REVIEW: The Kansas City Ballet’s durable Nutcracker opens to acclaim

The Kansas City Ballet’s The Nutcracker remains fresh partly because of a continual infusion of new talent that permits the production to evolve in subtle ways. For the 2012-2013 season nearly a third of the company dancers are new (eight out of 28), and though the premiere on December 1^st was as sure-footed as ever it included some fresh faces we hadn’t seen before in Todd Bolender’s Nutcracker. This is the second Nutcracker in the Kauffman Center, and the matinee performance was filled with excited dancers of all ages who had just come from the 18^th annual Sugar Plum Fairy Luncheon at the Westin Hotel. It’s encouraging to see that ballet is still of such vital importance to so many young people: Indeed, this year’s Nutcracker includes an unprecedented 225 dancers from the Ballet School.

Among the returning company dancers, Tempe Ostergren danced the sugar plum fairy with loving, carefully studied grace, and she was supported with sophistication by Anthony Krutzkamp as her Cavalier. (Casts vary throughout the run.) Veteran dancerGeoffrey Kropp imbued Herr Drosselmeyer with a sort of gentle chivalry, more good-natured than mysterious. Rachel Coatsdanced the Spanish with powerful ease and fluidity, with sympathetic support by Michael Davis. In her sixth season with the company Nadia Iozzo was an especially limber Arabian, and her chemistry with partner Logan Pachciarz was palpable. In his second season with KCB, Travis Guerin was meticulously spring-wound in his Chinese, and Marty Davis’ turns and leaps in the Russian were impressively assertive. Among the newcomers, Molly Wagner and Josh Spell showed confidence as the Snow Queen and King, and KC native Taryn Mejia was sweetly exuberant in the Dance of the Reed Pipes. Sarah Chun as the Dewdrop in Waltz of the Flowers was perhaps the standout among the new members: She exuded from the stage a precise energy and charisma, and judging from the applause at the premiere she was among the audience’s favorites (though her Flowers could have used a bit more of that same precision).

The Party Scene and Battle moved along with their usual charm and humor. Destane Doughty danced the role of the young Clara with poise and bearing: It nearly took your breath away to see the seamlessness with which she floated across the stage.Wilfred Rowland in his second year as the Prince showed not just confidence but classiness: In his Pantomime he managed to avoid making the little mouse leaps look silly, as they sometimes do. Oscar Miller was an especially spirited Fritz.

Granted, there are times in this show when the stage seems a bit crowded, in particular during the Mother Ginger/Buffoon scene: There’s simply too much disparate activity going on. The smallish Kansas City Symphony Ballet Orchestra and conductorRamona Pansegrau performed Tchaikovsky’s music capably, despite some balance issues that I’ve begun to think are partly an expression of where the musicians are seated in the pit. (The flutes and piccolo were especially loud throughout.) For the most part Robert Fletcher’s sets and (especially) costumes still look as vibrant as when they were introduced in 1994, enhanced byKirk Bookman’s savvy tweaks of the original lighting design. But this production is nearly 20 years old, and within a few years it might begin to look a bit long in the tooth.

The Nutcracker runs through December 23^rd. For tickets call 816-931-2232 or go to kcballet.org.

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net.