David Taylor’s ‘Nutcracker’ Loses in the Translation

At Christmas, people are usually determined to enjoy “The Nutcracker”; the ballet is a tradition people approach generously. But with the David Taylor Dance Theatre version, which traveled from Denver to the Terrace Theater in Long Beach over the weekend, you had to be very generous indeed. With its sometimes sluggish taped rendering of Tchaikovsky’s score, minimal sets and only a modicum of first-class dancing, this “Nutcracker” is a poor replacement for the Terrace’s previous version by the now defunct Los Angeles Classical Ballet.

Taylor mainly follows the traditional story line, except that he makes the whole ballet Clara’s dream--not just the battle scene onward. It’s all set in motion in modern dress and in silence by the mysterious Drosselmeyer (played with the animation of a head waiter by Taylor himself). What this means is that the opening scene is no longer an old-fashioned, relatively realistic Christmas Eve party, with family warmth, charm and fractious children. Instead, it’s a sparse, cool gathering; Clara--adult dancer Alison Jaramillo--evidently dreams in black and white and has 19th-century cuffs and bonnets mixed up with Art Deco style.

The party’s new look and conception fail to add anything appealing to this scene. Things improve slightly with the midnight battle, where Tchaikovsky’s dynamic music is used effectively, and there are some laughs.

On Friday night, compelling dancers occasionally stood out: Jaramillo with fine lines and a harmonious style; Troy Bowles as a razor-sharp Soldier Doll and the Nutcracker Prince; and Preston Li in the Tea variation. Most of the second act, however, was marked by mediocre dancing and lackluster staging. The use of (very) amateur dancers in an imported, nominally professional production is jarring.