The Nuts Talent Show
São Paulo City Ballet
premiere November 2016, Theatro Municipal de São Paulo - Brasil
The Nuts Talent Show, by Alex Soares, was inspired by information from Tchaikovsky's diary and is an adult and modern version of the classic ballet The Nutcracker. The piece premiered at the Municipal Theater with the Ballet of the City of São Paulo and the São Paulo CIty Symphony Orchestra at the end of 2016.
Divided into two acts and with 90 minutes long, The Nuts Talent Show is an adult work that joins humor, criticism and the melancholy that accompanied Tchaikovsky through life. The choreographer transformed the divertissement of the second act into a TV talent show, such as reality shows whose formula is reproduced in several countries. The joke is also reflection on the "franchising" which the Nutcracker itself has become.
Alex Soares updates the characters in light of how the composer would look at his work these days, giving Clara, his protagonist, as well as the Nutcracker himself, a contemporary, urban and pop outfit, with hints of humor and a very lively movement. distinct from that known from classical ballet. Including projections from Google as a tool for searching for aspects of the work, real characters that were part of the composer's imagination are present on stage, as well as features that remix the story of his characters. This “Nutcracker” starts from the original but modifies it and does not resemble its known montage, the repertoire, given by a secular ballet culture.
Soares, who studied filmmaking, is also responsible for lighting and videos.
Balé da Cidade de São Paulo
iracity cardoso artistic director
alex soares choreography, light design and videos
wilson aguiar set design
cassiano grandi costumes
rossana boccia light design assistent
eliseu correa street dance classes
suzana mafra, roberta botta, kênia genaro rehearsal assistants
Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo
eduardo strausser musical direction and regency
music
piotr ilitch tchaikovsky
The Nutcracker , Op. 71 [1892]
Ballet with 2 acts and 3 scenes
Dancers on stage: 31
110 minutes with intermission
Pictures