Word: pelzig
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...theme of innovation came clear from the start with Daniel Pelzig's "Nine Lives: Songs of Lyle Lovett." The odd juxtaposition of ballet with Lovett's mellow country blues and twangy tunes created a comic atmosphere that was magnified by the black leatherish pants worn by the men and the attitudes adopted by the dancers in their dramatization of the lyrics. Whether pretending to light a cigarette or making an appropriate facial expression, the performers were certainly into the piece. Classical ballet seemed to become one with line dancing in the livelier segments, and interspersed throughout the piece were beautiful...
...Daniel Pelzig has made a significant number of changes in this year's Nutcracker, some of which are for better and some for worse. Gone is the scene in which Clara and Fritz playfully try to peek through the door at the pre-gala happenings; gone also is the spicy one-woman, four-men "Spanish Dance" (it is now a simpler pas de deux). But these small changes do not make much difference in the overall appeal of the show--it remains as graceful and as cutely comical as it ever...
...Pelzig's greatest success is in the role of Mercutio, brilliantly performed by Robert Wallace, because it succeeds in incorporating humorous acting with a healthy dose of solid ballet--something that seems missing everywhere else. Wallace is a delight to watch as he dances drunk, pirouettes, and step-dances off a stone bench; one wishes he were given the opportunity to dance the role of Romeo...
...seems as though Pelzig choreographed the ballet first and then tried to add the Prokofiev score piecemeal to the different scenes; on several occasions, the music and steps clash instead of blending together. During one of the most sweeping and dynamic moments in the music, Juliet stands unmoving, simply staring out the window. During the Capulets' ballroom scene, against the darkly throbbing beat maintained by the brass, the dancers go through a ridiculous melange of half-flamenco, half karate-chop arm movements, shattering the image created by the music...
...Tybalt, skillfully portrays the dark vengefulness of the character through sharp jumps and cold, forbidding demeanour. A frigid, severe expression and haughtily up-tilted nose make soloist Nadia Thompson a perfect Lady Capulet, though there is no conceivable reason why her character should be on pointe. Oddly enough, Pelzig throws in a hint of incest between Tybalt and Lady Capulet--maybe it's just the acting, but they certainly seem a little too uncomfortably close throughout the ballet...