Even if you don’t think of yourself as a balletomane, Los Angeles Ballet might just convince you to make The Nutcracker one of your own holiday-season traditions. To say it’s one of the most “accessible” ballets in the repertoire would be true as far as it goes: Tchaikovsky’s score manages to be both comfortingly familiar and consistently exciting, and LAB’s production is exuberantly charming. The quality of the company’s dancing, though, is much more than the visual equivalent of seasonal comfort food: the exactingly-trained international ensemble is technically precise, athletically bold, and artistically expressive.
My partner and I attended last Sunday’s matinee at the Dolby. Children made up a startling proportion of the audience but although there was a little chatter during the overture, they fell remarkably silent once the dancing began. I was impressed by their attentiveness, a vivid reminder that classical music and dance are not just for grown-ups!
LAB’s one shortcoming is that they don’t perform with a live orchestra, but they are still a fairly young company. Let’s support them toward that goal.
By John Hazlet, Realtor Associate at Town Square Real Estate
CalBRE# 01950505 | [email protected]
626-340-8645 | johnhazlet.com
