Love the Nutcracker story? Then imagine that Clara is dreaming and finds herself in a different Nutcracker altogether!
First she discovers a Matador doll that comes to life! And then imagine that instead of dueling with a Mouse King, our Matador Prince has a footwork duel with a Raven Queen! Do we still travel to an Enchanted Land? YES! But our Sugar Plum Fairy plays castanets…and instead of visiting the land of the sweets, we have a suite of dances highlighting the roots of Flamenco.
And no Flamenco show would be complete without a big fiesta where everyone sings and dances together. Sing along with our Spanish Christmas carols called ‘villancicos’ that are full of pep and vigor!
Our story begins in an Andalusian home on Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) where the family is gathered to celebrate. You may recognize the opening guitar riffs from the original Tchaikovsky score but soon the flamenco rhythm takes over as the family sings and dances together.
Next we share a Spanish holiday tradition - “el Gordo” the Christmas Eve national lottery drawing! Percussionist Diego Alvarez brings this tradition to life with his incredible solo on the ‘cajón’ a percussion instrument from Peru.
Then a beautiful ‘Nana’ (lullaby) with a Christmas theme signals the start of our journey to an enchanted land where Clara finds herself in dream world with a Matador Prince who must confront a powerful Raven Queen.
ACT II
With the Raven Queen defeated, our Matador Prince can finally return to the Enchanted Forest. The sky fills with Christmas stars and we meet the Sugar Plum Fairy who dances with the long train dress known as the ‘bata de cola’.
The performance winds through a suite of dances echoing the original Nutcracker story. This is a journey to the roots of Flamenco with a Classical Spanish piece ‘Ole Andaluz’ as well as a an upbeat style known as Alegrias (happiness) that reminds us of the AfroCaribbean presence in flamenco. We also explore the African and Middle Eastern roots of flamenco with a Tangos/Zambra. Flamenco’s Latin American influences are felt in the powerful presence of the Peruvian cajón, and the deep and soulful sound of the ‘cante jondo’ underlines the vital essence of Flamenco’s origins in Gitano (Spanish Gypsy) culture.
The finale brings the whole cast to the stage in a celebratory ‘Fin de Fiesta’ where even the musicians take a turn dancing !! Join us as we sing the chorus from a ‘villancico’ (Christmas Carol). You can find many of the lyrics from the performance as well as a digital program on the program page here ›››››››
