Very modern choreography (by Jo Stromgren), a bit too edgy for my taste. Not smooth and most certainly not elegant, but with a very clear-cut image nevertheless.

The dancing was flawless and I was impressed both by Clara (Iva Rohlik) and "the Prince" (Mikel Jauregui). He especially enthralled me. The ensemble worked beautifully together, flawless and with obvious enthusiasm for their team work and for the piece, which is always great to see.

The staging was *very* dismal, mostly greys and muted colours, shabby surroundings. The character design was as clear-cut as the images, very stereotypical, but also pulled off exceedingly well. I loved Drosselmeier, because he looked like Mephisto, moved like a cross between the childcatcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and a magician, and had a costume that made me think of Dracula. Altogether, the man was just cool.

And the "magical" moments were staged superbly, with a sudden child-like innocence, with sparkly glitter falling and movements that were in slow motion from one moment to the other, even as the lighting flickered. Surreal, and one of the many unique ideas that made this production quite fascinating and fresh.

Simone (mother; played by Wolfgang Grascher I think) was exquisite – saw him as the mother in "Aschenbroedel" and the guy has a knack for playing in drag. And the wooden shoe dance was brilliant – he seemed like he was trying to outdo Fred Astaire! Sounding much like tap dancing and the feeling about it, the laughter and humour were infectious. As Simone danced about, she "hit" one of the guys sitting to the side of the stage with her shoes, and he proceeded to pat his cheek and shake his head, always pulling back as soon as he got closer. Loved that ;D.

Loved Lise (Margaret Illmann) – she was very open, smiling, and bouncy. She just gave the impression of sweet girlishness. Her dancing was very good, but I felt she had to concentrate more than other dancers I've seen at times.

I particularly enjoyed the “Maibaumtanz” and the other instances were bands were involved – it was splendidly choreographed. Once, there were Lise's friends dancing with the bands and then Lise and Colas each held three bands, with the girls holding them up on the other side. Then Lise was given all of the bands into her hands and her friends made a circle about her, running quickly as she stood on tip-toe, being turned. That certainly looked *very* difficult, but Lise pulled it off admirably, not even trembling a little.

Among Lise's friends I recognised Iva Rohlik – she looked very different in "Nutcracker", but her grace and her talent come out better in the classical ballet choreographies I think; not that she wasn't absolutely convincing in the more modern choreography.

Loved the chickens, especially Mikel Jauregui as the cock. The corps de ballet also seemed to greatly enjoy the piece, they were whispering amongst each other, joking. The ballet has a feel-good air about it, that's for sure.