Battle of The Nutcrackers
December 1, 2008
Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker!
Yes, December is upon us, which means that almost every ballet company in America drops everything and performs The Nutcracker as many times as possible. Why? Because The Nutcracker is a cash cow. It brings in audiences and ticket sales much more easily than a typical season of repertory.
Fortunately, many companies and choreographers produce The Nutcracker with a twist, so that it’s a bit fresher and more interesting for people who have seen (and/or performed in) this holiday classic more times than they’d like to admit.
Throughout this month, Ovation TV presents Battle of The Nutcrackers, hosted by choreographer Mark Morris. Viewers can vote at Ovation TV for their favorite of six company’s productions, which will be shown several times over the next few weeks. The lineup includes:
Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! (2003)
Bolshoi Ballet’s The Nutcracker (1989)
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (1993)
Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (1986)
Bejart’s Nutcracker (2000)
Mark Morris’ The Hard Nut (1985) – last year’s winner
Will a classic production win over audiences? Or could a Nutcracker that takes place at Dr. Dross’ Orphanage be the favorite? Voting continues until December 19th. Watch clips from each production and find your local channel.
[...] already posted about Battle of the Nutcrackers, with voting continuing through December 19th, but here’s another alternative to the classic [...]
[...] the beginning of December, I wrote about Ovation TV’s month-long Battle of the Nutcrackers. For the second year in a row, Mark [...]