THENEWYORKER,DECEMBER16, 2019 9
Like anything beloved enough to be
indispensable, “The Nutcracker” can
grow overfamiliar. That’s why people
keep coming up with new versions. Few
reimaginings of the Tchaikovsky score
equal the 1960 jazz suite by Duke El-
lington and Billy Strayhorn, sparkling
in its details—and swinging, too. It’s
the basis for a new “Nutcracker” by
Dorrance Dance, the good-humored,
abundantly talented tap company led by
Michelle Dorrance. At about thirty min-
utes long, this take can’t include every-
thing, but audiences can expect quirky
emphases and an enchanting Sugar-
plum Fairy, the elegant Josette Wiggan-
Freund. At the Joyce, Dec. 17-Jan. 5, this
première is supplemented by different
repertory each week, saving the best for
last: collaborations with the comic Bill
Irwin, himself a classic.—Brian Seibert
TA P DANCE
ILLUSTRATION BY SUBIN YANG
1
DANCE
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch
This time of year, Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker”
music becomes ubiquitous. It’s easy to roll
your eyes, but, once you sit in the theatre and
hear the first notes of the overture, a thrill
inevitably kicks in. Boris Asafiev, an ear-
ly-twentieth-century Russian musicologist,
called it “a symphony of childhood”: many
of the sensations we feel as children—fear,
extreme excitement, an attraction to things
we don’t understand, the desire to grow up
and the simultaneous desire to remain a child
forever—are reflected in the music. The cho-
reographer George Balanchine understood
this and made a ballet, in 1954, that is still
performed by the company today. In “George
Balanchine’s The Nutcracker,” fun and coziness
are tinged with terror, and the world of the
imagination is just as real as the Biedermeier
furniture and the dancing children.—Marina
Harss (Through Jan. 5.)
Juilliard Dance/“New Dances”
Peter Jay Sharp Theatre
Last year, the Dance Theatre of Harlem and
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre alumna
Alicia Graf Mack took over the dance division
at Juilliard; this is the first edition of “New
Dances” she’s curated. As in other years, each
class has had the opportunity to work with a
professional choreographer to create a new
dance. This time, the roundup includes An-
drea Miller, an alumna of Juilliard who leads
her own contemporary-dance company, Gal-
lim; Stephen Petronio, a veteran of the mod-
ern-dance scene; Amy Hall Garner, who also
NYTB/Chamber Works
Florence Gould Hall
This abridged version of “The Nutcracker,”
by the company formerly known as New York
Theatre Ballet, is for younger kids who aren’t
eager to sit through a two-hour piece. All the
important parts are still included, from the
dance for the Marzipan Shepherdess to the
Russian dance. An ingeniously designed set
allows characters to move onstage and off in
the blink of an eye.—M.H. (Dec. 13-15.)
“The Yorkville Nutcracker”
Kaye Playhouse
Besides the now classic “Nutcracker” at New
York City Ballet, there are other, more inti-
mate versions around town, many of them
featuring excellent student dancers. Francis
Patrelle’s “Yorkville Nutcracker” has been per-
formed for decades and is a local institution in
its own right. The setting is New York, circa
1895, with scenes at Gracie Mansion, Central
Park, and the New York Botanical Garden.
Various historical characters appear, including
Teddy Roosevelt. The Sugarplum Fairy and
her Cavalier are Abi Stafford and Ask la Cour,
guests from New York City Ballet. The music
is taped.—M.H. (Dec. 13-15.)
1
CLASSICALMUSIC
Sheku Kanneh-Mason
Weill Recital Hall
If it were possible to steal focus from Meghan
Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, on her wed-
ding day, the cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason
would have been the one to do it. The poised
nineteen-year-old musician entertained a guest
Slumberland 30th Anniversary
Union Pool
Some small record labels seek enlightened
sounds of varied stripes; others chase an elusive
air of cool. Slumberland Records, however, has
mostly organized itself around an aesthetic:
hazy guitar pop that manages to convey softness
through its din. Hatched in 1989, Slumberland
toasts its anniversary not by glancing in its rear-
view mirror but with a slate of younger bands.
The concert includes Jeanines, Pale Lights, and
the headliners Peel Dream Magazine—whose
name alludes to John Peel, the tastemaking
d.j. who tacitly serves as the label’s patron
saint.—J.R. (Dec. 14.)
Mariah Carey
Madison Square Garden
Mariah Carey’s smash single “All I Want for
Christmas Is You” turned twenty-five this year,
and it may still be the last song to enter the
holiday canon, now as embedded in the musical
fabric of the season as “Jingle Bells.” Her album
“Merry Christmas,” which was rereleased last
month, remains the best-selling album of its
kind. There are few living artists who embody
and absolutely own the festivities the way this
diva extraordinaire does—a draw in any de-
cade.—B.Y. (Dec. 15.)
graduated from Juilliard; and Jamar Roberts,
who was recently named resident choreogra-
pher at Alvin Ailey.—M.H. (Dec. 11-15.)
Alvin Ailey
City Center
In the second week of the ever-popular
troupe’s annual residency at City Center, Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theatre unveils two
company premières of older works. Aszure
Barton’s “Busk,” a short version of a 2009
piece, is a performance about performance:
hooded figures seduce the audience to Ro-
ma-tinged music by Ljova and the Kontra-
band. Camille A. Brown’s “City of Rain,” a
revision of a 2010 effort, is a mournful yet
driving response to the unexpected death of
a friend. The rotating programs also feature
last year’s standouts, Ronald K. Brown’s “The
Call” and Rennie Harris’s “Lazarus,” as well as
classics by Ailey himself.—Brian Seibert (Dec.
11-15 and Dec. 17. Through Jan. 5.)
Gandini Juggling
Alexander Kasser Theatre
The people responsible for the atten-
tion-getting juggling in the recent Metro-
politan Opera production of Philip Glass’s
“Akhnaten” return to Peak Performances, in
Montclair, New Jersey, for the second year in
a row. “Spring,” choreographed by Alexan-
der Whitley, with a jumpy strings-meet-elec-
tronics score by Gabriel Prokofiev, is a pure-
form collaboration between six businesslike
jugglers and four contemporary dancers. In
jokey interludes, the performers address the
audience on the topic of color, and, throughout
the hour-long show, Guy Hoare’s lighting
illuminates all the meticulously tossed and
caught balls, rings, and Indian clubs in many
hues.—B.S. (Dec. 12-15.)
