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A Lovely Nutcracker at Media City Ballet
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Ryan Jones
Photo by Chris Komashko
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By Don Kolman
There are times when being a dance reviewer is not fun – this is NOT one of those occasions. Media City Ballet and Artistic Director Natasha Middleton-Kettebekov can be justly proud of their recent production of the Nutcracker at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.
The choreography by Askar Kettebekov is just right for this company. It is quite lovely yet simple enough that the company is able to master it thoroughly. It is not choreography for the Kirov or New York City Ballet, but then itshouldn’t be. Mr. Kettebekov did a masterful job and is to be congratulated.
It is interesting to note that many of the problems encountered by small regional and local companies are quite similar to those encountered by the major national touring companies. Finding enough talented dancers to fill a corps de ballet is always a major problem. Middleton-Kettebekov has successfully solved this problem by utilizing a small, well-trained corps dancing relatively simple choreography. The corps was very nice, indeed.
It seems that for every excellent male dancer there are many more excellent female dancers. Good or excellent well- rounded male dancers are definitely few and far between. Young male dancers tend to see themselves primarily as solo bravura dancers and not as partners. Thus they are weakest in partnering, and this was certainly true on Friday evening. There were times when one feared for the safety of the ladies. Lifts were frequently strained and, on occasion, appeared difficult to sustain.
Ellen Rosa as the Snow Queen appears to be the senior of the company’s ballerinas and does a number of things quite well. Though not graced with the ideal body for a ballerina, she dances quite well. She turns nicely and holds excellent balances. Miss Rosa acts quite well and exhibits a regal appearance.
Arsen Serobian, the Snow King, though relatively small, is a very striking danseur and an excellent solo dancer. He has a very nice line and partners well on the floor. He does, however, have some difficulty both lifting his partner and maintaining the lift.
April McLeod, the Sugar Plum Fairy, looks every inch the ballerina. She has a lovely line, pleasing facial expression, and her point work is excellent. Her one weakness is a rather stiff back.
Jordi Ribera, the Prince, is obviously an experienced danseur. He solos well, and though he had some problems with his lifts, was the most able male partner. He has nice speed.
Ryan Jones as the Nutcracker is young and obviously still learning. Mr. Jones exhibits one weakness that sadly is typical of small companies. He and several other dancers seemed to tire as the evening progressed. With the limited funding with which companies like Media City Ballet have to work, it is extremely difficult (impossible) to hire dancers full time. Thus dancers in these companies must have other full time jobs and are unable to maintain themselves in top physical condition.
All of the variation dancers presented themselves well and danced with brio. In the Spanish Dance, Tyler Nelson showed great strength and Felicia Guzman executed crisply. Tatiana A’Virmond was quite charming in the Chinese Dance. The Russian Dance, though always a crowd pleaser, is often danced by dancers who are not company members but are simply brought in for this dance. This does not appear to be the case here. Pavel Ryabokon, Yelena Zerkovska and Ina Haybaeck-Rogers were just right. They all danced well but did go overboard to the point of the absurd.
All in all it was a most pleasant evening. If one is looking to introduce a child or grandchild to the ballet, this is an excellent place to do so.
Media City Ballet will be dancing Madama Butterfly Feb. 27-28 at the Pasadena Central Library, Hansel & Gretel May 13-14 at the Alex Theatre, and Pasion de Espana August 19-20 at the Alex Theatre. These will all most definitely be worth the time, the effort, and the expense to attend.
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