A sparkling gift from Rochester artists

Snow
was gathering outside Eastman Theatre and onstage as the Rochester Philharmonic
Orchestra and Rochester City Ballet gave us an early Christmas gift last weekend.
Saturday night, I saw another extraordinary performance of the Nutcracker ballet. It was rewarding to a
degree far beyond any appreciation born of boosterism or local pride. I’ve said
that any major ballet company would be happy to have such young talent emerge
as RCB artistic director Timothy Draper trains and regularly turns out. In
fact, our nation’s top companies have already hired a number of RCB alumni and
lined up several current dancers for the future.

            Guest artists this year included
Company alumni Kristi Boone (now with American Ballet Theatre), Sarah Lane (of
American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company), and Meredith Seeley (formerly of the
St. Louis Ballet, recently moved to Chicago). I missed Boone and her partner,
Isaac Stappas (also of ABT), but saw Lane partnered with ABT dancer Jared
Matthews.

            I can’t overestimate the
contribution of local guest artists The Bach Children’s Chorus, whose singing
punctuated the Snow Scene’s Act I finale with a lovely counterpoint. Their
director, Karla Krogstad, demonstrates sensitive rapport with the music and the
balletic moment.

            Unfortunately, gifted young
conductor Michael Butterman wasn’t given enough rehearsal time with the
principal dancers, and evidently doesn’t have much experience accompanying
dancers. Butterman made Tschaikovsky’s beautiful score swell thrillingly in the
magical transformation scene, and brilliantly flit in and out of the sparkling
Snowflake scene. But his tempi were out of synch with the rhythms and pace of
several solo dancers, and erratic enough to cause them some trouble. It’s a
tough assignment, of course, to do justice to the music and also make it fit
the complex stage action, which includes not only dancing, but pieces of
scenery moving in and out and a Christmas “Spirit” who literally
flies all over the stage.

            Company principal Jessica Tretter
danced (and flew) that role with appropriate magic. Other principal dancers
included Timothy Lawler, who showed great stretch as the handsome male doll;
Adam Kittleberger as both the Mouse King and danseur in the Italian Ice trio;
and Derek Stratton as the virile, muscular partner of rubber-limbed principal
Erin Bellis in the Arabian Dance. Alexandra Johnson, once RCB’s pretty, young
Clara, now studies and dances in SUNY-Purchase’s professional dance program,
and led the Spanish Dance with glamorous authority. Jimmy Rodriguez-Jimenez
returned to bring the house down with his flashy Russian Trepak. Elegant Hayley
Meier was assured beyond her years in the English Toffee solo. Ditto Katie
Lally’s Harlequin dance; with precocious physical strength, she is clearly a
young dancer to watch.

            So is Saturday night’s charming
little Clara, Brittany Shinay. Jonathan Davidsson was her adorable Nutcracker
Prince. The Snow Queen and King — Meredith Seeley and her strong, attentive
partner, Jason Kittleberger — performed their Act I pas de deux with polished zest.

            Amazingly, leading the dancers who
are beyond “up and coming,” little 13-year-old Jim Nowakowski
continues to astound me with his beautiful feet and legs and refined technique.
This year, he also astounded an international audience that included some
leading dancers from the great companies of France, Russia, and Germany when he
was invited to an Eastern European gala performance. Tara Lally, reported to be
headed to the touring Cirque du Soleil, took bravura charge of the Dew Drop
role. Ballet dancers notoriously look younger than they really are; but in
Draper’s company, they’re all so well trained and gracious in manner that you
won’t believe how young they are.

            Except for some problems with
accompaniment (perhaps leading to their awkward exit from the Grand Pas de Deux), Sarah Lane and Jared
Matthews capped the evening dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. I
don’t know where their exotic costumes came from (not from this ballet!), but
they looked attractive. In the few months since she graduated from high school
and the Draper Center for Dance Education here, won the Youth America Grand
Prix and the silver medal at the USA International Ballet Competition, and
joined ABT’s Studio Company, Ms. Lane has gained grandeur in her line and
deportment and dances almost flawlessly. Matthews has a big jump and very fast,
pretty pirouettes, and partners solicitously. Onstage in classical ballets,
ballerinas and danseurs ideally should look more perfectly beautiful in
movement than normal human beings can hope to be. Except for their obvious
youth, these two are well on the way.

This article appears in Dec 4-10, 2002.