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Performance was good, staging was very good but dated a little. Kids had fun. The disappoint was the parking. It took 1 hour to get out the civic parking lot. Horrible, we were very late for dinner reservations. And they charge $18, for this lack for service. Needs to be fixed if I'm to return to civic performances.
I requested to attend this event with my family for my 70th birthday! It was a great way to celebrate. . Although I have seen many productions over a life time, I never tire of the wonderful music and the characters. I love symphonic music and was not disappointed. The dancers were outstanding and the children adorable. Loved the interactions of the various visiting families in the opening of the productions.
The California Ballet's Production of The Nutcracker was a delightful evening. The dancers were enthusiastic and obviously enjoying the ballet. The costumes were very pretty and the sets were magical. As a person with a theatrical background, I would have liked to see better story-telling. There is so much music in the first act and sometimes it felt like a mime show rather than a ballet. There were some uncomfortable gaps in the music, and again with so much music in the score I didn't see the need for the conductor to actually stop the orchestra and wait for the next set of dancers. That could have been planned a little better. The lighting was serviceable but uninspired. The lights basically came on and stayed on for most of the ballet. With so many magical moments coming from the dancers the lighting could have helped tell the story rather than just be bright, white floods. The director should have tied up the story with the actual ending of Clara waking from her dream back in her own house. The ballet felt "un-ended" and with the extra-extra long bows section at the end felt more like a Parisian dance hall than a ballet. There was some rather uncalled for whopping and hollering coming from the audience. I hope someday that San Diego audiences will rise to the level of the performance. This was a ballet - not a rodeo.
It was an amazing rendition of a holiday tradition. My wife and I will always remember it.
We have attended The Nutcracker each December since my daughter was a child, now more than 30 years ago.. Once we started going to the California Ballet version, we were home! We have tried the Spreckel's Theater version, the Russian version and some smaller ones, but the California Ballet is by far the best for us. Now with three grandchildren (it was the first performance for the youngest, (3), we still love the yearly tradition. The children performers are always wonderful (the little bonbons particularly) and the Principal Dancers have delighted us adults each year. California Ballet's stage set and costumes are the most authentic (as a German , this grandmother appreciates that). Thank you for being part of our Christmas season each year! Dr. A. Fechner
Beautiful and well performed by all including the Symphony. I was a little thrown by the rendition without the Nutcracker prince and Clara dancing...but awesome performances by all.
Amazing performance! The California Ballet Company is really impressive and the orchestra was wonderful too!
Excellent performance - very colorful and a delight to watch - especially the children who also did an excellent job and were so sweet to watch.
It was a cute performance, I went expecting something different. These are young dancers on average and overall they did well but I was biased by a professional performance I attended in Tokyo. Perhaps some homework on my part would have given me the proper expectations thus a different impression of the performance.
Seriously it was nice and I enjoyed it but was all that clapping necessary? It felt like I was surrounded by parents at a grade school play. Also I was disappointed that my favorite star was not in it this year
We had been looking forward to taking our daughters (3 and 5) to the Nutcracker for the first time. We all enjoyed the performance very much; the music as well as the dancing. The seats were comfortable and well located.
Amazing performance! Dancers, choreography, and orchestra were superb!
I have seen this show several times in my lifetime, at different venues, different dance teams... I have never been THIS disappointed. The only good thing about this show was the music, and the scenic backdrops, at least those lived up to what everyone knows about the Nutcracker. As for the dancing, it was far below the quality I would expect of the San Diego Civic Theatre. It seemed as if all the dancers were amateurs, there was no "wow factor", nothing special or pretty about their dancing moves. It was like they could only do the basic ballet techniques, and nothing that was visually stimulating was happening on stage, just simple bastardizations of what the Nutcracker usually is. Their costumes were horribly simple and uninteresting too, but I would have forgiven that for the dancing's sake.
The dancing was so beautiful! The theatre is gorgeous! Best Christmas gift ever!
The production was so-so. The dancers performed as expected but casting was questionable. There were several dancers who did not have lead roles but were more eye-catching in their execution and lines - I wish they had been cast in larger roles. Also, the male and female leads seemed to have little chemistry. The children, as always, were adorable.
Every year my daughter,daughter-in-law,and 2 granddaughters go to see this and it really was fantastic this year!!!!This is our 3rd year and it never gets old.Will be going again next year.
The dancers and costumes were incredibly beautiful and perfectly choreographed. I used to take my kids to the California Ballet version of the Nutcracker when they were growing up. This year to carry on the tradition I was able to take my son's family and my 8 year old grandson loved it.
Amazing. Outstanding performance. Great for all ages.
Lots of fun. Loved the growing Christmas tree. Clara was wonderful and so was the Snow Queen.
I have seen other schools perform The Nutcracker, and with the addition of a live, spectacular orchestra, California Ballet made for the best performance by far. An unforgettable experience.
