'Urban Nutcracker': A holiday classic gets a Boston accent
The Boston Globe · Karen Campbell ·
“Anthony Williams’ Urban Nutcracker” returns to the Boch Center Shubert Theatre Dec. 12-20.
It’s the season for waltzing flowers and sugarplum fairies and adorably rambunctious party children, as dance companies and studios big and small around the world prepare for their versions of “The Nutcracker.” But in “Anthony Williams’ Urban Nutcracker,” which returns to the Boch Center Shubert Theatre Dec. 12-20, audiences can expect not just traditional classical ballet, but also a bit of Bollywood and flamenco, some tap dancing construction workers, a hip-hopping soldier doll. And at least one lucky wag will get the coveted role of the cheeky farting mouse.
Williams’s contemporary spin on the holiday classic, still going strong after more than 25 years, is presented by his City Ballet of Boston. The company’s professional adult dancers form the core of the ballet, complemented by guest artists in a range of dance styles and a slew of enthusiastic children, many of whom train with company members through its youth programs and Williams’s school. A playful, offbeat take on a young girl’s fanciful visit to the Land of the Sweets, the production takes its urban influence directly from the multicultural richness of Boston itself, with iconic landmarks like the Citgo sign and Fenway Park and a flock of tiny ducklings (as in “Make Way for…”) enlivening the proceedings.
And built into the production’s DNA from the beginning is a sense of inclusion and accessibility for both audiences and performers, reflecting Williams’s core mission of “diversity through dance.” The goal consistently has been to celebrate the city’s colorful multiplicity by uniting different dance traditions, generations, and communities in a story that he says “…feels connected to the city we call home.”
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