'Nutcracker': Always a holiday delight

Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet performed "The Nutcracker" on Saturday at the Performing Arts Center at the University at Albany. (Susan Blackburn Photography)

There are so many wonderful holiday traditions, but for lovers of dance, there is only one – “The Nutcracker.”
 
And Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet’s rendition of the Tchaikovsky classic is a charmer. As seen on Saturday afternoon at the Performing Arts Center at the University at Albany, this version doesn’t cut corners, as some nonprofessional companies do. Better still, it’s inclusive. Every child, even a large cadre of preschoolers, had a role. As snow flurries through the Land of Snow and then as the angels tiptoeing with the Sugarplum Fairy, they brought on the smiles.
 
They and the other student dancers left the audience with warm feeling, one that makes one realize that there is magic in the holidays and one can only truly appreciate it through the enthusiasm of a child.
 
The young company is directed by Joan Kilgore Anderson and Cristiane Santos who choreographed and staged this sweet version that fully embraced all the time-honored traditions of the ballet – the dolls that spring to life, the growing tree, the snowy stage and the fantastical journey through the Land of the Sweets.
 
While the dancers – including some of the adults – are of varying abilities and talents, Anderson and Santos did an admirable job of unifying the cast in clean and kaleidoscopic variations. However, there are certain dancers that stood out and deserved special recognition.
 
Hannah Barber as Clara was delightful. Strong and steady, she drew the eye, initially, with her talents. But she won the audience over with her gregarious smile as the girl who dreamed of a living Nutcracker who whisks her off to an adventure.
 
Emeline Hong was a revelation in the Coffee divertissement. Elegant and poised, this young dancer looked to have a future beyond her high school years. She, like other dancers, moved about throughout the cast to fill out the corps de ballet – a tall and exhausting order for all of them.
 
It was also wonderful to see Andre Robles, known for his work with the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company, who guested as Drosselmeyer, the mystical toymaker. Tall and stately, he was a soloist supreme whom no one could ignore. He carried the first act party with class.
 
The central to it all was Sarah MacGregor as the Sugarplum Fairy and Aram Hengen as her Cavalier. She was pretty and pleasant in both delicate pointe work in the grand pas de deux with Hengen, an attentive escort. While he didn’t have the requisite ballon that ensured wowing those in the seat, Hengen didn’t miss a step and held MacGregor aloft with calm.
 
While Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet’s “Nutcracker” was delightful, some in the audience were not. They fell in two camps -- those who can’t seem to put their phones away and those who feel responsible for shaming the fanatics. Twice, a man shouted “put down your phone.” The second time, someone responded by yelling “shut-up.” While I understand the shrieker’s frustration, as phones are distracting and inappropriate at the ballet, so too is yelling. Perhaps the best way to handle the issue is to have designated ushers tapping shoulders.
 
I’m not sure the answer, but I implore those in the seats, out of respect for the children on the stage, put away your phone and be quiet.