In 1987, when choreographer Robert Joffrey created his version of “The Nutcracker” for the Joffrey Ballet, he broke ground by moving the story from its traditional European backdrop to the home of an upper-class Victorian American family in New York, circa 1860, and incorporating everything from a Virginia reel-style dance for the adults at the Christmas eve party, to replicas of toys of the period. It was an “American” production for the company he always described as quintessentially American.
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The Huffington Post - Tuesday, December 13, 2016
A different type of excitement buzzed throughout the Auditorium Theatre lobby Saturday night. In years prior the hum has always been the lively anticipation of a ballet that was a familiar favorite-a tradition for many people in the Chicago area. But Saturday the crowd whirred with a sort of nervous tingle, awaiting the reveal of Christopher Wheeldon’s new Nutcracker, choreographed just for Joffrey. Would it be as engaging? Could the production live up to its predecessor? And for many-will this ballet continue to be worthy of inclusion in holiday tradition?
The Daily Iowan - Monday, December 12, 2016
Hours before Hancher’s curtain rose for its final preview of the Joffrey Ballet’s reimagined Nutcracker, Iowa City felt its first substantial downpour of snow.
Snowflakes coated the crowd of attendees. Children dressed in Wellies and their Sunday best walked beside parents in fur coats, kicking the bright white mounds and catching flakes on their tongues.
In the auditorium, a steady buzz betrayed the audience’s excitement for their glimpse at Christopher Wheeldon’s rejuvenated ballet, nearly ten years in the making, a mood accentuated by the stage’s projection: The Nutcracker, crimson and subtle, undulating against a black, foggy sky.
The Daily Iowan - Monday, December 12, 2016
I love The Nutcracker. As a dancer, as an audience member, as a pop-culture consumer — I willingly admit to a fervent devotion bordering on mild obsession. I know the score by heart; I’ve performed roles ranging from mouse to snowflake to the Sugar Plum Fairy. For me, The Nutcracker is a centerpiece of December’s jollity and magic.
So, naturally, when Hancher announced the Joffrey was in town with an entirely new Nutcracker, I was thrilled. The promise: a revisionist ballet, choreographed by iconic dance artist Christopher Wheeldon and adapted by acclaimed novelist Brian Selznick. A fresh take on a beloved, much-replicated tale. Wow, I thought, dreams do come true. Or, as I discovered, dreams produce thorny questions about the real cost of theater.
The New York Times - Sunday, December 11, 2016
The Joffrey Ballet long had a traditional “Nutcracker” by its founder-choreographer, Robert Joffrey, which it continued to perform after moving to Chicago from New York in 1995. Now, however, Christopher Wheeldon has made the company a new production that catches a historic moment in Chicago: the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, a world’s fair. And whereas traditional “Nutcrackers” begin among the gentry, he also makes the young heroine a working-class girl, the child and neighbor of immigrant workers.
NPR - Saturday, December 10, 2016
In the world of ballet, The Nutcracker is sort of a gateway drug. Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon danced his first Nutcracker when he was 11, with London's Royal Ballet. After he moved to the U.S., he danced the Balanchine production with the New York City Ballet.
Wheeldon is the choreographer behind a brand new Nutcracker created for the Joffrey Ballet. Expectations are high for this $4 million production, which premieres Saturday. It replaces the version that founder Robert Joffrey choreographed in 1987 — his last work before he died of AIDS.
The Daily Iowan - Tuesday, December 6, 2016
The celebrated pianist Emanuel Ax first performed at Hancher in 1974, and now, a little over four decades — and a brand new building — later, the pianist is returning to the lauded venue’s stage.
At 7:30 p.m. today, Ax will perform selections from Schubert and Chopin at Hancher.
Including his shows in 1974 and 2016, Ax has performed nine times at Hancher. He’s taken the stage solo and with a variety of other collaborators, including world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Cleveland Quartet, and the Brandenburg Ensemble. This year’s performance, however, will mark the first time for Ax to return to Hancher since 1999.
University of Iowa Research and Economic Development - Friday, December 2, 2016
We have such a responsibility with the Nutcracker,” said Christopher Wheeldon, Tony award winning choreographer at the Creative Matters panel on Nov. 29. “The Nutcracker is going to be many children’s first theatrical experience–the first time going to the theater–the gateway to what we hope to be the audience of the future. Everybody remembers their first Nutcracker.”
Wheeldon and a portion of the Joffrey Nutcracker artistic team–Julian Crouch, set, costume, mask designer; Ashley Wheater, Joffrey artistic director; and April Daly, Joffrey dancer–gathered to discuss the creative process of reimagining the classic Nutcracker ballet in a cozy corner of the Stanley Café at Hancher ahead of preview performances, Dec. 1-4.
The New York Times - Friday, December 2, 2016
The tree wasn’t growing correctly. The projection cues weren’t right. A mouse got stuck as it scurried up a pole. The Nutcracker’s sword broke, then broke again. “Stop, please,” Christopher Wheeldon called out patiently for the umpteenth time as the technical team of his new production of “The Nutcracker,” for the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, worked away at a table in the newly rebuilt, gleaming Hancher Auditorium here recently.
Iowa City Press Citizen - Thursday, December 1, 2016
Last Friday, in a dark Hancher Auditorium lit only by stage lights and the screens of a dozen laptops from a team of animators, lighting technicians and directors, the voice of Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon came over a sound system and filled the room.
"Dancers, we're back."
For more than a week, a production team of more than 80 people, including some of the most respected minds in the arts world, have taken over Hancher Auditorium to rehearse a new $4 million production of "The Nutcracker."