Empty calories: Ratmansky's Whipped Cream for ABT is sweet but slight

The best comparison I can give for Alexei Ratmansky’s Whipped Cream is that it’s like a box of donuts – pleasant, sweet, but sort of empty calories. This week Whipped Cream kicked off American Ballet Theatre’s fall season and the audiences loved it. They ooh’ed and aah’ed at spectacular sets and costumes by Mark Ryden (the huge heads and candy-box scenery made one think of a Disney movie), and whooped with delight when the Boy (the spectacular Daniil Simkin) finished his YAGP-gala-like solo. It’s a crowdpleaser, but is it really a great ballet?

Some of the problems of the ballet are built in. Ratmansky has followed the outlines of the 1924 ballet Schlagobers. The ballet’s story is thinner than Nutcracker – a boy eats too many sweets and falls sick. The doctor attending him is creepy. With the help of some dancing liquor bottles, the Boy is whisked away by Princess Praline to a fantasy land where he can indulge in all the whipped cream he wants. Richard Strauss’ score (originally choreographed by Heinrich Kröller) is sweet and always pleasing and tuneful. It does not, however, have the built-in emotional peaks of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.

The quality of Ratmansky’s choreography is also inconsistent; the first act is dominated by a lengthy pas de deux for Tea and Coffee that comes across as generic. It’s not until the finale of the first act that the choreography comes alive, the puffs of whipped cream fall down a ramp, one by one, in a delightful parody of The Kingdom of the Shades in La Bayadère.

The second act choreography is much superior. The pas de deux between Princess Praline and the Boy is Ratmansky at his best – cute, quirky, full of flirtation. The variation for Princess Praline is filled with steps so fast one can hardly keep up. All the shenanigans with the doctor, nurses and liquor bottles were cute. The finale is filled with the kind allegro dancing that lights up the stage, and has a tableau so colorful it really is a feast for the eyes.

Ratmansky personally supervises every cast of his ballets. As a result, almost every role has a dancer that fits the requirements. Daniil Simkin originated the role of the Boy, and although he’s no longer with ABT, he returned for two performances this run. He’s amazing. Slight, boyish, with a hint of stubbornness, he looks right for the role. His dancing is even more spectacular – the sugar-high solo at the finale of the ballet seems tailor-made for Simkin's bravura talent. Barrel turns, 540s, you name it, he’s got it.

Breanne Granlund made a very fine debut as Princess Praline. Her steps have a natural sweetness and light to them, and she looks exactly like the kind of princess of a sick boy’s dreams. She did have trouble with a few moments of her variation, but she was very winning overall.

Devon Teuscher and Cory Stearns, as Tea Flower and Coffee, were elegant and pleasing, but lacked some of the quirky charm I remember Stella Abrera and David Hallberg bringing to the role. Teuscher didn’t articulate the “crumpling” leaf choreography very well. I also think the pas de deux for Tea and Coffee simply isn’t very inspired. I loved Zhong-Jing Fang as the mischievous Mademoiselle Chartreuse. Great character dancer Roman Zhurbin, who was a hoot in the mime role of the Chef/Doctor.

As I wrote, the audience seemed to love it. Whipped Cream might be empty calories, but sometimes a box of donuts is still pretty good.