A 'NUTCRACKER' TO LOVE KIEV BALLET'S HUSBAND-AND-WIFE TEAM ADD MEANING, NUANCE TO HOLIDAY CLASSIC.

Byline: Vicki Smith Paluch Correspondent

WHEN CLARA RUSHES to the defense of her beloved Nutcracker and saves him in the Kiev Ballet's ``The Nutcracker'' at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa, the shared adoring looks between dancers Denis and Anastassia Matvienko are real.

``Our relationship as husband and wife adds a lot to our relationship on stage,'' said Denis in an e-mail from Kiev. ``Mostly this influence is very positive. Most ballets are about love, aren't they? When there is love between partners in life, the audience will see it on stage as true romance and a real connection between the dancers.''

For decades, Americans have had a love affair with ``The Nutcracker'' ballet. We have watched ballet stars - as well as our children and friends - dance in it. As a nation, we have made it a holiday-season tradition.

In Los Angeles County, local ballet academies and their dance companies will be presenting their versions of this holiday classic about a little girl, her mysterious (and magical) godfather, the special gift he gives her, and the ensuing battle between mice and toy soldiers, a journey to the Land of the Sweets and, most importantly, love.

The tale is magical and the score by Tchaikovsky is glorious. The Orange County Performing Arts Center is the only venue this year to present a professional ballet company accompanied by a full orchestra. The Kiev Ballet of the Ukrainian National Opera makes its center debut with ``Nutcracker'' to the accompaniment of the Pacific Symphony during this engagement. After Orange County, the company will tour Mexico.

Unlike thousands of aspiring dancers in America who learn their art by working their way up through the ranks of ``The Nutcracker,'' Denis and Anastassia Matvienko never danced in a ``Nutcracker'' production as children when they were ballet students. Nevertheless, the role of the Nutcracker Prince is very special to Denis.

`` `Nutcracker' was my first ballet in which I danced the lead role,'' said Denis, who at 26 is not only a principal dancer with Kiev but is also a guest artist with the Bolshoi Ballet. He also performs frequently in Japan and Europe as a guest artist.

Earlier this year, Denis' brilliant technique and refined ballet style earned him the coveted Grand Prix at the 10th Moscow International Competition. Anastassia won the gold medal in the competition.

Established in 1867, the Kiev Ballet is known for producing remarkable dancers, such as Alina Cojocaru, a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet who was seen at Segerstrom Hall as Cinderella, and husband-and-wife team Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky of American Ballet Theatre. The company has received a Gold Star from the French Academy of Dance.

Though the company is 138 years old, it did not take on the world stage until 2000, when its artistic director Victor Yaremenko began international tours, showcasing the company's technical prowess and artistic refinement. The ballet company will be accompanied by the conductor of the National Opera of the Ukraine, Alexei Baklan, who will lead Orange County's Pacific Symphony.

Each production of ``The Nutcracker'' ballet is slightly different, depending on the company. But each is inspired by the choreography of Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa, who created the ballet in 1892, basing it upon E.T.A. Hoffmann's story ``The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.'' First and foremost, the ballet is a love story about a girl and her beloved toy Nutcracker. It is also a delightful tale of a child's perfect holiday season with gifts and sweets coming to life during the girl's post-Christmas-party dream, during which the Sugar Plum Fairy and other sweets dance in her head.

Several elements of the ballet never change. A Christmas time must grow before your eyes. Toy soldiers and mice must do battle. Clara must save her beloved Nutcracker. There must be snow and dancing flowers. Clara and the Nutcracker prince must take a magical journey. And a world of sweets must dance variations representing their homelands.

In the Kiev Ballet production, the Nutcracker Prince and Clara take their journey to the Land of Puppets, not to the Land of Sweets.

Matvienko said the change makes the series of national character dances, such as those in Chinese, Spanish and Arabian costumes, easier to understand than Tchaikovsky's suites known as Tea, Chocolate and Coffee. ``Either way, 'Nutcracker' is a magical story. So, everything depends on imagination,'' he said.

THE NUTCRACKER

What: Holiday classic performed by the Kiev Ballet of the Ukrainian National Opera.

Where: Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.

When: 8 tonight and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets: $25 to $85. Call [phone] or www.ocpac.org.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) no caption (The Nutcracker)

Oleksander Putrov

(2 -- color) Clara (Natalia Domracheva) and the Nutcracker Prince (Yaroslav Salenko) in the Kiev Ballet's holiday classic.