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Kids & Families
Ballet By Day - An Introduction for Children
November 22, 2008
This informative and entertaining hour is part demonstration, part dance, and all fun! Your children will learn a new appreciation for the ballet art form in a fast-paced, audience-participation program which shows the “Making of a Dancer” and the “Creation of a Performance.” Ballet San Jose’s professional dancers will be put through their paces by Artistic Director and choreographer, Dennis Nahat. This is the first in a series of four Children’s Matinees to be offered this season.
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Ticket Info
Tickets: $16-$47
Info Phone: 408-288-2800
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Dates & Times
Dates:
November 22, 2008Times:
1:30pm -
Venue Info
San Jose Center for the Performing Arts
255 Almaden Boulevard San Jose, CA 95113
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Accessibility Info
- Wheelchair Access
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NOTE: We do our best to ensure all information is accurate, however it's a good idea to visit the website or call the venue to verify the information.
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Member Reviews
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Event Name: The Nutcracker
"Ballet San Jose's got another joyful 'Nut' to crack"
Comment posted by: From a review by Mary Ellen Hunt from San Francisco, CA USA, Dec 17, 2008
Excerpts from SF Chronicle review, 12/13/08 Dennis Nahat's colorful and cheerful version of the holiday classic is loaded with endearing details and a refreshingly logical scenario. [It is] the kind... Expand
Excerpts from SF Chronicle review, 12/13/08 Dennis Nahat's colorful and cheerful version of the holiday classic is loaded with endearing details and a refreshingly logical scenario. [It is] the kind of beguiling yarn that a doting, dotty old godfather might spin for a favorite godchild. It is solid work from dancers in roles large and small that really makes this production sparkle. Dancing the heroine of the story, a sweet-faced, petite Maria Jacobs is well matched with Ramon Moreno as her prince. The pair have far more exhausting dancing to do in this version of 'Nutcracker' than is typical, and their easy, lofty jumps and appealing chemistry never flagged. And as the Tsarina and Tsar--the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier of this production--Jeremy Kovitch and Alexsandra Meijer put a glamorous cap on the ballet. The orchestra, under the baton of Dwight Oltman, lent a subdued grandeur to the Tchaikovsk score. Collapse
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Event Name: The Nutcracker
"Ballet San Jose creates a magical 'Nutcracker'"
Comment posted by: From Rita Felciano's review from San Jose, CA USA, Dec 17, 2008
Excerpts from San Jose Mercury News review, 12/13/08 In the case of Ballet San Jose's "The Nutcracker", familiarity breeds affection--not contempt. The strength of Dennis Nahat's treatment of the... Expand
Excerpts from San Jose Mercury News review, 12/13/08 In the case of Ballet San Jose's "The Nutcracker", familiarity breeds affection--not contempt. The strength of Dennis Nahat's treatment of the holiday classic is that it has the comfort of the familiar while still allowing the audience the pleasure of discovery new details. The piece also has the warmth of a family affair. The first act, packed with humorous and delicious details, still looks almost too rich to take in at one sitting. As in the past, favorite spots involve the mice--both the mechanical ones, peeking around corners and scooting on the floor, and the live ones played by students from the school. In the battle scene between those tiny feet and the big booted ones, you couldn't help but root for the rodents. The hilarious funeral yielded one of the ballet's great moments. It's those kinds of moments that make Nahat's "Nutcracker" such a delightful holiday treat--even after all these ye Collapse
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Event Name: The Toreador
"Adorable!"
Review posted by: Susannah from san jose, ca, Nov 21, 2008
What a fun Ballet! Rarely do you see such humor matched with such dance skill, such wonderful costumes, and great music. This was very entaining. So many plesant surprises! I don't want to give... Expand
What a fun Ballet! Rarely do you see such humor matched with such dance skill, such wonderful costumes, and great music. This was very entaining. So many plesant surprises! I don't want to give anything away, but there are some really creative sections to this performance that made it the most enjoyable ballet (and arts productions) I have seen in the last 3 years! Just wonderful! Even more so than the Nutcracker I think this would be a GREAT ballet to introduce children to. Easy to follow, and humor! If you've not see a ballet, if you've not seen Ballet San Jose, you won't want to miss it, I'm so sad it's just one weekend! Collapse
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Event Name: Just Balanchine
"EYE Review"
Comment posted by: Susannah from San Jose, CA, Mar 28, 2008
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Event Name: The Nutcracker
"(The) More muggin the merrier in Ballet San Jose's 'Nut'"
Comment posted by: Excerpt from the SF Chronicle review, Dec 15, 2007 by Mary Ellen Hunt from San Jose, CA, Dec 17, 2007
There's a pleasantly warm, homey feeling almost as soon as you walk into the San Jose Performing Arts Center for Ballet San Jose's "Nutcracker." It's the kind of show at which a complete stranger... Expand
There's a pleasantly warm, homey feeling almost as soon as you walk into the San Jose Performing Arts Center for Ballet San Jose's "Nutcracker." It's the kind of show at which a complete stranger might lean over the seat back and chat as if you'd been friends for years. Artistic Director Dennis Nahat's staging of his ballet, is a jaunty, colorful affair, full of bounce-and-go, enough to charm the first-time viewer or even the most jaded veteran of "Nutcrackers" past. On Thursday night, all the enthusiasm clearly drew the audience into the story. Delighted laughter and horrified gasps rippled through the house during the party scene, and startled shrieks erupted when a particularly loud flash turned the wooden Nutcracker doll into the handsome (Prince.) Maria and the Prince have an impressive amount of dancing to do, and they dance impressively, appearing in most of the divertissements throughout the second half. ...there's a darn good show on the stage, and that's all that matters. Collapse
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Event Name: The Nutcracker
"S.J.'s 'Nutcracker' bubbles over with wit, charm"
Comment posted by: Excerpts from review in San Jose Mercury News, Dec 15, 2007 by Rita Felciano from San Jose, CA, Dec 17, 2007
There is no "Nutcracker" that I know that has as charming bubbly a first act as San Jose's. The action fizzes like champagne. At one point, I counted six simultaneous vignettes, from the flirtation... Expand
There is no "Nutcracker" that I know that has as charming bubbly a first act as San Jose's. The action fizzes like champagne. At one point, I counted six simultaneous vignettes, from the flirtation between Lotte the maid, and Godfather Drosselmeyer's manservant Johann, to Helga the housekeeper swooning over Drosselmeyer. Everyone has a name; everyone has a well-defined role in this lovingly playful but basically orderly household. (Dennis) Nahat's performance of the eccentric uncle, who ruffles the calm and introduces an element of chaos, was just short of brilliant. With a touch of madness to it, this Drosselmeyer holds the strings and controls the festivity. A word about the mice. They are delicious. With their big ears, busy little fingers and padding toes, they scurry about until you almost believe that they'll take over the world. Lots of happy parents of these young dancers from Ballet San Jose School attended opening night; they had every reason to be proud. Collapse
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Event Name: The Nutcracker
"Nahat's 'Nutcracker' heartwarming as ever."
Comment posted by: Excerpts from San Jose Mercury review, Dec. 2006 from San Jose, CA, Dec 05, 2007
Something about "The Nutcracker" makes people flock to it year after year. Maybe it's the glorious score or the celbration of the extended family that has room for the eccentric friend and a doddering... Expand
Something about "The Nutcracker" makes people flock to it year after year. Maybe it's the glorious score or the celbration of the extended family that has room for the eccentric friend and a doddering grandpa. Or maybe it's remembering a time when you were no longer a child but not yet an adult, and the world seemed full of possibilities. Nowhere is that clearer than in Nahat's splendidly detailed, fast-moving first act. In this family, everyone has a well-defined role. There is even a hierarchy among the servants from the bossy housekeeper to the daffy maid. The children are being raised into traditions--the girls get dolls, the boys noisemakers. Godfather Drosselmeyer is the "troublemaker," introducing antics and some mystery into the family, yet he is tolerated and loved by everyone. All of these elements are richly interwoven in Ballet San Jose's "Nutcracker" at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Collapse
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Event Name: The Nutcracker
"Excerpts from SF Chronicle review, December 2006"
Comment posted by: Excerpt from the SF Chronicle from San Jose, CA, Dec 04, 2007
This "Nutcracker," which premiered in 1979, in in the details--sets and costumes designed by the brilliant David Guthrie. If all productions of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" are about holiday escapism,... Expand
This "Nutcracker," which premiered in 1979, in in the details--sets and costumes designed by the brilliant David Guthrie. If all productions of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" are about holiday escapism, this one, beautifully presented and well danced, is an escape of a different sort. In most versions, Maria and her Prince are guests at a series of divertissements. Often, they are children. In Nahat's, they're grown-ups who pitch right in, usually contributing a dance or a passage. And (they) are more than up to the task. She is delicate looking but blessed with wonderful extensions, beautifully arched feet and steady balances, not to mention a certain shy flirtatiousness. He is compactly powerful, buoyant and quick. Collapse
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Event Name: Carmina Burana & Summerscape
"Excerpts from Cleveland Plain Dealer review, Feb 1998"
Comment posted by: Review excerpts from West Coast Premiere from San Jose, CA, Oct 04, 2007
Mature Production Flows Before Enthusiastic Crowd "Carmina Burana" was advertised as a ballet for mature audiences. But if the Californians who bought out all tickets in advance for the four weekend... Expand
Mature Production Flows Before Enthusiastic Crowd "Carmina Burana" was advertised as a ballet for mature audiences. But if the Californians who bought out all tickets in advance for the four weekend performances expected an orgy, they were in for a surprise, because artistic director Dennis Nahat staged Carl Orff's famous score like a solemn ritual initiated by a magician and driven by dark forces of fate. The only part unsuitable for children was the tavern scene with it intimations of cannabilism and debauchery. The opening scene introduced the large cast of medieval monks turning in floor patterns that represent the wheel of fortune and young lovers who celebrate the joy of springtime. The finale follows the fate of an unfulfilled youth and a solitary woman who blossoms into a rose and is ravished by love. The men who played drunken topers in the tavern danced with forceful athleticism. The couples representing young love did difficult lifts with ease. Collapse
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Event Name: Carmina Burana & Summerscape
"Excerpts from SF Examiner review, Feb 1998"
Comment posted by: Review excerpts from West Coast Premiere from San Jose, CA, Oct 04, 2007
Nahat has listened to the music and read the bawdy medieval Latin lyrics. [But] this "Carmina Burana" does more than pay heed to the score. The billboard outside the theater declaims "50 dancers! 125... Expand
Nahat has listened to the music and read the bawdy medieval Latin lyrics. [But] this "Carmina Burana" does more than pay heed to the score. The billboard outside the theater declaims "50 dancers! 125 [voice] chorale! 24 children's chorus!" Remarkably, they're all on the stage, while Dwight Oltman leads 60 members of the symphony in the pit. In an era when our ears have been dulled by wretched taped musical accompaniments, Nahat's largess strikes a blow for professionalism. ...Nahat's "Carmina Burana" radiates, for the most part, a kind of sweet innocence. It is also, for much of its hourlong length, a hoot and a holler, a parody of choreography that follows music slavishly. Also, not to be forgotten is the roasted swan episode, during which [the dancer] is borne aloft on a spit, suffers numerous contortions on a platform and then endures the knife attacks by a gang of thugs who nibble on hunks of his hide. Collapse
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