Every winter, “The Nutcracker,” a ballet with a score written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, is performed by dance companies across the country. If you walked into the Levin Ballroom this past Saturday night, you would have found the Brandeis Ballet Company performing this show for the first time. This production was fairly untraditional. Much of the show was cut out, and the gaps were filled in with narration that was projected onto a screen to look like a storybook.

After the first narration explaining the premise of the show, the ballet opened with Clara (Brooke Granovsky ‘18) and a group of party guests performing the first dance in the show. Granovsky was a perfect Clara. Throughout the whole party scene, from the first dance to Clara being presented the Nutcracker doll, Granovsky was able to genuinely portray Clara’s excitement at receiving the doll. Her face lit up when the doll was handed to her, and her movements were energetic and animated. Granovsky was not the only one who played Clara, though.

Along with Granovsky in Act I, the part was shared with Hannah Schuster ’18 in Act II — who also played the Rat Queen — and Liza Korotkova ’19 — who also was cast as the Harlequin Doll. Every Clara played the part extremely well, and the transitions were so seamless that it was nearly impossible to tell that the part was shared.

The party scene was not complete without the “Drosselmeyer Variation,” danced by Amanda Ehrmann ’18, and “The Dolls,” performed by the Soldier Doll (Joanna Martin MA ’17), the Harlequin Doll (Liza Korotkova ’19) and the Princess Doll (Polina Potochevska ’20). Each doll danced beautifully, and their dancing was so fluid and so skillful that I could easily tell they were wind-up dolls but also could tell that the dancers were experienced and graceful as they twirled and glided across the stage.

“The Battle Scene” in the show was one of the most entertaining, though. The music was more modern than the traditional music, and the scene was lively. The red lighting made it easy to understand the conflict between the Rat Queen and her army of mice and Clara, the Nutcracker (David Dropkin ‘20) and the soldiers.

The scene was well choreographed and fun to watch.

Another distinct element of the show was the fact that multiple guest groups, both from Brandeis and from professional dance groups, performed. The highlight of these was by far Dance Reveasian, a Chinese dance group in Boston. This group performed a traditional Chinese dance that was both well-performed and enjoyable to watch. All the dancers were perfectly in sync with each other, and the traditional costumes really made the dance. It was fascinating to watch dances inspired by so many different cultures.

Many times, it was unclear how these groups fit into to the larger context of “The Nutcracker,” but that made it all the more unusual and untraditional.

“The Nutcracker” ended with a rendition of “Pas de Deux,” a dance choreographed by David Dropkin ’20 and performed by the Nutcracker and the Sugar Plum Fairy (Hannah DeRoche ’19). DeRoche and Dropkin worked so well together, and their chemistry really shone in the dance.

Overall, “The Nutcracker” was a lighthearted, fun show to watch. The costumes, the lighting and the set all created the mood of the show, and the dances were well-choreographed and well-executed. It was a great way to begin the month of December and get into the spirit of the holiday season.

—Editor’s Note: Brooke Granovsky ’18 is a staff writer for the Justice.