When Dorrance Dance comes to town, a tappin’ good time is bound to unfold. And such was the case for the Bay Area premiere of The Nutcracker Suite (2019), a jazzy tap dance version of this perennial Christmas season ballet, presented by Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus this past weekend.
Danced to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s jazz interpretation of the iconic Tchaikovsky score, The Nutcracker Suite portrays a young girl’s magical Christmas imaginings in mid-20th-Century technicolor. Co-Creators, Michelle Dorrance, Hannah Heller, and Josette Wiggan, maintain the traditional Nutcracker story arc of a girl at a family party, whose Godfather “Drossy” gifts her an enchanted nutcracker. Rats fight with toy soldiers, and snow falls upon a stage filled with dancers. There are flowers that waltz, and from Mother Ginger’s skirts a dozen performers tumble out.
Andrew Jordan’s fanciful costume designs are delightful from start to finish. The Snow Passage tappers in old-school undergarments of muslin pantaloons and gathered chemises might just have woken from a long winter’s nap. The Danseurs of the Floreadores in various green floral print coveralls with overscale blooms atop their heads create a prancing spring garden of white chrysanthemums, yellow daisies and pink rose buds.
The vibe of the show is free and hip and the rhythms are swinging, as the party couples do the Lindy Hop. Drosselmeyer has the customary eye patch and cape, but his mystique is more mob boss than business man. In place of a delicate Sugar Plum Fairy, this joint has a Sugar Rum Cherry performed with magnetic sultry charm by Josette Wiggan, a co-choreographer, who also plays Clara’s mother in the earlier party scene. She is well-matched by powerful hoofer Jabu Graybeal as Her Cavalier. Tap dance has a long tradition of improvisation, and when Wiggan and Graybeal face off in a back and forth tap dance challenge, the joys of creativity, challenge, and triumph are palpable.
Performing to a recorded score with the live tapping amplified to ensure its primacy, these renowned percussive dancers display a spectacular range of steps, both in their large exuberant unison sequences and in their individual improvisational moments. At times the recording is paused and the varied rhythms of tapping, scuffing, shuffling feet fill the room, as in the Snow Passage. A pair pours sand upon the floor and then rhythmically brush their soles over the grains, creating a scratchy undercurrent as others glide, twirl, kick and beat across the floor with bubbles of snowflakes falling from above.
While tap dance and its many variations make up the lion’s share of the dancing, there is an awe-inspiring breakdance section which finds the gravity-defying duo of Zakhele "Bbody Swazi" Grabowski and Matthew "Megawatt" West, dressed in red Russian fur hats, spinning on their heads, bouncing in one arm handstands, and churning around the stage in a playful display of athleticism.
Grandparents and their grandchildren make up a healthy portion of the Sunday matinee audience, causing me to recall the classical ballet Nutcracker performances of my youth. I remember feeling bored by the slow adagio sequences and uncomfortable in a scratchy dress. So, it is all the more fun to sense the wonderment around us as the children respond by gasping at the giant rat puppet (a huge head and a pair of person-sized paws, each maneuvered by its own dancer). They thrill in the turn of events as the dancing rats, tapping high on their toes, encircle the cowering party guests only to trapped themselves as the ingenious footwork of the guests overtakes them. Their conflict is eventually solved when the Rat Deputy is offered a cheese platter and all slink off for a feast.
I also appreciate the ungendered casting, with a woman, Veronica Simpson, as the Nutcracker, and flowers, rats, and soldiers of all genders. Mother Ginger’s children, the Stepperi of the Volga, wear gender blending or gender inclusive costumes of Eastern Europe, with both and male and female tappers in the traditionally female ribboned-headdress and Ukrainian Cossacks’ pants which are loose in the hips and legs but tight at the ankles and waist.
The show opens with the tap showcase An Ella’quent Holiday Swing (2021) to a live jazz trio performing a la the style of Ella Fitzgerald. Tap dance headliners Michelle Dorrance and guest artist Melinda Sullivan joined by members of the Dorrance Dance company take turns showing off their specialty steps in this fast-moving display of skill and finesse danced in front of a colorfully lighted tinsel drop. Luke Hickey appears to float on his toes as he moves speedily across the stage with rapid-fire tiny steps. The multi-talented and charismatic Aaron Marcellus, who with bassist Gregory Richardson created the musical arrangements, also serves as our emcee, lead vocalist, and piano player. He even gets up to tap dance in an ensemble moment. The music, which includes vocals by Marcellus, Dorrance and others, is comprised of jazz arrangements of familiar holiday tunes like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Jingle Bells,” as well as blues tunes such as Count Basey’s “Good Morning Blues.” The sound levels are such that the introductions of each dancer’s name is unfortunately unintelligible and some lyrics get lost, but given their familiarity this isn’t particularly troublesome. What shines through is the intricate percussive footwork’s lively interplay with the drums, bass, and piano, adding richness and interest with each toe strike.
A good time was had by all, and at just over an hour in length even the youngest audience members were pleasantly left wanting more.
Review by Jen Norris, published December 17 2024
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Saturday, December 14, 2024, 8pm Sunday, December 15, 2024, 3pm
Zellerbach Hall
Dorrance Dance The Nutcracker Suite
Artistic Director Michelle Dorrance
Co-Creators Michelle Dorrance, Hannah Heller, and Josette Wiggan
Performers Sydney Burtis, Warren Craft, Michelle Dorrance, Zakhele “Bboy Swazi” Grabowski, Jabu Graybeal, Asha Griffith, Sterling Harris, Hannah Heller, Luke Hickey, Rena Kinoshita, Addi Loving, Aaron Marcellus, Carson Murphy, Maddie Murphy, Claudia Rahardjanoto, Gregory Richardson, Leonardo Sandoval, Gisele Silva, Veronica Simpson, Matthew “Megawatt” West, Josette Wiggan
An Ella’quent Holiday Swing (2021)
Music Direction & Arrangements Aaron Marcellus and Gregory Richardson after Ella Fitzgerald and Frank DeVol
Vocal Arrangements Aaron Marcellus
Lighting Design Kathy Kaufmann
Costume Styling An Ella’quent Holiday Swing performers
Sound Design Christopher Marc Lead Vocals
Aaron Marcellus
Drums Warren Craft
Piano Aaron Marcellus
Bass Gregory Richardson
Backing Vocals Michelle Dorrance, Addi Loving, Claudia Rahardjanoto, and special guest Melinda Sullivan
Featured Soloists Michelle Dorrance, members of the company, and Melinda Sullivan
“Brighten the Corner Where You Are” written by Charles Hutchinson Gabriel and Ina Duley Ogdon; “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane; “Good Morning Blues” by Count Basie, Eddie Durham, and James Rushing; “Sleigh Ride” written by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish, Woodbury Music Company and SonyATV Music Publishing, copyright owners; “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” written by Johnny Marks; “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne; “Jingle Bells” written by Frank Devol and James Pierpont
The Nutcracker Suite (2019) or, a rhythmaturgical evocation of the super-leviathonic enchantments of Duke and Billy’s supreme adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece that tells a tale of a misunderstood girl who kills a king and meets a queen and don’t forget oooo-gong-chi-gong-sh’-gon’make-it-daddy, and that it ain’t so bad after all
Co-Creators Michelle Dorrance, Hannah Heller, and Josette Wiggan
Choreography Michelle Dorrance and Josette Wiggan with solo improvisation by the dancers
Additional Choreography Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie, Zakhele “Bboy Swazi” Grabowski, Hannah Heller, Matthew “Megawatt” West, and Joseph Wiggan
Choreographic Advisor Risa Steinberg
Original Music Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arr. Ellington/Strayhorn By arrangement with G Schirmer, INC. publisher and copyright owner, courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment, all rights reserved
Lighting Design Kathy Kaufmann
Costume Design Andrew Jordan
Sound Design Christopher Marc
Set Design Peiyi Wong Production Team and Additional Design
Production Manager Christropher Marc
Company Manager Sally Race
Lighting Supervisor Devin Koenig
Production Wardrobe Supervisor Amy Page
Touring Wardrobe Supervisor Hannah Dowdy
Audio Engineer Henry Mayr
Project Manager Hannah Heller
Assistant Scenic Design Maya Topping Weed
Additional Scenic Design & Build Ariel Lauryn
Additional Rat Puppet Fabrication Amelia Lang
Mother Ginger Design and Build Carolyn Mraz
CAST
Clara Gisele Silva
Her Mother Josette Wiggan
Her Father Jabu Graybeal
Her Brother, Fritz Luke Hickey
Her Godfather, Drosselmeyer (Drossy) Warren
Craft Party Guests Zakhele “Bboy Swazi” Grabowski, Asha Griffith, Aaron Marcellus, Carson Murphy, Maddie Murphy, Claudia Rahardjanoto, Matthew “Megawatt” West
“Mechanical” Dolls Maddie Murphy, Matthew “Megawatt” West,
The Nutcracker Veronica Simpson
Rat King Hannah Heller
Rat Deputy Leonardo Sandoval
The Rats Sydney Burtis, Sterling Harris, Rena Kinoshita, Addi Loving, Aaron Marcellus, Maddie Murphy, Gregory Richardson
The Snow Passage Jabu Graybeal, Asha Griffith, Sterling Harris, Luke Hickey, Rena Kinoshita, Addi Loving, Claudia Rahardjanoto
Sugar Rum Cherry Josette Wiggan
Her Cavalier Jabu Graybeal
Sugar Rum Blossoms Addi Loving, Carson Murphy, Maddie Murphy
Mother/бабушка Gingembre Claudia Rahardjanoto
Stepperi of the Volga Company
Danseurs of the Floreadores Company
Alchemist Matthew “Megawatt”
West Swing Sydney Burtis
Understudy Michelle Dorrance
The Nutcracker Suite was commissioned and created in part with the support of the Joyce Theater Foundation’s Artist Residency Center, made possible by lead funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The Nutcracker Suite was co-commissioned by Global Arts Live, with support from Eric Klotch and Catherine Owens—Global Arts Live
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