Looking for a different Nutcracker

December 27, 2017 11:10 AM

The past three years I have taken my older son to the National Ballet's Nutcracker in Toronto. He loves the sparkle and dancing. However, I do not like the Kudelka version that the National Ballet seems determined to perform every. single. year. I hope that someone here could recommend another reasonably nearby performance.

I also was not very impressed with the dancing this year. I'm by no means an expert in ballet but even I could see that the dancing wasn't very tight. Last year's performance that we caught was much better, and I'll pay better attention to what dancers are performing. I can't afford to go to NYC, but we could drive to Montreal, Ottawa, or Detroit to take in another special performance of the Nutcracker. I see that there is a special "Canadian" version of the Nutcracker but that doesn't appeal to me. Again, we want a sparkly, well choreographed show. Any ideas? Or should I give up on the Nutcracker and expose my son to other ballets/dance types?

posted by biggreenplant to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

It's kind of a crazy drive from Toronto (8 hours if I remember) but you could hoof it to Chicago and see the Joffrey Ballet's version of the Nutcracker. It's wicked sparkly and I guess the dancing is good but I'm no expert. I liked it.
posted by dis_integration at 12:40 PM on December 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My family has stopped going to the National Ballet's Nutcracker and for the past two years we've gone to the live screening of the Royal Ballet's Nutcracker at the Hot Docs cinema. It's not the same as being in the theatre, but it's good dancing, very sparkly, and they do little interviews with the dancers and creators too (and it's much cheaper than the NB at about $15 a ticket).

I went to the Sony Centre's Nutcracker years ago and recall it being pretty good, though I can't recall specifics.
posted by kyla at 1:02 PM on December 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

Too late this year but Burlington had the State Ballet of Russia and Hamilton had two companies Jorgen (in partnership with McMichael Gallery) and The Hamilton Ballet Company. All three performers were early December though. Next year look a little west!
posted by saucysault at 1:22 PM on December 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

The Grands Ballets Canadiens does the Nutcracker in Montreal every year. On till December 30. No idea about ticket availability.
posted by zadcat at 5:52 PM on December 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

The Montreal Nutcracker was choreographed by Fernand Nault, you can read a bit about it here: Fernand Nault's Nutcracker is as familiar as Christmas at Place des Arts (Gazette). Probably worth a try at least once?
posted by TheGoodBlood at 6:36 AM on December 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: The Sony Centre is the most accessible but all of these sound lovely. I also would love to spend part of the holiday in Montreal one year. Thank you for all the wonderful responses.
posted by biggreenplant at 10:44 AM on December 28, 2017