Who: The South African Ballet Theatre
Where: State Theatre until December 10
Cast: Andries Weideman, Angela Malan, Christian Tatchev, Penny Molfessis, Kevin Hurter, Lauren Dixon-Seager, Dilano Maritz, Gwen Barry, Chase Bosch, Admill Kuyler, Haydee Baker, Monde Mashiqa, Chloe Grove, Joel Morris, Sarah King, Lauren Summerley, Tanja Graafland, Zenia Tatcheva and Lorna Maseko
Once again, as faithful as the appearance of Christmas decorations in the shop windows this time of the year, The Nutcracker kicked off its season this weekend in the Pretoria State Theatre.
Undoubtedly, as what has become a tradition, this delightful ballet will be loved by audiences this festive season. Being fantasy at its best, one cannot help but get lost in this flight of fancy.
Tailor-made for children's entertainment, this magical two-act ballet is short enough not to lose its audience and simple enough to follow its plot. Little girls even come dressed up for the occasion.
But certainly not to the exclusion of adult audiences who evidently love the ballet. SABT successfully presents the Tchaikovsky masterpiece with skilled performance.
Apart from technical prowess, the dancers' characterisation is captivating. Penny Molfessis, perfectly cast as Clara, gives an outstanding performance as she takes one on her "was it all a dream or was it not?" journey.
The children, having great fun at Mr and Mrs Stahlbaum's (Kevin Hurter and Lauren Dixon-Seager) Christmas party, are wonderful. Clearly many hours of hard work went into their preparation, and it pays off. Their spontaneous yet disciplined performances are to be commended.
As the mice trying to capture the Nutcracker and as the toy soldiers - led by the Nutcracker who has magically come to life - fighting against giant rats, the kids clearly have great fun on stage, and so does the audience.
On a more serious note, Christian Tatchev as the Prince and Angela Malan as the Sugar Plum Fairy touched perfection in the grand pas de deux in the second act.
Danced with such command and technical precision, these remarkable dancers had the audience in awe.
They surely set a very high standard for other casts to be matched. Another dancer who creates magic wherever she appears is Chloe Grove. Her Arabian dance is a gem.
Some of the other dances in this act, however, need a good dose of polish. Hopefully the opening night jitters will have settled by the next run.
One also looks forward to the performance of guest dancer Jan-Eric Wikstrom from The Royal Swedish Ballet.