Generations of children have grown up watching Tchaikovsky's famous "Nutcracker Suite" at Christmastime The whimsical ballet tells the tale of Clara, a young girl who dreams about her nutcracker soldier coming to life and whisking her away to a magical land of candy. But for viewers accustomed to seeing tutus, toe shoes and arabesques, the sight of jazzy tap dancers in modernistic costumes was jarring. Despite First Lady Jill Biden's introduction of the Dorrance Dance Company's rendition as "a bit of magic, wonder, and joy," followers were unimpressed.
The harshest critiques — many from Republicans, naturally — called the reimagined "Nutcracker" "grotesque," "smut," "a conga line of freaks," and "a crime against Christmas." The dancers' costumes also reminded many of Effie's over-the-top getups in the "Hunger Games" series. Summing up the purist viewpoint was a critic who sneered: "Tasteless! Of course, I'd expect nothing better from the current inhabitants of the White House!"
On the other end of the spectrum were admirers who called the tappers "amazing" and "an incredible display of talent with stellar production value." It even impressed a self-described Republican: "I was expecting some monstrosity. Turns out, IMO, it's actually pretty good. These men and women worked hard to put this together...and I liked it."
Will Biden's Nutcracker kerfuffle rival Melania Trump's Christmas scandal? You'll recall she came under fire for her display of plain, bright red trees lining the East Colonnade. At least you can't call Biden's holiday display and entertainment dull.
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