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Christmas Recital Purveys Seasonal Cuteness and More

By Woodruff Laputka - University of Alaska Anchorage

Christmas recitals are a whimsical reminder of the infantile beauty of the holidays. They’re cute, simple and often riddled with dashed choreography for sake of having a good time. And, from the droves of youngsters dancing to the tune of past Christmas hits, to the masses of parents cheering on their little performers with near devilish hopes of a life-long career in entertainment, pageants spark different memories in every person’s childhood. “We were there, you know, up in the spotlight, tapping our way across Bing Crosbys, “White Christmas”, etched with smiles so rigid they could cut a diamond in half. Boy those were the days alright. Those were the days.”

The Anchorage Ballet Academy’s 2010 Christmas Recital presented all the best elements inherent to this ritualistic, age old experience for youngsters. Splashes of holiday color matched with catchy, loud music and the fine art of balancing both dancing talent and childish cuteness created a feeling of jaw-dropping, “oh my god!” adorability. With fourteen short pieces, ranging from various age groups of young ballet hopefuls and various styles both classic and contemporary, the above cuteness effect is easily achieved, leaving a feeling of youthful wonder and amusement after every performance, if not the persistent applause from the parents clapping loudly in the audience for their child’s most deserved recognition.

One of the more humorous, even cute elements, was the presence of the dance teachers themselves, conducting the younger dancers through a juxtaposition of ballet and, “look mom, here I am.” By the look on their faces you could tell that all the teachers present simply loved this aspect of their careers, performing the dance moves correctly and watching as the how-ever-many youngsters scrambled to do their best. Less like a performance, it was more like that scene from the Sound of Music, where the Von Trap children learn to sing for the first time. There is no frustration. Simply amused, glad-to-help mentorship that likely will genuinely inspire these children to more dancing, if not more practice.

As far as the production goes not much can really be said. Short and sweet on account of many a child in the audience. The simplistic stage setting matched well with the fun, amusing atmosphere of little kids jumping all over in unison. Colorful back lighting matched the white-lit Christmas tree to purvey a pleasing Christmas setting. It doesn’t really seem fitting to make any large scale comparison between this show and actual ballet, which, at the end of the second half, the academy showed quite well they are capable of.

A tease from the seasonal Nutcracker performance left an air of impressive professionalism that easily cleaned the pallet of holiday cuteness, leaving you in your seat wanting more of what the academy has to offer. And, assured by the Academy’s Principle, Farah Canale, there is a whole season of grade-A local ballet in store for the Alaska dance-going public.

Christmas 2010

Anchorage Classical Ballet

December 10, 2010 at 7pm

Discovery Theatre