I have seen the Nutcracker over 20 times and this one was not the "run of the mill." My husband and I really enjoyed the performance. It added humor and just put a different spin on the typical performance. We both really enjoyed it!
Was really great...a version Ihave never seen before and I watch on TV every year! Nothing beats a live show. Thanks for bring the moscow ballet To San Antonio! Truly remeberable!
The music was beautiful, costumes, very pretty, dancing enjoyable....however only scenery was back drops whish lost so much of the story for the younger audience. A true disappointment. Will not attend again nor recommend this to anyone.
This was a great night of dancing puncuated by humorous puppet characters. Also the inclusion of local children into the production was delightful. Just a couple of things were distracting. First, I think the puppets stayed on stage a little too long and took attention away from the primary dancers. Second, the Majestic Ushers are very polite, however, they spent a lot of time seating late comers. This blocked our view several times, if folks can't get there on time make them wait for intermission.
Worst performance of Nutcracker I've seen in 35 years! Pass this one over and save your money.
We took our 5 & 7 year old girls to see this ballet and they loved it. The costumes were beautiful and amazing. More of a ballet fashion show. Previous reviews said not to miss the arabian dancers (2 act). They stole the show! The most amazing dance performance I've ever seen. The ballet consisted of 2 parts (each part 40 minutes) with a 15 minute intermission. Nutcrackers cost about $45, other items: stuffed bears, posters, nesting dolls, glass ornaments, book cost between $30-$50. At this venue, concession stands were open. We enjoyed lunch at the Embassy Suites' restaurant before the show and then walked over to the connecting venue. The overall performance was amazing. Lots of families attended because local children participated in the ballet. We attended the 3:00 performance just in case the girls didn't like their first "show without words". But both girls watched in awe and amazement the entire time. It was a wonderful family event.
It didn't seem as energetic as the last time I saw it in San Antonio.
My daughter and I have attended a performance of the Nutcracker ballet since she was 4 years old...she is now 28 and many of them were when we were stationed in Germany. We've attended the Moscow Nutcracker performance for the past 7 years. I can honestly say that the Moscow performance is the best. The Majestic Theater in San Antonio is the perfect venue. The only negatives during the performance were the people who arrived late and disrupted the performance and people who obviously have no appreciation of classical ballet and were talking and texting on their cell phones during the performance...my advice, next time stay home and watch a performance on PBS. Other than those issues, the Moscow Nutcracker is stunning and the dancers sheer perfection!
This was a disappointment in regards to the quality of production with the price one paid for a ticket.
Program - D Vague and Cheap looking: is San Antonio seeing the East or West company? Dancing - C: Why didn't the Russian dancer do a traditional Russian dance? Did I really see two dances to the waltz of the Sugar Plum Fairy? What was the whole dance of the Dutch(ish) looking characters that never re-appeared, even for the finale? , Piped in music - D: very discouraging, Costumes - C: the Wizard looked like he was living on the streets 10 minutes before the performance, Stage: F - Basically a back drop and curtain. Really? I've seen community dance theaters with high school dancers do a better job at setting the scene and pulling the performance all together at the end.
This review is somewhat of a dilemma. While I would certainly recommend the show to all, I would advise highly against the purchase of the “Platinum Level” tickets. I wanted to give my daughter a very special Christmas gift with the ability to meet the Moscow Ballet artist before the performance. The information that I received stated – “Moscow Ballet is pleased to welcome our guests who have purchased Platinum level tickets with an opportunity to meet the Moscow Ballet artists. To assist us in facilitating this event, please plan to arrive 1 hour prior to the start time of the Great Russian Nutcracker performance and meet our greeter at the Moscow Ballet merchandise table.” We arrived promptly, only to be told that there was a medical emergency and they would not be able to accommodate us until intermission. During intermission, we were hurriedly rushed backstage where we were provided a three (3) minute tour of how the backdrops were painted. Interesting but disappointing. There was no effort in which to provide “a meet of the artist.” The performance was five-stars (amazing) while the money spent to meet the artist was a one-star (poor). The most disappointing was that there was no effort to make amends.
The Moscow dancers were superb, but what's with the addition of children from some Stone Oak school of dance? I didn't pay $50 a ticket to watch "Mommy's little darling" share the stage with a professional ballet company. The amateurs were clearly amateur and were a distraction at best. Had the pre-show advertising stated that a bunch of dance school darlings would be sharing the stage, I would have declined to attend!
This was a charming version of the holiday classic ballet. I particularly liked that the men had good individual showcases, instead of just standing around holding the females. The costumes were particularly attractive, I particularly liked the use of traditional Russian garb. The way the ballet integrated small children into the ballet was especially charming, especially when they were the little snowflakes. They didn't interfere with the professional dancers but were cute and I enjoyed them. The weakest part was the use of canned music and the meh sets, but I can imagine those are cost issues. My mom and I are already planning on going next year.
The Great--the Arabian dancers. They simply take my breath away every year! They alone are worth the price of our tickets! The Good--the youth dancers were very, very good this year! (as always) The Ugly--the Mouse King! He was terrible! Awful! How in the world did he get this part? He could barely jump two inches off the floor, and leaps? The youth dancers could have far surpassed his technique. This was no professional dancer, and I can't believe he was included with the excellent Moscow Ballet dancers! I missed the dancing bull with the Spanish dancers.
This performance was far beyond my expectations. Loved the new "peace" dance and the one with the fabulous acrobats.
more than Memorable! I have been going to various performances of the Nutcracker for over 20 years. This was, by far, the BEST!!! A must see when ever they are in our area.
This was not a good version of the nutcracker. I have been going to it for over 20+ years. They have left out so much of the important and memorible parts of this story and this was an awful version of it.
This was the first time in my life that I went to ballet without life music performed by an orchestra. It certainly made a difference. I also never went to a ballet performance with such a simple scene setup, I am used to a much bigger podium with a much nicer setup. Some of the ballet dancers were pretty good (probably 4 of them), but I'd been to much more impressive performances in Europe. In general, it was a disappointment, especially due to my high expectations (based on the fact that this was Moscow Ballet). Next time we will know better.
Moscow Ballet's Nutcracker is amazing, from the incredibly talented dancers to the beautiful costumes and scenery, and, of course, the music! My family and I attend this performance every year, and each one is a little different, so there is always something unexpected and new to look forward to. And amid the elegance and grace, there's always a touch of humor. On occasion, a dancer might even give a little wink to someone in the front row! Great fun! The ballet also incorporates young dancers (from pre-schoolers to teens) from a local dance school to play the childrens' roles--always delightful! This is a great holiday tradition for families with children of all ages. I highly recommend it!
I thought the Moscow ballet would be excellent, but we were quite disappointed. The music started and it was a very quiet recording. The lighting of the stage was poor and there were dark spots on the corners. The ballerina would come out to the corner and be in the dark. The worst part was the synchronization of the dancers. The first few scenes had dancing that made us question whether they were actually trying to dance not together. I would have expected the dancing to be in unison, but there were many moments where the dancing wasn't 'together'. It was completely bad, though. The lead ballerina was good, even though the support dancers weren't together.
