Kenneth Greve’s Nutcracker
Royal Danish Ballet
December 5, 2007
Even though the Royal Danish Ballet is financed by the state and therefore not forced to use “The Nutcracker” as a fundraiser, the company and Ballet Master Frank Andersen never the less want to join the international trend of dancing “Nutcracker” in December. The aim of the effort is to reach out to a broader audience.
That aim is probably the main reason why Principal Dancer and future Ballet Master in Helsinki Kenneth Greve is paired with local theatre wizz Peter Langedal. The latter is supposed to give the classic a temporary feel and make it more accessible to a family audience. Langedal is well known in Denmark for his big scale attack on most national and international classics. Last year he directed a production of “Die Fledermaus” where most of the second act took place in the Men’s Room and his touch is very much felt in scenes like the Flower Waltz where one of the corps is replaced by a monkey and a big (and I mean very Big) yellow rabbit joins the action. The only reason the monkey joke works is because the dancer inside the monkey suite Rebecca Labbé is a very fine dancer with beautiful pirouettes. The over the top rabbit remains an unnecessary addition and make one form the opinion that someone along the line felt that the “Nutcracker” needed more than a bit of pep to appeal to the audience.