An abridged Nutcracker is the highlight of the company s virtual holiday program
Molly Glentzer December 21, 2020Updated: December 22, 2020, 11:10 am
Houston Ballet s Naazir Muhammad brings some Nutcracker acrobatics to one of the dances of the company s on-demand Nutcracker Sweets performance. Photo: Lawrence Elizabeth Knox / Lawrence Elizabeth Knox
The best thing about “Nutcracker Sweets,” Houston Ballet’s on-demand virtual holiday program, turns out to be the element I least expected to enjoy: An abridged video of artistic director Stanton Welch’s “The Nutcracker.”
Archival films of big ballets have not been a satisfying replacement for live dance this year. They are typically shot from a distance, with a stationary camera or two, because that’s all the dancers’ unions used to allow.