Instead, he’s the embodiment of pizazz, running about in his satin breeches, orchestrating all the fun with his gleaming hair flying. This opening montage sets up the theme of discovery in this “Nutcracker,” where all the traditional events happen, but nothing is as you expect.Drosselmeier is not a remote, mysterious figure, as in most versions of the ballet. Ice skaters and skiers glide past the house, a couple smooches and giddy young women cease waltzing for a moment to stare at them with longing. But the feeling of freedom and high spirits never leaves.
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Through an alchemy of video projection and action on the stage, Drosselmeier appears to be bounding through his own fantastical movie, which whirls us from his magical shop to the doorstep of the Stahlbaum household.The scrim lifts, the video images vanish, and the familiar story begins, told through dancing and lively stage action. The sense of speed in this flying, swooping perspective is intense, especially if you’re prone to vertigo, and it’s a relief when the focus finally settles on the dancer who plays Drosselmeier, the clockmaker and gift-bearing godfather who sets the story in motion. I have seen a lot of “Nutcrackers,” and this one, created by Yuri Possokhov, resident choreographer at San Francisco Ballet, tops them all as the most entertaining as well as the smartest.The first moments are like being shot out of a cannon, as video images projected across the stage spin us rapidly through a snowy night to a German city in the early 19th century. You know it’s not your typical, fancy-schmancy “Nutcracker” Christmas party when the maid drunkenly hurtles by on the cocktail cart, helped along by a dashing Herr Drosselmeier who’s a cross between a steampunk bad boy and the craziest, coolest uncle ever.In the Atlanta Ballet’s “Nutcracker,” which opened at the Kennedy Center Opera House on Wednesday, just about every detail of the standard holiday ballet is whomped up, rethought and mined for either laughs or meaning or both. I cannot wait to see next year's performance!Ītlanta Ballet’s high-tech ‘Nutcracker’ at Kennedy Center is one of the most entertaining out there I have seen the Atlanta Ballet perform "The Nutcracker" throughout the past six seasons and this year's show left me utterly spellbound. From the moment the word "Nutcracker" appeared on the projection-screen curtain prior to the show-with the turning cogs and whimsical slipping of letters that a mechanical arm would barely catch in time (and even a tooting teddy bear!)-I was transported to the remarkable places from my husband's beloved steampunk stories with cold, dreary weather and lots of scientific discoveries.I work in tech but have been vocally skeptical of its role in society, however, on my drive home from The Fox last night, I strangely felt comforted by the possibility of people finding ways to integrate technology into our lives that preserve and respect our humanity while bringing us to foreign lands and times.While I refrain from giving away the story (which you can just search for anyway), I feel compelled to urge those who have yet to see the show to go and experience the seamless weaving of classical ballet with the technological advances of our age. I had spent the last couple hours wildly applauding at every opportune moment and still, I was draped in the enchantment of the evening.The Atlanta Ballet Company's emotive and hauntingly beautiful performance of the reinvigorated production of "The Nutcracker" was nothing short of delightful and many times, goosebump-inducingly so. For more information, please call 770.916.2800.Īs I gathered my belongings to follow the throngs of theatergoers flooding the exit, I cradled my right swollen middle finger. The venue is equipped with wheelchair accessible courtesy phones, elevators, plaza ramps, wheelchair accessible ticket windows, and wheelchair accessible drinking fountains. Designated seats in various locations are available for guests with disabilities and those needing special assistance.
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Please leave your seat location with your babysitter or answering service so that the house manager may find you in case of an emergency. The 24-hour public safety number for the Cobb Energy Centre is 770.916.2911.
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Click here for parking, dining, hotel, and additional venue information. The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is located in northwest Atlanta near the junction of I-75 and I-285, at the intersection of Cobb Galleria Parkway and Akers Mill Road. The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is the first major performing arts facility built in metro Atlanta in four decades.