Dance
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Good show, very talented dancers. I wish the first half was shorter seemed to drag. I personally would extend after intermission that was lively and fun for all ages. My daughter fell asleep cause it dragged so much. PS she loves the 50s ballet version on TV- I was sad and disappointed she missed the second half. So for me it was expensive and probably won’t keep up the tradition unless the flow changes.
It was wonderful. I feel I had the best seat. Me, being short, I had no one blocking my view so I could see everything! I would love to make this an annual tradition for myself.
We’ve been going for years and were not disappointed. The Sugarplum fairy lacked emotion but was technically excellent. The theater was absolutely freezing. I would have paid for a little heat
I've been going to Loyce Houlton's Nutcracker since the late 70's when it was at the Northrop Auditorium on the U of M campus. The production has adapted to the State Theater extremely well and every year it gets better. The dancers are tremendously talented and the Orchestra brings it all together. We brought friends this year with 2 little children who've never seen a ballet and from the opening moment when the Christmas ornament raised up, their faces were in awe. Please don't ever stop this production. It has been my family's Christmas tradition for 40 years. I couldn't imagine Christmas without Loyce Houlton's Nutcracker. Thank you all for entrancing me and my family every year. It is extremely special to us.
Beautiful venue, great performance. My kid likes it.
Stunning live orchestra, beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy, loved the male Spanish dancer! Will go next year for sure.
We have attended various performances of the Nutcracker around the country and this is clearly one of the best. Last year we attended the Moscow Ballet's performance of the Nutcracker and Loyce Holton's production was heads and shoulders above. Phillip Brunell and the orchestra was music to our ears, the mix of professionals and company performers was well balanced, the choreography supreme, costumes and sets out of sight.
This year for Christmas I bought 10 tickets for all my family members ranging from ages 74 all the way down to 24. I remember my parents as a child taking us to see the same show at the Northrup Theater. Everyone enjoyed being together all dressed up to see this Nutcracker. Four of them had never seen it before and as we left said they would make this a yearly event. The attention to detail and the talent of both the orchestra and ballet dancers was so enjoyable. **And a special call out to the floor manager. My wife's son years ago lost his vision in one eye (now 29). After the first ACT he told me of the problem. I explained all he was seeing from our seats was blobs of colors moving around. The floor manager said she would take care of it and walked him down to 2nd row dead center to the stage. What an angel she was this night. Thank you for providing us a night to remember!
Excellent seats, Row M on the main floor. This is a classic production that must be seen at least once by everyone.
In this ballet every role is unforgettable as all keep their character on stage. Every year is very similar with slight nuances so I know what to expect which is nothing short of perfection.
While the show was clearly well-thought-out and the production quality of the set and costumes were very high, the level of talent was far below what was expected for the price of the ticket. My wife and I sat toward the front of the theater and were able to get the full experience. The show was not bad, and was reasonably enjoyable, but too many of the cast were clearly students in early stages of their training, and only two or three members of the company were clearly well-trained professionals. This was a good effort, but the price of the tickets should have reflected the quality of the show, and instead left us feeling as if we overpaid.
I was surprised to find out that the performance had zero dialogue and was mostly just ballet. I was also surprised that there were child actors/actresses who definitely weren't ready for the spotlight. The adult actors/actresses were good but some made mistakes. The performance was solid overall, but it was a little too expensive for someone who doesn't fully appreciate ballet.
No matter how many times I attend this event I never tire of seeing it. Over the years I have seen it many times and yet, when it came to the intermission I had to ask 'have I seen this before?' The production is kept updated and fresh. Truly a delight!
Always amazing. It is a holiday experience you must go.
We went to The Nutcracker at the Historic State Theatre about 15 years ago, and it was amazing. It was only because we expected the same experience again that we were just a bit disappointed. Some of the performers were 100% (the wealthy uncle, the star girl actor, the couple that had a large role towards the end of the performance - especially the female, very talented, the wind-up doll, the couple that performed the Arabian/middle-eastern routine, but some other parts of the show had the disappointing feel of a large high school play, especially I suppose the young boys. We saw The Nutcracker before at the Historic State Theatre, but maybe that time it was performed by the Russian Ballet with primarily adults. It just seemed like this performance had a bit too many children in it of mixed talent that was only partially offset by the few adults with Awesome talent.
I have gone to other Nutcracker performances.....this is absolutely the best! The venue is gorgeous, the orchestra wonderful and the dancing spectacular.
Great. First time to the ballet. Loved it! Beautiful, talented
What a spectacular production! The State Theater was the perfect setting. The acting was amazing and the orchestra was second to none!°
Orchestra was great. Dancers boring. Dancers didn't live up to the music.
The production was exactly right. It was great to see so many young students and they were very well directed. The adults were great! The orchestra and the music were perfect. My 5 year old granddaughter would get distracted but quickly brought back to the performance by the staging.
