David Parker took a nutcracker to “The Nutcracker.” And then he and The Bang Group sprinkled it with some seasonal magic to unspool the most irreverent and delightfully amusing take on the holiday classic.
 
His “Nut/Cracked,” now being presented at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, is for all of those who love Tchaikovsky’s beloved score, but run out of patience with the ballet’s formality 30-minutes in. This is not to say that Parker and crew are disrespectful of the annual dance extravaganza. Rather, they put a humorous and often surprising spin on “The Nutcracker.” It’s deliciously, laugh-out-loud decadent.
 
It was created in 2003 as a genre and dance-fluid celebration that tapped, boureed and leaped to the jazzy rendering by Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller of the familiar music. However, much of the piece, which is about 70 minutes long, is guided by the music as written. And Parker, and co-director Jeffrey Kazin, cheerfully nod to Marius Petipa choreography – even in their off-kilter and hilarious versions of the scenes.
 
The waltz for the snowflakes is a good example. The dancers, white Ts and black stripped sports pants throughout, moved like skaters who slipped, slid and fell on the snowy ice. Not only does it add a slapstick element, which could be seen throughout, but it was so artfully done that it spiced up the choreography.
 
The piece began with Parker and Kazin tapping out and singing (lyrics they must have written) to the score’s overture. The dancers then burst from the wings to gather up the props for the show – a boa, a rose, hats, gloves and red bouquets.
 
Then it became clear that the score would be delectably tossed about when the dance of the Sugarplum, on a dark stage, came next. All that one could see was the feet of a dancer en pointe whose toes were following a miniature spotlight.
 
The stage went black again, ready for the party to begin. It cleverly did with two – like the feuding siblings Clara and Fritz – who twisted themselves around a gift, which when ultimately opened contained snow.
 
Though the order of the music was re-arranged, it didn’t matter as there were so many charming and hilarious moments – for example Parker’s rendition of the Chinese divertissement where he balances en pointe and sucks up a noodle from a cardboard food box. Just as the music ends, the noodle pops in his mouth.
 
The waltz of the flowers is a hysterical solo on bubble wrap, the growing Christmas tree crescendo is a burlesque-like wet dream and the Russian trepak is a parody of all amateur dance productions ever. The grand pas is a celebration of thumb-sucking affection. You have to see it to believe it.
 
It was ridiculously foolish and I loved it. You will too. Sunday’s matinee is sold out, but tonight’s 7 p.m. performance has tickets available at kaatsbaan.org.

Talmi Entertainment performed Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" on Wednesday at The Palace Theatre in Albany. 

If you have seen one “Nutcracker,” you have not seen them all.
 
The ballet delight of the holiday season has a template, for sure, guided by Tchaikovsky. It opens with a holiday party where young girl receives a nutcracker doll as a Christmas gift. After the festivities, she slumbers and falls into a romantic reverie with her nutcracker who transforms into a prince. But it’s always in that coming-of-age dream, envisioned by the girl (often named Clara, sometimes Marie), where the classic diverges.
 
Talmi Entertainment (formerly known as the Moscow Ballet) offered a glittering rendering on Wednesday night at the Palace Theatre. Its lush palatal backdrops (by Berkshire designer Carl Sprague), gold lame trimmed costumes (designed by Arthur Oliver) and fine capable dancers, many Ukrainian, offered up plenty of eye candy to the crowd. And the house was packed, thanks to the horde of local children who were cast in nearly every scene – including those in the round-the-world divertissements, scenes typically reserved for the professionals.
 
The production, choreographed by Viktor Davyduik, also casts dreamy Clara with an adult dancer. It's a good thing as in her mind-bending journey, she also appears as the Snow Queen and the Sugarplum Fairy. It’s a tall order for any dancer to play multiple roles that span the entire ballet. Karyna Shatkovskaya pulled it off with aplomb – traveling through the first act as a wide-eyed child excited for Christmas and ending as a mature woman of confidence and style as the commanding Sugarplum.

Her Nutcracker Prince, danced by Rustem Imangaliev, while courtly couldn’t match her calm. His tours en air had momentum and height, but his landings were dangerously off-kilter. The audience braced for a potential hard fall every time he launched himself into the sky.
 
The stars of the evening were Aiya Melis and Rafael Urazov who dance the Arabian variation, but also made an appearance at the first act party as wind-up Moorish dolls and at the opening of the second act as the doves of peace. Davyduik obviously wanted to capitalize on their appeal. However, he shouldn’t have bothered, as their awe-inspiring strength – body-bending lifts and acrobatics — didn’t reveal themselves until their last appearance in the Arabian dance.
 
Davyduik also wanted to take advantage of the potential for parents, grandparents and siblings to buy tickets by casting a throng of children in nearly every scene. While adorable, especially those who danced around and in front of the snowflake fairies, it was also distracting and detracting.  That was particularly the case in the second act where most of the real dancing happens. But it was hard to see the professionals with cute kids clustered at the rim of the stage blocking the audience’s view.
 
It's unclear why Davyduik didn’t use the children for the Mother Ginger portion of the dance, which is generally where “Nutcracker” choreographers cast their tiniest dancers. In this production, there was no Mother Ginger. Davyduik used the music instead to unite the Chinese, French, Arabian, Spanish and Russian (here dubbed Folkloric) couples in a friendly pas de dix.
 
Regardless, of all the many “The Nutcracker” ballets happening in the Capital Region, this remains one of the best for both production designs and strong dancing.
 
Finally, producers were wise to remove all references to Russia in the name of the company and in the ballet. Americans can't abide or support Russian treachery in Ukraine. However, art has the power to unite. I hope and pray it will.