Wit and wonder in Kansas City Ballet's Nutcracker

By Hilary Stroh, 05 December 2021

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“Carney is onto a good thing by adding wit to sentimentality: it leavens the whole”

Reviewed at Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City on 5 December 2021

The Nutcracker (Devon Carney, Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov)

Kansas City Ballet

Ramona Pansegrau, Conductor

Kansas City Symphony

Madeleine Mullin, Dancer

Taryn Mejia, Dancer

Lamin Pereira, Dancer

Kelsey Ivana Hellebuyck, Dancer

Kansas City Ballet in Swan Lake: good girl vs bad girl

Hilary Stroh, 17th October

Swan Lake opens the season for Kansas City Ballet in a splendid looking production and with very pleasing interpretations.

****1

Kansas City Ballet: Peter Pan offers a magical Neverland

Hilary Stroh, 16th February

Devon Carney's Peter Pan is alluring and terrifically comic: tantrums, sulking, pranks and fun, all thrown into the mix.

*****

Kansas City Ballet's The Nutcracker: refreshingly classic

Hilary Stroh, 1st December

Kansas City Ballet's The Nutcracker charms young and young at heart.

*****

KCB's authentic Cinderella has clear narrative and plenty of parody

Hilary Stroh, 17th February

Devon Carney's Cinderella is fast-moving and busy, with the stepsisters cavorting across the stage as the epitome of pantomime dames

****1

An enthralling Giselle opens the Kansas City Ballet season

Hilary Stroh, 14th October

An engaging and emotionally authentic rendition of the 19th-century classic features Kaleena Burks in the title role.

****1

Steely swans in Kansas City

Hilary Stroh, 14th February

Kaleena Burks impresses in her role as Odette/Odile in Kansas City Ballet's Swan Lake.

****1

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Hilary Stroh

Hilary is an independent scholar and academic historian, based in DC. She has a background in violin, piano and ballet. Educated at Dublin and Cambridge, she has recently published her first two books.