It is common nowadays to follow dancers, companies and critics on social media, which creates a pre-performance buzz raising expectations of the upcoming performance. Plus this is augmented in the live cinema relay with the grand introduction from Darcey Bussell and behind the scenes footage of Lesley Collier coaching Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae for the Sugar Plum pas de deux.
This year’s Nutcracker by the Royal Ballet opened beautifully and I tweeted the ROH# that the first act was flawless. The Royal Ballet School children were splendid, Clara’s pointe work was light and fluffy and spot on, all the characters in every scene played their parts and danced perfectly. Gary Avis as Herr Drosslemayer was masterful throughout, and brought such an over-arching confidence to the whole ballet, we could really relax and enjoy it.
The Snowflakes, whose relentless training we had seen in rehearsal were perfectly timed and placed, and the close camera work conveyed their enjoyment of the performance.
The the arrival of the Sugar Plum fairy and her Prince. Steven McRae shone with confidence as always – he is certainly at the top of his art form. Sarah Lamb seemed nervous from the outset, and although her costume was shinging with glitter and diamantes, I didn’t feel she enjoyed the performance. She didn’t seem to settle well on stage and I found her smile to be more automatic than expressive. I understand it’s an incredibly difficult pas de deux, but I ddin’t feel her command of the stage. I think she might be disappointed with her performance, but it’s all there, and perhaps the expressive joy will shine through another night.
It was a beautiful production and I look forward to watching it every year from now on to compare to my first experience.