NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet Tickets

I first became worried about the event when the music began and the orchestra pit was empty. Instead, the music was recorded and played through the audio system. Yes, you can tell and yes, it makes a BIG difference. When the dancing began, it soon became evident that this is not what a professional company should look like. The dancers seemed to be bored and barely put forth any effort. Instead of the seeming of flowing seamlessly from one pose to the next, there were very definite stops and starts between each move. The leg lifts were barely at the appropriate height and there was a definite lack of uniformity in how high or what each person should do. The choreography itself was quite lack luster. There was a general lack of difficulty and complexity to most of the dances. It also failed to appropriately match the mood of the music. When the music was soft, so were the dances, but when the music grew loud and demanded our attention, the dancers were still barely moving through their old poses. Yes, there were parts that stood out and were done very well, but that could be squeezed into 10 minutes of the entire performance. I have to come back to the music yet again. It is not appropriate in any way, shape, or form to charge as much as they did for tickets (the difference between them and the Playhouse Square production was only $10 on most levels, but the Playhouse was sold out) to what you believe to be a professional performance and not have an orchestra perform with the music. As far as the performance is concerned, it would have been good if I was charged no more than $20 for the performance. Anything above that is a waste of your money.

Magical experience and a wonderful showcase of local children!

Very beautiful. this is my first time seeing a ballet and it was done wonderfully.

The Moscow Russian performance was truly fantastic to watch! They incorporated local children into the production and it was beautifully synced. Very little props were used in comparison to other productions that I have seen - they were not missed as there was no need for them. Fabulous performance! I will be going again next year.

The ballet itself was excellent. Fantastic costumes. Perfect dancing, impressive athleticism. The Cleveland music hall leaves a little to be desired. The carpets were filthy. The stairs steep and the floors covered in stains from dropped gum. This place is in need of restoration. The only benefit was it was nice and warm.

Great show, loved the local talent used as part of the various acts - was surprised it did not receive better publicity in Cleveland - few of my friends were even aware of the Shows beining in Cleveland

If you don't have proper facility for the event, don't host it at all. Music Hall is a pitiful delapidated facility... kind of depressing. However, this setting pretty much matched the show itself. Aweful performance! Are those dancers amature? Why do you charge astronomical price for the tickets???? I paid $175.00 a piece; $20.00 would be a generous price for this miserable parody of Nutcracker!!! Not live orchestra?!!! Really???? for this price!!!!! even quality of the recording was pathetic. I saw Nutcracker ballet about 7-10 times in my life. I am Russian, and I brought my American friend to demonstrate immortal masterpiece, hoping that "Russian ballet" would be IT. I was sincerely embarassed. BTW, the some local school productions stage settings and lightings are much better than those. What a shame!

I had always remembered Ballet as an art form of dance AND music. Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker was disappointing. This was my first Nutcracker where there was a tape of the music and no orchestra, very upsetting as the sound system was poor at best. The lack of the orchestra actually took the magic out of this production. The dancers were very good and worked very hard to put on a nice show that lacked even a real tree and warm fireplace to get the mood started. The costumes of the Mouse King and mice were nothing to be remembered as well as the Nutcracker and his army. The land of the sweets had two dancers per country with a sheet animal I could make at home. Once again, the dancers were very good. Seats extremely uncomfortable!! I would not even consider putting my purse in the floor because it was so filthy.

I was so thrilled to see that the RUSSIAN dancers would be coming to town. However there were more non-talented dancers (children and young adults) on the stage than russian dancers. Also, no orchestra, it was all played off a sound system or something. I could have paid the same amount per ticket to go to the other show that night, and would have gotten more for what I paid for. It seemed more like a high-school rendition of the ballet than the world-famous russian dancers.

It was an excellent performance! I would recommend it to everyone.

Overall it was ok, but the level of performance did not match the cost of the ticket. Significantly overpriced. We saw a much better performance from the local Raleigh troupe in NC. I expected a much better performance from an international troupe. In addition, the venue is honestly horrible. It's bland and huge and if you sit on the floor level you having issues being able to see.

The dancers are very talented and the show was amazing. However, CAESARS WINDSOR is a poorly built venue with terrible sight lines.

the seats in the middle section of the Cherokee Casino which are roll-out were very narrow and uncomfortable for such a long event - the dancers were out of step with each other frequently but it was still a very good show - the beginning of the 2nd act with the pairs of dancers were truly good and the Hindu/Russian pairs were fantastic, worth the whole show just to see them perform

I have seen numerous ballets on tv and video, but this was the first live performance and I was amazed. The performers were exceptional, and the costumes were authinic. The only regret was there was no live orchestra. The location of my seats were great and the cost was "priceless". This is a must see production!

Amazing technique, colorful costumes, great story! Wonderful holiday tradition for our family!

My wife and I saw this performance 2 years ago in Asheville, and enjoyed it very much, so we were happy to be able to see them perform again in Cherokee. We recognized many of the same performers from 2 years ago, and they were up to their usual high standards. It is difficult and a strain travelling around different countries in these programs, but, as usual, they were excellent! We will look forward to seeing them again on their next tour in the area.

This was one of the worst adaptations I've every seen in 20 plus years viewing. The set was horrible with two basic backdrops, half the dancers were out of synch. The ballerina playing a young girl looked to be 40 years old. There was no magic or enchanment, if you didn't know the story, or they were suppose to be soldiers fight mice, you'd have no idea what those creatures were.