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The casting of Nutcracker is such one would like to overdose, seeing the range of interpretations. Out of eight possibilities I managed to enjoy a second view, the December 26 matinee, where I enjoyed my first glimpse Natnaree Pipit-Suksun, the Royal Ballet graduate, who joined San Francisco Ballet last summer as a soloist.

It also allowed me to notice a variety of details I had missed, from the morning glory-shaped victrola at the Stahlbaums to the difference the set made with the rows of San Francisco houses seen behind spacious bay windows, and the wispy strands of San Francisco fog, sometimes grey-blue, sometimes pinky beige, depending on where streetlights hit.

Jorge Esquivel is noted for his stride, more stalk, than walk; his Drosselmeyer has dash, and a minimalism pronouncing him decisive and sagaciously controlling.

Cast changes brought Val Caniparoli in as Dr. Stahlbaum with his hearty front and center air, Yoira Brito as his wife delicate and busy with social arrangements. Jim Sohm played a cane-assisted grandfather who nonetheless danced gamely with Pascale Leroy, exhorting the ensemble to join him. Chidozie Nzerem gave one of his minor gems in portraiture as a father, admiring his daughter’s gift. Dancing Dolls Rory Hohenstein, Clara Blanco and Garrett Anderson were a good trio; I did not realize that Hohenstein possessed the flexibility of Jack-in-the-Box which Tomasson’s choreography demands. Clara Blanco’s doll was wonderfully sharp and precise, and Anderson’s wood-like thrusts of legs and sword were right on target.
 

Ashley Wheater as Drosselmeyer in Tomasson's new Nutcracker
© photo courtesy of SF Ballet

Joan Boada, as Nutcracker Prince, traded blows with Kiril Zaretsky as the King of the Mice, Zaretsky expanding on his initial impression, making the Mouse monarch not only one with twirling moustache but hand-to-chest bravado like an ego-filled opera star.

Pipit-Suksun as Queen of the Snow is gentle but authoritative. Her developpes and arabesques are high as one expects in a dancer with hyper knee extensions. Her profile in arabesque or attitude reminded me of the late Svetlana Bariosova, another notable example of liquid hyper extension. She faltered off center in her opening supported turns, ably righted by Stephen Legate, one of the company’s most unmannered male dancers whose bland manner belies a strong technique. Pipit-Suksun turning preparations showed Cecchetti influence in Royal Ballet training, a contrast to the one arm downward press of Russian style. I look forward to seeing her in the company’s abstract ballets.

As Tomasson conceives it, The Sugar Plum Fairy role is a natural for Vanessa Zahorian, all exquisitely ruffled pink. She was also on target and quite at ease. There are transition passages which seem to need choreographic adjustment; otherwise this Fairy is a pink jewel in the midst of nature.

Boada’s mime of the battle with the mice was exceptional; with Garcia one is bowled over by his elevation and ballon, spirit predominating. Boada possesses an equal technical facility but his dancing has edge or etch to it. So also with Kristin Long in the Grand pas de deux where she tossed her head with the excitement of a dancer really into a role and knowing it is going well. Their joint technical brilliance, sure and exciting, seems extroverted rather than an intuitive artistry. There is room, of course, for both approaches.
 

Tina LeBlanc and Gonzalo Garcia in the Grand pas de deux
in Tomasson's new Nutcracker
© photo courtesy of SF Ballet

In the Arabian I noticed the presence of a new moon projection in the mauve background before which Jonathan Mangosing and Steven Norman rubbed the genie’s lamp before Rachel Viselli appeared. Joseph Philipps took the lead role in Chinese with an energetic, clear emphasis to twists and jumps. The French dancers’ costumes sported garters on one leg as Maureen Choi, Pauli Magierek and Amanda Schull executed ronds de jambes, flicking narrow red streamers to flute trills. James Sofranko led the Russian dance with Martyn Garside and Rory Hohenstein, while Pablo Piantino cavorted adroitly as Madame Du Cirque’s favorite dancing bear, his timing a terrific touch.

This Nutcracker seems to provide a myriad of opportunities for the corps de ballet and the San Francisco dancers deliver a class act.