Los Angeles Ballet Presents The Nutcracker

Overall, my young daughter and I enjoyed the ballet and the theatre. I think the Dolby theatre location in Hollywood made the ballet a bit more magical and fun. The afternoon show was filled with young girls and their parents, wearing pretty holiday dresses and tiaras. There's a photo spot (with Santa) in the lobby where they'll take your photos (for free) before the show and during the break, as well as a table selling nutcracker dolls and pretty tiaras. Our tickets were in the second row, which was great for seeing everything close up (sometimes too close!) but there were heads directly in our way in the front row, so we still had to move around the see parts of stage. Next time, I'd recommend getting front row seats in the next section if you want the best unobstructed view. There was no live orchestra, so I felt half the performance was missing, since I think the orchestra and the dancers should work together as a team. Hopefully, someday soon, this ballet company will be able to afford live musicians to play with them. The recorded music was nice, though, and never overwhelmed the dancers. I'd expect good sound in a Dolby theatre. The dancers themselves were professional and looked like they were having fun, even with a few minor stumbles. I wondered why they didn't use the Sugar Plum Fairy in this ballet? She's my favorite character, after Clara, so I really missed that. Since we were sitting so close, I had a good view of the costumes and set. I liked the simple, elegant look of everything. My daughter liked the mouse costumes. I was a tiny bit disappointed with the final grand pas de deus. I preferred the Clara dancer over the "Sugar Plum Fairy" dancer, but that's just my preference. I thought Clara's dancing was softer and more feminine. The Drosselmeyer character was awesome and fun--he really commanded the stage whenever he was on it. It was also fun to watch him carry the various human-sized toys around the stage. Overall, the performance was enjoyable. I would recommend it to families with girls who love the ballet. I look forward to seeing how this ballet company grows and improves over the years.

The entire Nutcracker experience was fantastic. From the moment you walked into the Dolby theater you were transported by a string quartet into Clara's musical dreamscape. The production was extremely well done, with precision dancers and costuming and sets that enhanced the performance but did not overwhelm. The intermission continued the immersive experience as a jovial St. Nick held court with little audience members, making their sense of wonder contagious. This was simply the best Nutcracker I have seen.

I was thoroughly impressed with the Los Angeles Ballet production of the Nutcracker. The ballet company is amazing and talented. I am looking to see more of their work!

LA Ballet's Nutcracker was unforgettable!!! It's a magical experience.

It was a fantastic show! The costumes, music and dancing!! Very, very enjoyable.

The production was disappointing but the dance was good.

I've seen Nutcracker performed many times, it's a favorite Christmas tradition! This was easily the best danced production I've seen. The costumes and sets were wonderful as well! However, half of the reason to see nutcracker is for the orchestra. Sadly, there wasn't an orchestra at this production. The lack of live music really took away from the experience and the magic of ballet. Though everything done was beautiful, I felt like half of the ballet was missing which bothered me throughout. I also felt like it was never clearly stated that there would be no orchestra and I felt like I was hoodwinked into buying a ticket that was for only half the product I had wanted to see. Kids need to see live classical music, the Nutcracker is the a perfect opportunity to invite them into the beautiful world of classical music! Sadly, this production did let me down in that regard.

Our whole family enjoyed it! Our 7-year-old son had so much fun that he asked to see it again.

The music, stage presentation, customs and DANCERS were absolutely wonderful. An evening to remember. Very well recommended to every body.

5 kids were behind us... kicking the back of our chairs in... making "pew pew pew" noise as they played with their pretend guns, having their own conversations, humming loudly their own tunes, and clapping randomly. The parents were just as bad, ignoring them, and talking as well. We complained to the usher... they were useless and didn't ask or say anything to them. They ruined the show. This wasn't even a weekday or matinee showing ... it was a Saturday Night showing. We complained to the manager. We want our money back!

Purchased tickets for this as a holiday gift for the family, as they are all lovers of ballet/cultural events/holiday productions. The website (and ticketmaster) market this production as a professional ballet performance and charge as such. Not 5 minutes into the performance, my whole family knew this was not the case. Sloppy choreography, dancers out of synch (and not just by a little bit - we're talking full second delays), and a very creepy Uncle Drosselmeyer (last I checked, the Nutcracker was the one leading Clara through the dream world. In this version, however, Drosselmeyer looks about 26 and acts more like Clara's heroin than the Nutcracker does). Overall, I wouldn't recommend going to this if you are expecting a charming holiday ballet performance. If you have nothing to do and have money to blow, maybe. But otherwise, either fork over the extra and see a high quality ABT performance or pass altogether. Also, I want to mention just how terrible the experience itself was. Many of the people at the theater were very rude, sneaking in snacks and opening them/crunching on them/rustling them throughout the performance. I could hardly pay attention to the performance with the Subway sandwich eaters and Dorito smackers nearby. Furthermore, people were getting up and walking around in front of us throughout the performance. Some of these people were obviously drunk. I was mildly horrified at some of the behavior I saw at the theater. It was disrespectful to the dancers and disrespectful to the audience. *P.S. If any of the dancers are reading this, I am sure that you are splendid to watch with good choreography and extensive rehearsal time. It isn't your fault that the venue atmosphere sucked, the production was poorly marketed/overpriced, or that you were paired with dancers that did not compliment you. Merry Christmas, and don't take what I say as a reflection of your potential/capabilities as a dancer.

Problem was the child in front of me was seating on her moms lap made it hard to see, I did ask her if she can seat in her own seat. But didn't care, so I tried to enjoy it the best way I can. Maryann

There were only two superb ballerinas in this "ballet" and only featured in the second half. Most of the first half was little kids fluttering around the stage.

The Los Angeles Ballet company is certainly better and better each season. I totally support them and think that they are doing an amazing job. Their Nutcracker is a la par with the best.

The Arabian doll and Sugarplum fairy were the highlights. No bears, a disappointing toy soldier performance. A lot of the ballerinas weren't in sync. Perhaps this dance company is a launchpad for intermediate ballerinas, I don't know. I was kind of disappointed, which is hard to do at a performance as special as the Nutcracker! There was no live orchestra either :( womp womp. We were handed tickets to the front row of the Orchestra pit which was pretty cool and exciting.

Definitely entertained! Cast did a really good job. Wish they had a live orchestra but I'm not faulting them for that. Reason for not giving 5 stars was because of slight bias - I've seen the Moscow Russian Ballet perform The Nutcracker and they did an insane job so they have been my benchmark (although they seem to exclusively come to the Wiltern which I don't recommend for a sit down show like that - you don't select your seats, just the section, and chairs brought in are not actual built-in seats so the person in front of you obstructs your view). Dolby was a great theater to see the show in! Set design was exquisite especially when the first act ended with the juxtaposition of snow falling contrasted with the colors of the dancers outfits and backdrop. Humor also infused the show with the appearance of the Mouse King and his loyal subjects.

Although the performers were great, the ballet was missing a key element to make it truly a ballet and that is a live orchestra. Additionally, this play was put together on a shoestring budget considering props, backdrop stages and the amount of performers were limited. I would not recommend this rendition of the Nutcracker to anyone.

It was amazing. My daughter had a wonderful time. The music was great, the Costumes were amazing. The dancing for superb.

Loved the ballet overall. Dancers were incredible, costumes very nice. VERY disappointed in the fact that there was no live orchestra. It did not mention that in anything I looked on the website before buying my tickets. I was very excited about going to the Dolby theater, but listening to a soundtrack of the music & not seeing a live orchestra perform it made it a little less special!

There was no orchestra, but the performers were wonderful

Going to see Los Angeles Ballet's Nutcracker has been an annual family tradition for us. The dancers seem to get better and better each year. Superb performances and dancing from the dancers. Many of which have been trained at prestigious ballet schools such as School of American Ballet. We have visited several of the venues across the city and Dolby has been our favorite so far.

Walking and running on stage as well as taking strange static poses has very little to do with ballet. Overall feeling extremely amateur group. No live orchestra just added insult to the injury.

I have seen the nut cracker every year for many years, but this is the first time at royce hall. I enjoyed it very much. Nice venue and beautiful performance.

I guess walking around onstage classifies as a ballet for this group. This was the worst way to spend my time and money! Completely amateur.

I took my daughter in law and my granddaughter to see this ballet and we all thought it was wonderful and the dancers were superb. We absolutely loved it.

The show was pleasant and entertaining for myself and my 5 year old daughter.

For the last 14 years, the Nutcracker has been my holiday tradition. This year I was disappointed. Especially by the part of the individual dancers... the 3 Russian dancers disappointed me... Not even the mice made me happy... Hoping that Swan Lake doesn't let me down...

Good version of an old favorite. I've only seen very low-end productions before, so this was a very enjoyable upgrade. Costumes, staging, and dancing were all good. The audience, filled with little princesses (and princes) was remarkably quiet and attentive. An afternoon well-spent.

I have seen many, many versions of the Nutcracker over the years - and L. A. Ballet's version was fresh and truly lovely. How wonderful to have a young Drosselmayer! The early part of the ballet in the living room was light and fun, not maddenly slow, like so many other productions. Beautiful throughout - a real Christmastime confection!

I was so excited to bring my daughter to this production. We've made the Nutcracker a family tradition for the holiday season, and we looked forward to this for months. Now, perhaps our standards were a little high after having the privilege of seeing the Kirov Ballet perform this suite at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion a few years back, but we felt the LA Ballet production was on par with that of a high school performance. With the price they charged for tickets, I was shocked there was no live music, and instead they danced to CD music being piped in through speakers. It is my understanding the ballet Director's daughter was the principal dancer, which leaves me feeling this is nothing more than an attempt to garner more attention for her (and her dancing skills weren't even that remarkable.) "LA Ballet" leads one to believe this organization is much larger and prestigious than it really is. If I could have left and gotten a refund I would have done so. Save your money for something better.

There were 3 dancers in the second act that ultimately made this a worthwhile outing, but otherwise our party found it rather disappointing. I suppose a live orchestra is not in the budget for such a modest production, but that does not excuse weak choreography, very inconsistent levels of dancing and a total lack of story-telling and character development. The first act was very flat with more Vanna White posturing than actual dancing and most of the choreography in general was unremarkable. There was no real story or character development either. Godfather Drosselmeyer looked like a foppish blond pimp in a white fur coat with bling and they left out the Sugarplum fairy altogether. A number of roles, including the lead, were played by much younger dancers who didn't seem ready for a professional gig. Some dancers stood looking bored on stage when it was not their time to dance. The technique was varying at best with couple young women who didn't look wholly comfortable en pointe yet. The Arabian Dance, the Waltz of the Flowers (The Rose character in particular) and a solo by visiting fellow from Japan in the role of one of Clara's dolls grown up ( toy soldier perhaps?) were all exceptional, however. For them alone, we found it worthwhile, though I wouldn't be quick to pay money to see this company perform again. Rather amateurish.

I got these tickets as a gift for my aunt, and she absolutely loved it. She thought the dancing and the story were beautiful, and there were kids performing which added a special something to the event. Personally, I was pretty bored with it after the first minute, but I'm 18 and have no sense of fine culture, so what do I know. My one real criticism is that there was no live band, which was a bummer. Bottom line, I reccomend this show to anyone who enjoys ballet or dance in general. To those who don't, what are you doing looking up ballet tickets anyway?

This was the first time I have seen The Nutcracker in a few years and thought the performance was mediocre. I have seen it three times before, all of them at the Fox Theatre in Detroit and this experience paled in comparison. The music was a CD or something, while previous versions were played by a symphony and the ballet artists were extremely young, but very talented compared against more seasoned ballerinas. By no mean am I a ballet snob and would highly recommend it to those who have never been before. This was my wife's first time to see The Nutcracker or any ballet for that matter and she extremely enjoyed the whole experiece. The venue was decent as well. I personally would not see it again, but once would not be a waste of time.