O the wonder and faith of a child during Christmas. This wonder and belief is on display this weekend at the Kenya National Theatre through Dance Centre Kenya (DCK)'s performance of The Nutcracker.
Under the tutelage of Cooper Rust, the Centre’s artistic director, the ballerinas have put together an impressive display of colour, costume and choreography that transport one from Nairobi to Saint Petersburg where it was first performed. This is the 9th time that DCK has hosted the performance with an impressive audience turnout year after year.
In 1892, Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote a two-act classical ballet based on French novelist and playwright Alexander Dumas’ 1844 short story, The Nutcracker.
The Nutcracker, according to online sources is itself a retelling of German Romantist E.T.A Hoffmann’s 1816 short story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. If only world politics could be repaired by literature and the arts.
The Nutcracker did not achieve instant success but has arguably been one of the most performed classical ballet pieces. Some notable companies include the New York City Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, American and Arizona Ballet companies and the Cape Town City Ballet.
Some companies record that almost 40 percent of their annual income is through The Nutcracker performances.
The Nutcracker is set on Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum Home.
After the Christmas tree is set up, the children, Clara (Sawa Chiba & Atiya Ghandi) and Fritz (Fortune Otieno) receive their gifts which are then taken away for safekeeping. Drosselmeyer (Alvin Weru) the mysterious figure in the room who happens to be their godfather, a talented toy maker has one more gift, a wooden nutcracker doll which he passes on to Clara. Clara immediately takes a liking to it but Fritz accidentally breaks it.
Thankfully, Drosselmeyer can fix it immediately. Later that night, the nutcracker comes to life and leads an army of gingerbread men, tin soldiers engaged in a fight and dolls who are doctors, all to Clara’s astonishment when she awakes in the middle of the night.
DCK’s performance of this classical piece is nothing short of fascinating. Escaping Nairobi’s weather elements and safely within the hallowed walls of the theatre, one is enthralled by the ambience, the costumes, the pirouetting of the ballerinas, and the changing scenes.
At the pit below, the orchestra, led by Levi Wataka performs song after song composed by Tchaikovsky. One by one, the ballerinas take to the stage in their ages, as the stage is transformed into one sugar party in the land of sweets, which the nutcracker - turned Prince - has taken Clara with gratitude for saving her life.
Ballet is already a delicate art form, taking many hours to perfect behind the scenes. For The Nutcracker, it has been more than two months in the making for the very talented cast who range from beginners to almost prolific ballerinas.
Seen as a specialised, even secluded form of dance, the work of DCK is different in that the company seeks children from schools in Kibera, Ngong to work with them until they can perform here. This has changed attitudes in the informal settlements in Kenya and given children from the community a chance to dream.
Lavender Orisa was introduced to dance by one of her teachers at Spurgeon’s Academy in Kibera and has been dancing for eight years.
Today, she is one of the senior DCK dancers and has already concluded her dance scholarship at the English National School of Ballet.
Ephraim Kimani who plays the prestigious Sugar Plum Cavalier was born into a family of athletes - a footballer father and a gymnast mother from Murang'a.
He says it was in his blood to do sports and got into gymnastics while in school in Kibiko, Ngong. When he moved to Mainflow Preparatory in Ngong, he was offered a sponsorship and while there, was tutored in dance by Lawrence Ogina who introduced him to Cooper.
Ogina, now a dancer with the Columbia Classical Ballet Company studied at the University of South Carolina and continues to serve as an inspiration to the young ballerinas back here.
So too is the story of Mary Ogeto, who has performed in the show seven times. For her, ballet was never an art form she considered but once she was introduced to the ballet club at Spurgeon's, the costumes won her over. She struggled with classical music as an accompanying genre to the dance form, as she was used to Genge and Afrobeats in Kibera where she was raised.
Eventually, she became so good that when she moved to High School in Nakuru, she brought ballet to the school and it garnered a huge following.
Meanwhile, across the road from the National Theatre, the Kenya Conservatoire of Music has prepared an unforgettable evening on December 8, where you can sing along to your favourite carols. Under the headline Singing to Thrive Christmas Concert 2.0, music director Winnie Muriithi will lead the chorale alongside pianist Kim Thuita.
Another classic performance expected will be Baraka Opera Kenya’s delivery of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors at Braeburn Theatre, Gitanga Road on Saturday 14 and 15 December. Following a successful showing last year, the local opera company has assembled more than 50 of Kenya’s finest singers, dancers and instrumentalists for this year’s show.
It will be delivered as an opera in the first half while the second part will include a celebration of well-loved Christmas music. Ian Mbugua is directing the musical celebration while Kiggundu Musoke conducts.
Finally, join the Kenya Amateur Dramatics for a Kadsmas Carol - a Pantomime with an original take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The show will be held at Under the Swahili Tree in Karen on December 7.
