The Hard Nut on DVD [Source: Amazon]
Mark Morris’ surprising take on The Nutcracker, The Hard Nut, was his final production as Director of Dance at the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. It has since been performed in six cities including London, Brooklyn and Berkeley.
The Hard Nut was filmed for PBS’ Great Performances: Dance in America series. Released on DVD, the production is available via Amazon and from the Mark Morris Dance Group website. The DVD includes scenes cut from the televised version and uses the complete score by Tchaikovsky.
The Hard Nut: A Look Back [Source: APWorldNY]
The Hard Nut was filmed during a live performance in Brussels at the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie and directed by Matthew Diamond:
“Revealing the depth of Morris’s unsurpassed talents in a seemingly endless display of creativity and masterful dancing, The Hard Nut will leave you laughing breathlessly one moment (with hilarious snowflakes and waltzing flowers) and with a lump in your throat the next (a deeply moving pas de deux).”
“Performed by the Mark Morris Dance Group…this innovative, iconoclastic adaptation of the Christmas favorite features dancers in nontraditional costumes. Flapper dresses, go-go boots, leather, and hip huggers are some of the styles worn by the performers on the minimalist set. Gone are the toy soldiers, and in their place are Barbie dolls and G.I. Joe lookalikes.”
Trailer for The Hard Nut at 2010 Next Wave Festival [Source: BAM]
An extremely popular production and certainly one of my favorites, The Hard Nut won the Battle of the Nutcrackers three years in a row. Peep the humorous trailer for the third season in which The Hard Nut won Ovation TV’s competition.
Official Site: Mark Morris Dance Group – The Hard Nut
Available at Amazon: The Hard Nut on DVD