A charming reimagining with all the exuberance of the original and more
Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker in Havana takes the classic Christmas ballet in a new direction with his charming Cuban re-imagining.
The stage was set at the beginning of both acts with an animated tour of a stunning and empty Havana, winding through alleyways and up over buildings until arriving at the scene. The physical set stayed relatively simple, with the sunny island setting of the opening giving way to a large Cuban family home, to a dazzling snow-covered candy wonderland, to a carnival tent, with scene transitions often marked by the rolling past of a vintage car, carrying characters from one scene to the next. Still or slow-moving projections at the back of the stage helped to set the scenes without interfering with the dancing.
The dancing is, naturally, superb. The choreography sticks to classical ballet for much of the show, breaking (sometimes seamlessly, sometimes suddenly) into modern ballet, character dance, and multiple traditional Caribbean styles. Some of the more iconic characters of the original ballet, such as the Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy, were firmly rooted in classical ballet both in choreography and costuming, maintaining the Sugar Plum Fairy’s iconic sparkly tutu and dressing several other dancers in classic European ballet costuming. The variety of dances in the second act brought more character dancing and a wide range of styles, sticking to the structure of the suites of the original ballet. Although the choreography could have leaned more into the modern and Cuban styles, it struck a good balance between styles, allowing fans of classical ballet and less classical forms alike to be charmed by the dancing.
The music, like the choreography, was altered but never strayed too far from Tchaikovsky’s original score. The instrumentation was updated with jazz-style brass and electric guitar added to the orchestra, while the rhythms of the score were strikingly adapted to syncopated beats and complex percussion. Some of the more recognisable movements of the original music were kept almost intact, while others were refreshingly new. Also like the choreography, the music could have potentially been pushed much further into more traditional and modern Cuban styles and still maintained the energy and wonder of the original.
While the adaptation could have departed more from the original Nutcracker in Havana is a very successful re-imagining that holds on to the joy, the charm, and the exuberance of the Christmas classic while introducing a new setting and new artistic styles. This production will have modern dance fans and ballet traditionalists alike rejoice with sun-soaked Christmas spirit.