New 'Nutcracker and I' to merge reality and imagination
With Christmas approaching, two young British artists will present their story version of “The Nutcracker” at Shanghai Grand Theater on December 20 and 21.
Based on Tchaikovsky’s music, the multimedia show “The Nutcracker and I” promises a comprehensive performance that combines multimedia animation, piano and ballet.
The whole idea came from a 9-year-old girl in the audience of a performance by pianist Alexandra-loana Dariescu. The girl asked Dariescu what was in her mind when she played the piano.
“Many artists will have certain imaginations in mind when they perform. For me, it is often a story,” Dariescu said. “I want to share the story in my mind with the audience, and ‘The Nutcracker’ is a perfect choice to achieve that.”
Dariescu intentionally arranged a 15-minute piano piece at the beginning of the performance, so that it can work as an open door through which audiences enter the story in her mind.
The multimedia show is, to some extent, an autobiography of Dariescu. It tells the story of a little girl who dreamt of being a concert pianist and finally become one, after traveling around the world, meeting different people, and being exposed to different cultures.
To attract more of the younger generation who grew up in a more visual world, Dariescu decided to combine the classic with modern technology.
“The young are so used to looking at screens for information, so we use what they are familiar with in our presentation,” said Dariescu, “It is challenging, but wonderful.”
Ballet dancer Desiree Kyra Ballantyne-Grove will be the only real performer on stage, while all the other characters will be presented via animation. Every single drawing was done by hand, according to Dariescu. There were only six animators working on it at first, and gradually that expanded to a 30-member team, taking nearly 2 years to complete more than 35,000 drawings.
Dancing with animation is not an easy job for Ballantyne-Grove, especially in the Grand pas de deux when she needs to interact with her animated partner.
“The challenge is to bridge the imaginary world with the real one on stage,” Ballantyne said.
The two young artists hope that their presentation on stage may blur the boundary between what's real and what's the imagination.
Performance details
Date: 7:30pm, December 20 and 21
Venue: Shanghai Grand Theater
Address: 300 People’s Ave.
Tickets: 50-380 yuan
Tel: 6386-8686
