Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker Reviews

Kerri from Indianapolis, Indiana

AMAZING DANCING BY THE PROS AND LOCAL CHILDREN

From the moment the dancers took the stage, the whole audience was engaged. The pros were amazing! The highlight of my night though, was seeing my daughter and her friends on stage. The local children put in so much hard work and looked amazing up there dancing with all the professional dancers. This is a show you will not want to miss. If it comes to your city, you must see this show.

Mary from Atlanta, Georgia

MAGNIFICANT

Wonderful, the dancing was lovely. The emphasis was the dance, and it had a lovely Russian flavor. I recommend it highly. We had fabulous seats.

Susan Jereb from Syracuse, New York

SI LOVED EVERY MINUTE

The Russian Dancers were stunning and amazing. The costumes were beautiful and all was so graceful. In the variations, the abilities and strength were magnified. Comic appeal seen in the Russian variation and the doll and jester as well. Yes, some of the young children were not "professional level", but they were sweet. Many of the locals were very good. I will definitely see it again. This production is for all ages. Many children were there.

from Los Angeles, California

MOSCOW BALLET'S GREAT RUSSIAN NUTCRACKER

Great performance.

Sun from Vancouver, British Columbia

GREAT SHOW

It was a very first time I saw ballet performance from Russia last year. I was so excited to see them. I love it enough to go again for the second round this year. I got the pre-sales tickets on the second days once its open to public. So I am able to get two front row seats at a reasonable price. I am very excited to look forward seeing them again in November. Although it was a great experience, it did not fully meet my expectation. The performance was lack of high level technical jumping and turnings. Having said that, the costumes were beautiful. It definitely worth to see it for yourself. At last, the Queen Elizabeth Theater has a poor air circulations system. I got an headache in the second half of the show due to the bad air and a full house attendance.

Elena from Boise, Idaho

BOISE

We love it . My daughter took pictures with the ballerina, but haven't been able to download them 😕

from North Charleston, South Carolina

DISAPPOINTING

What a let down. We were shocked at the mediocre performances of the ballet company dancers. The kids were adorable and their mistakes were to be expected and actually cute. But the professionals were inconsistent and sloppy. We expected perfection since it’s the Moscow Ballet.

Stacey from Vancouver, British Columbia

BETTER THEN LAST YEAR

We go every year as part of our ‘holyday spirit’ tradition. We’ve seen the nutcracker performed in many countries, so we’re pretty spoiled. This year in Vancouver, the nutcracker did not fail to capture the overall spirit of the holidays, but still lacked the ‘wow’ factor (apart from the Arabian dance - which is amazing!) It would truly make all the difference to use an orchestra instead of downloaded music over the speakers. Also- if you’re sitting in the mezzanine, row 30, seat 25 at Q E Theatre, be prepared to listen to some awesome radio chat between security in the back room. Thanks guys.

Lucy from Vancouver, British Columbia

WAS LACKING

I’ve seen a few ballets in my time and I was quite disappointed to not have a live orchestra, children who weren’t ready to dance on stage, and excellent dancers mixed in with mediocre performances by some. I honestly expected it to be of a much higher calibre and the cost for this ticket was overpriced given what was delivered. There were clear mistakes made, timing off with dancers, and the choreography, which was excellent at times, seemed to lack imagination at times - the child dancers - especially the very young ones - were a distraction and took away from me enjoying the performers. No standing ovations, for good reason. I honestly thought this ballet company would have it together. Never buying a ticket for them again, was a waste of money unfortunately.

Martha from Chicago, Illinois

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY

This performance (12/8/19 in Rosemont, IL) was extremely disappointing. These were not cheap tickets - I expected more from this company, and I regret purchasing. It was very clear that the performance/set is geared towards adults who don't particularly care about ballet or classical music bringing their kids who won't know the difference. 1. NO LIVE ORCHESTRA?!?! I don't expect an orchestra for a small kids production that costs $20/ticket, but for a professional performance this was a huge shock and disappointment. 2. Level of professionalism and technique of the dancers was uninspiring and lowerthan expected. I was fairly bored most of the time to be honest - only the arabian dancers were impressive to me (that dance is a very small portion of the show...) So combination of choreography and technique issues overall. 3. The set left much to be desired. Very clear that this is a traveling show with little but screens and bright costumes.

Katia from Los Angeles, California

WAS A DISAPPOINTMENT

Expected something magical, but disappointment started by entering the theater , which has no seats, instead they are folding chairs, considering how much they are charging per ticket, it’s a scam.. Second disappointment, no live orchestra, music is a recording ... and overall there was a lots of noise that didn’t allow audience to concentrate, they should really disallow food, everyone was eating chips,etc... at some point someone’s mic backstage could be heard... Performances were soo shabby, little local children didn’t belong on a big stage, since were absolutely not trained in ballet... Sugar Plum fairy performance, which usually is one of the highlights, was mediocre at the best .. acrobatic Arabian dancers got the most applause... don’t go, waste your time and money, I even doubt the cast is original.

David from Indianapolis, Indiana

VERY DISAPPOINTING

I was extremely disappointed to not have a live orchestra, children with elementary level dancing talents along with professional and semi-professional dancers. I honestly expected it to be of a much higher calibre and the cost for this ticket was overpriced given what was delivered. There were clear mistakes made, timing off with dancers, and the choreography, which was excellent at times, seemed to lack imagination at times - the child dancers - especially the inexperienced children - were a distraction and took away from me enjoying the performers. The only standing ovations were from the families that had children that should have never been performing on a stage of this caliber. I will never purchase a ticket for Moscow Ballet again, it was a waste of money unfortunately.

Christine CATALINE from Minneapolis, Minnesota

DISAPPOINTING PERFORMANCE

12/3/22, the children in the ballet were better rehearsed and more in sync with one another than the professional Corps de ballet. The Corps de ballet is the worst I've seen: flailing arms and legs; out of sync and shockingly sloppy. I expected a higher caliber of dance from the Moscow Ballet. The choreography was dull and uninteresting, even with the solo dancers. There was some life and complexity from a male dancer, but overall the choreography was limited to a few steps and movements that were consistently repeated. The costumes were A+. Seeing the different interpretation of The Nutcracker from American versions was interesting, and that is the only point on which I'd recommend Moscow's Nutcracker. The Arabian Variation, however, was a crowd pleaser.

Denny144 from Detroit, Michigan

SHOCKINGLY MEDIOCRE

There were several standouts but the performances overall were mediocre. They didn’t seem to be giving it their best effort. The couples dance routines were out of sync. More than one male performer failed to nail their landing after a jump. What a disappointment. We won’t be doing this again.

Karen S from St. Louis, Missouri

DISAPPOINTED

If I didn’t know the story of the Nutcracker I would have been totally confused! As it was I was still somewhat confused. I didn't care for all the changes they made to the whole show! It wasn’t magical this year…..

Laurel from St. Louis, Missouri

NOT THE NUTCRACKER I'M FAMILIAR WITH

Where was the Sugar Plum Fairy? Where were all the candies? Where were the dancing flowers? What I got was a story I had to read the program to figure out: Clara is taken to a land where there's only peace and no war?! What the?! Who came up with that rendition? Don't hire them again. This should be a magical story. Why do people feel the need to re-imagine a beloved story to something they want? Write your own story and leave the classics alone. And, yes, most of the dancing was not up to par and I don't need dozens of little kids on stage to interfere with what should have been a beautiful ballet.

ALJ from Little Rock, Arkansas

SOME GREAT DANCERS/CANNED MUSIC/LOCAL KIDS

I've been to the Milwaukee Ballet many times and The Nutcracker is one of my favorites. The Russian ballet performance with its canned music and stage full of school kids was a big disappointment. Clara danced beautifully, but was clearly a mature person who didn't communicate the part that calls for us to see the wonder of the season through the eyes of a girl, rather than woman. The stage was often full of too many kid who were not ready to be on a ballet stage. We saw butt-scratching, hair twirling, gum chewing etc. Invite some of the local talent --yes. But we thought they may have tried to invite every local ballet kid to sell tickets to family. Lost me as a customer.

from Minneapolis, Minnesota

BUY LOCAL

I did not attend this company's performance last Christmas--I was still sulking from the disappointment of the year prior--there have been some stellar reviews, so maybe they made improvements, but canned music was a big let down--when you have plunked down over $200 for a couple tickets, you expect an orchestra. I understand they are coming from Moscow, but the Royal Swedish and NYCB from New York contracted with musicians here, so can the Russians. The local children used for the performance WE saw, were wandering around the stage, actually interfering with choreography and the distraction was not charming. Finally, the sets were dismal pallets of grey and lavender, cheap looking painted fabric.--for a ballet that should be lush and sparkling--it's CHRISTMAS. I will say the costumes were impressive and the dancers very professional but, again, the choreography was sadly lacking. There are local companies who do better justice to this piece every year--spend your money at home.

KF from Tucson, Arizona

MOSCOW BALLET'S GREAT RUSSIAN NUTCRACKER IN TUCSON

Was disappointed. Costumes were nice and some of the dancers were good but the troupe, in general, was mediocre and unable to be synchronous. Kept wondering if these were the same dancers that were playing in the major cities! Wouldn't fly in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle.

Kathie from Detroit, Michigan

THE MOSCOW BALLET COMPANY PUTS ON A SLOPPY PEFORMANCE.

The canned music was annoying loud. The dancers were often out of sync with it. The dancing was mostly mediocre with the exception of the Arabian couple who were wonderful. No Mother Ginger with her tumblers! And I was annoyed by all the people eating and going in and out for junk food during the performance. Don't waste your time & money.

Mercedes Duran from San Antonio, Texas

NOT WORTH IT

I danced ballet for more than 20 years, I expected MORE! Lack of technique and poor coreograph :( It was like a school play, NOT a professional ballet. The tickets are SO OVERPRIZED, not worth it. Why bringing to the stage small children that distract you from seeing the principal dancers? I regret spending that much money on an unprofessional ballet.

Sam from San Antonio, Texas

OVERPRICED AND UNDERWHELMING

My friend and I had never seen a ballet show before, and we were excited. The advertising for this show is impressive to say the least, and the tickets ended up being over $60+ after fees and taxes for the balcony seats. We were expecting something engaging... but we ended up quite disappointed by the show. It just felt... underwhelming and quite boring. Yes, the costumes were beautiful and there were some beautiful dancers and scenes, but I did not feel wowed by this show. More than a few times, we were distracted by the dancers' inability to stay in perfect sync with each other. The little children were cute, but they made the show feel like a grade school play since it seemed like they hadn't trained enough. For the cultural dances in the second part of the show, they had felt the need to add ridiculous animal mascots during the dances and it came off as distracting to me. There was no live orchestra. The entire show felt like it was lacking something.

Paige from Atlanta, Georgia

THE SHOW

I booked the Nutcracker at the Fox because I thought it would be the real story of the nutcracker through ballet. The show felt like I was watching a performance from my daughter’s ballet school. I just expected a show that was as comparable to the Rockettes since it was at the Fox Theater. I was very disappointed and at $150 a ticket it was not worth it at all. The story line did not make any sense and was not the nutcracker version. Some performances were good, but not great and definitely not worth the price at the Fox Theater. Many years ago the shows at the Fox were professional shows like seeing a broadway show. This nutcracker was not even close. Very disappointing. The kids sitting in front of me made comments to their parents saying they felt like they were watching a show from their dance school.Words from a kids mouth”truth”.Going further I will read reviews before seeing another show at the Fox.

Optimistic but disappointed from El Paso, TX

NOT AS EXPECTED

Very surprised and distracted by music, not live but recorded, and actually not well mixed. Some good dancers, but not all. Second half more enjoyable but more like an acrobatic show than ballet. Would not attend this show again, nor recommend.

Disappointed from Detroit, Michigan

DISAPPOINTMENT

Very few professional level dancers in this production. Elementary choreography and tons of local students to distract you from the poor quality of the company dancers. No live music-don’t waste your money.

Jennifer from Albuquerque, New Mexico

WORST NUTCRACKER YET

I am a dancer, who has danced in the nutcracker and this was a shoddy excuse for a ballet advertised as being from Moscow it seemed like 50%of the dancers were kids from Abq not ready for stage and the other 45% were young B (or C) company dancers who were still training to be professional. Then there were 2-4 dancers who were obviously beautifully trained veterans who posed for all the misleading advertisements. Don't expect the tree to grow, don't expect any snow to fall during "snow" and don't expect the choreography to make sense with the storyline or music. Also the venue doesn't close the doors and the wonderfully polite and educated people here in the Q will make sure that stand up in front of you 20- 30 times so they can get a beer, popcorn or whatever. They won't duck down or wait for the scenes to switch and the venue encourages them. Let's them show up 30 min late and guides them in with flashlights.... Worst money ever spent.. Extremely boring and stressful. I want a refund!

Dee from Naples, Florida

POOR POOR POOR

Thank goodness I bought last minute rush tickets for $15 each. The live orchestra and the little kids were fine, but the story line, the choreography, the over the top costumes, the over sized animals, and the dancing were poor poor poor. At one point my daughter and I looked at each other and just had to laugh. Maybe we are too critical having grown up taking ballet, attending Boston Ballet, and here in Naples attending Miami City Ballet...but I have to wonder why Artis Naples would book this second rate version of the Nutcracker. There were many empty seats, so maybe they won't be back! Save your money and watch it on tv.

Maria V. from Vancouver, British Columbia

THIS PERFORMANCE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GREAT RUSSIA BALLET

I was born and raised in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Going to Mariinsky Theatre regularly was a part of my life back when. I know what quality to expect from real Russian ballet. The performance of this so-called Moscow ballet was weak and disappointing. Lack of choreography and complex ballet moves was partially offset by nice costumes. Impressive Arabian dance was a gymnastics gig, not ballet. Costumes are the only thing which made me to give this performance one star. Otherwise, I'd give it a zero.

Olga from Vancouver, British Columbia

THIS IS NOT BALLET FROM MOSCOW

This tour is organised by a US company for touring with Nutcracker only. So the name of the company is deceiving, they are NOT from Moscow. They hire ballet dancers from Russia and Ukraine who are not engaged with any theater. Hence, the quality of the dancing is aweful! There is little choreography as well. There were a couple of decent dancers but that was a far cry. Arabic dance - although entertaining - would be more appropriate for Cirque du Soleil. I wanted to leave mid- performance. Will never go again, will never recommend.

Meg from Detroit, Michigan

DISAPPOINTING

This was all about the dancing and not the story. No kids on stage. Clara is not watching with delight in the corner of the stage. This was about showcasing a few performers, not beautiful dancing within a beautiful story. No live orchestra. So disappointed. I certainly didn’t feel like we attended the classic Nutcracker performance I certainly hope the Fox Theater gets back to the classic that we all know and love.

WP from Chicago, Illinois

THIS SHOW SHOULD BE FREE

I fell as sleep in ACT1. The only show worth watching in ACT2 is Arabian dance. Costumes were colorful. Other than that it was not WOW! I felt like watching a school performance. If you don't have your kids in this performance, this show is not for you. It did not bring Christmas spirit. No live music. Not worth it.

Marcia H from St. Louis, Missouri

I WANT MY MONEY BACK!

Most expensive children’s dance recital I’ve ever endured! Even the “professionals” were a disappointment. I’ve seen many other professional companies perform this ballet, and this was definitely not worth the $85 per seat we were charged. Shame on the folks at the Fabulous Fox Theater!!

Anna E. from Durham, North Carolina

HORRIBLE, THEY SHOULD DISCLOSE THIS IS AN AMATEUR PERFORMANCE

The quality of performance is beyond disappointing for the price. These tickets should not be more than $20-30 and the description must clearly state that the ballet is performed by amateur dancers with participation of little children. False advertisement, really, this is by no means real professional ballet, more like a school play.

Absolutely Not from Dallas

ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE

DO NOT waste your money on this show. Huge disappointment- subpar dancing, bad costuming and set design, weird, gimmicky touches. Literally got me OUT of the Christmas spirit.

from Atlanta, Georgia

WORST NUTCRACKER BALLET I’VE EVER ATTENDED

I’ve looked forward to attending this Christmas tradition for months and the Nutcracker being performed at the beautiful Fox Theatre was clearly the highlight of this holiday season…and then it wasn’t. I cannot think of one redeeming part of the evening. I wont say say it went from bad to worst because the entire production was pretty bad. Money poorly spent. I’m so disappointed..

Dee Thomas from Tucson, Arizona

DEFINITE PASS…

Awful music literally hurting my ears several times… dancers not in tune and honestly left after the first half…. Mom and I quite underwhelmed. ;(

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