Saturday Matinee

Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun and Anthony Spaulding in Tomasson's Nutcracker. © Erik Tomasson

It’s that time of the year again – Christmas jewelry commercials are starting to creep up on TV, and people are searching and finding my blog through Google searches such as “nutcracker san francisco ballet” in increasing numbers. (Can you believe we’re already halfway through November??)

Here’s a non-comprehensive list of holiday dance offerings in San Francisco and the Bay Area. There’s a dusting of smaller ballet companies doing the Nutcracker – Ballet San Jose and Oakland Ballet, for example but I haven’t seen these so I can’t vouch for them. But here are the ones that are on my radar this year:

• San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker. This glittering, sumptuous, nostalgic confection is one of the best the West Coast has to offer. It doesn’t seem proper to start the holidays without it. I grew up with this production, when my family used to drive to SF to see it. I have childhood memories of getting dressed up in holiday party dresses and sitting excitedly in box seats, waiting for the production to start. Performances start on December 11. Click here for my 2007 and 2008 reviews. Buy the DVD of a live performance by SF Ballet on Amazon.com, narrated by Kristi Yamaguchi.
• Smuin Ballet’s Christmas Ballet. I haven’t seen this yet, but it’s a holiday show that’s guaranteed to be as sexy and showy as the company that’s dancing it. It’s the spiced up and heavily spiked egg nog variety of your normal holiday beverage. It’s a collage of dances choreographed by Amy Seiwert, Robert Sund and more, celebrating Christmas in the non-traditional, non-Tchaikovsky sort of way. I’m sure it’ll be family friendly, although the marketing seems to be targeted more for adults. It seems like a perfect holiday date, or the audience member new to ballet or dance who wants to celebrate the holidays in style. Performances start on November 27 in Walnut Creek, and the show moves on to Carmel, Mountain View, and San Francisco.
• Mark Morris’ The Hard Nut. Advertised as the “Nutcracker with a twist”, it’s the Nutcracker story as viewed through the fun, crazy, touching, slightly disturbed yet brilliant eyes of Mark Morris. This truly is the production that everyone will enjoy, from dance fanatics to kids who were reportedly rapt with attention during the entire production. I’m hoping to finally see this production live this year, after seeing it only on DVD. It’s worth it just to see that snow scene. Love! And any guesses if Mark Morris himself will be onstage to play the drunk, inappropriate uncle again? Surprisingly, a lot of tickets are still available. I’ve noticed that more rush tickets have been more available for their other performances this year with more empty seats, but this show usually sells out fast. Performances start on December 11.
• Sacramento Ballet’s Nutcracker. Ok so technically not Bay Area, but this is a company that was hit last year with financial struggles with doubts of whether or not it would stay open. Sacramento Ballet seemed to be representative of the struggles of many smaller arts organizations, and it’s inspiring to see them continue on. This year, they bring in TV’s Melissa Sandvig from So You Think You Can Dance to dance the Sugar Plum Fairy for select performances. Opening night is on December 11.
• For the non dance fans, other things that are going on in the Bay Area – ACT’s A Christmas Carol or the non traditional Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Aurélia’s Oratorio if you’re in the mood for a play, and SF Symphony has a slew of things going on for the holidays for Christmas and the New Year.

Aurélia’s Oratorio at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Photographer:
Richard Haughton

For all of these offerings, there seems to be a lot of family discounts and special events going on. Be sure to call the box office for more information.

What are you going to see this year?