditional holiday ballet but don't want to pay a high price, you can still buy tickets to see this local show for this coming weekend!