Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker at The Fox | Review

My best friend Holli and I decided to have a girls night out on Monday, and we went to see the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker. This was both of our first times to not only see a ballet, but to see anything at the Fox Theater. We really enjoyed ourselves.

The Fox Theater isn’t hard to find. It’s right off of Highway 64 on Grand Boulevard. Of course, it was half raining out, and dark as could be, so there was traffic everywhere and since we had never been before we were clueless for where to park. Our 38 minute drive ended up taking us an hour. But, we made it nonetheless.

The Fox at Christmas time is beautiful! I’m sure it is all year round, but with all of the lights and festive decorations, it really shines. When we walked in, they had images of the ballet flashing on the screens above the bars, and a table in the middle set up for souvenirs. We made a pit stop at the restroom and then headed to our seats. *FYI, the bathroom was just as majestic as the rest of the Fox!

Our seats were pretty close to the stage, and we were dead center. I was really excited. It was almost elegant in there. In fact, it WAS elegant. The ceilings were adorned with jewels and elaborate artwork and what looked like empty wading pools of water. There were pillars on the sides of the large outer walls, and the stage curtain had a print on it that was detailed and elaborate. Just being there made me feel… special.

The ballet was about to begin, and they announced a “pre-show” of the prima ballerina and a local cellist. It was called “The Swan” and it was beautiful. She was so graceful and delicate; on her toes the entire time. At that point, I knew I would enjoy myself.

The ballet began and it opened with a man (the Uncle) and his toys. He was like a magician. He made the toys come to life. Let me tell you, it has to take some skill to both act like a toy and dance ballet at the same time. It was awe-provoking.

Next there was a party where a little girl (Masha) received a Nutcracker doll from her Uncle. I was expecting the nutcracker to look like, well, a nutcracker. Instead, to me he looked like a toy soldier. Anyway, a little boy broke the toy, and that night, in her sleep she dreamt about the doll coming to life.

There were rats with a Rat King, snow legends, emissaries of Spain, Africa, Europe and Russia, and lots and lots of dancers including a swan made of two people. It was captivating. There was never a dull moment, and I found myself tapping my foot along to familiar melodies like the Waltz of the Flowers. I wonder if the dancers are as delicate in real life as they are on stage.

In the second act, one couple seemed to steal the show, and it wasn’t the prima ballerina (although she was the best to me). This couple was one of the emissary groups and they did tricks that you’d see on X Factor or something. It was crazy. How they get their bodies to move that way and balance on each other is beyond me. There was one point where I thought I saw the woman’s foot turn completely around! They received the loudest applause of the night.

The prima ballerina was by far my favorite. She was probably up on her toes for 90% of her performances. I can’t even imagine the strength she has, or the amount of pain she can withstand! All I could do was stare at her feet the entire time. She was wearing a beautiful tutu with jewels in patterns all over it and a tiara that glittered in all of the spotlights on her. What word can describe her and her performance? Beautiful just won’t do. Exquisite. Heavenly. Immaculate. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.

One of the best parts of this ballet was the children. Yes, the children. This production gets in touch with a local dance project in the city that they are in, and local children join in on the performance. It was cute to watch the children of all ages. The times they’d forget a step, the way their short little legs looked extremely cute doing little toe-taps, the gleam in their eyes as they enjoyed themselves, and the way the Russian dancers guided them and enjoyed their company as well. There was one point where I teared up watching a little girl pulling a sheep up and down the stage as she danced ballet the whole way. It was the sweetest thing, and made me think of my daughter doing something like that one day.

When it was all over, and the performers took their bows, they received a standing ovation. It gave me goose bumps. There wasn’t one slip-up, one error. It was perfect and it showed in that applause at the end. I would love to see this ballet again. I would make it an eventful night, dressed to the nines, and invite friends and family to attend as well. It truly is something that will stick with me for a long time.

I hope that you get a chance to see Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker when it’s here again. It won’t disappoint.

*We weren’t allowed to take a camera in, so I had to rely on my phone and the pictures aren’t very good. Sorry I couldn’t show you more.

I received two tickets, free of charge, to see this performance and give my honest views and opinions. I was not encouraged in any way to give a positive (or negative) review. I was given the opportunity through US Family Guide.