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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; About an hour before Act I, usher Jennie Lavis, of Plains Township, spotted me at the F.M. Kirby Center and asked if I was there to review &#8220;The Great Russian Nutcracker.&#8221;</p><p>No, I said. I&#8217;m just leaving. I&#8217;d been there earlier to talk to dancers from the Moscow Ballet as well as some of the 60 area youngsters who would wear beautiful costumes and dance with them onstage. It was just a story; not a review.</p><p>&#8220;You&#8217;re not doing a review?&#8221; she said, blinking in disbelief. Then, with the authority that comes from 20 years of watching Kirby performances, Lavis suggested this was a show I didn&#8217;t want to miss.</p><p>Figuring she was probably right, I bought a ticket at the box office and returned, intending to simply enjoy.</p><p>Of course, I told myself, when it was time for the Arabian Variation, that luxuriously slow dance typically performed in &#8220;I Dream of Jeannie&#8221; costume, I would look for 14-year-old Kaylee Serbin, of Plymouth, and 15-year-old Molly Leahy, of Bear Creek, who had told me how hard they practiced to make sure they were in sync.</p><p>But when they were on stage, as wonderfully as I&#8217;m sure the local girls danced, I couldn&#8217;t pull my eyes away from Elena Petrichenko and Sergey Chumakov, who were on stage at the same time. Is Petrichenko double jointed? Are these two pros super human? As I told Lavis, the usher, later, &#8220;I feel like we&#8217;re mere mortals watching a god and goddess.&#8221;</p><p>For one amazing feat, Petrichenko bent backwards and grabbed her ankles so her body would become a circle. Chumakov lifted her directly over his head and then &#8212; swoosh! &#8212; dropped her. The circle formed by her body fell down over his arms, over his head and shoulders, over his torso and part of his legs, stopping finally, inches from the stage floor, at the point where his legs were just far enough apart to stop her freefall.</p><p>This pair gave the audience more breath-taking positions when the two of them, each adorned with one feathery wing, joined forces to portray a Dove of Peace. Between his strength and her flexibility, all I can say is: Exquisite.</p><p>When the Chinese Variation was about to start, I reminded myself to watch for professional dancer Ganna Tyutyunnik. With her feet tucked into bedroom slippers to keep her feet warm before the show, she had told me she feels like a different person the moment she steps onstage.</p><p>But here, as beautifully as I knew Tyutyunnik was dancing, I couldn&#8217;t stop watching 13-year-old Sophia Poslock, of Dallas, who was onstage with her, playing through pain.</p><p>Before the show, Sophia had her foot propped on a table because she had bruised a metatarsal in dance class. She&#8217;d perform in flat slippers instead of pointe shoes, she said, and give her foot a good rest afterward. She definitely didn&#8217;t want to give up the chance to be part of the &#8220;The Great Russian Nutcracker.&#8221;</p><p>Feeling somewhat like a nervous aunt on behalf of this girl I&#8217;d just met, I winced each time she rose to her toes during her brief dance sequence and worried when I saw her favoring the bruised foot during her curtain call.</p><p>After she danced, Sophia told me later, she iced the injured foot and cried some.</p><p>Now, two weeks later, I&#8217;m happy to report, her foot is much better and Sophia is eager to audition in January for the Harris Conservatory&#8217;s production of &#8220;Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.&#8221;</p><p>The shows must go on and, as for this reporter &#8230; well, I think I wrote a review, after all.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Heidi Williams, 10, left, of Shavertown, applies hair spray for Mae Baliatico, 9, of Shavertown, as the two young ballet dancers prepare to rehearse &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker&#8217; at the F.M. Kirby Center earlier this month. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nutcracker01-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Heidi Williams, 10, left, of Shavertown, applies hair spray for Mae Baliatico, 9, of Shavertown, as the two young ballet dancers prepare to rehearse &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker&#8217; at the F.M. Kirby Center earlier this month. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nutcracker02-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Amanda Merrick Tompkins, 13, of Scranton, applies mascara before rehearsal of &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nutcracker02-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Amanda Merrick Tompkins, 13, of Scranton, applies mascara before rehearsal of &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker.&#8217; </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nutcracker03-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Moscow Ballet dancers Ganna Tyutyunnik, who portrayed the Kissy Doll and the Chinese Variation, and Olga Aru, who danced in the Russian Variation, warm up at a portable barre before &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker&#8217; performance at the F.M. Kirby Center. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nutcracker03-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Moscow Ballet dancers Ganna Tyutyunnik, who portrayed the Kissy Doll and the Chinese Variation, and Olga Aru, who danced in the Russian Variation, warm up at a portable barre before &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker&#8217; performance at the F.M. Kirby Center. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nutcracker04-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Members of the Moscow Ballet warm up before the performance of &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker.&#8217; Soon after, the setting would become bright and look magical. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nutcracker04-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Members of the Moscow Ballet warm up before the performance of &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker.&#8217; Soon after, the setting would become bright and look magical. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nutcracker06-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Molly Leahy, 15, of Bear Creek, stretches with other ballet dancers before the start of rehearsal for &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_nutcracker06-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Molly Leahy, 15, of Bear Creek, stretches with other ballet dancers before the start of rehearsal for &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker.&#8217; </caption4><photoCredit4>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_13-Sergey-Chumakov-and-Elena-Petrichenko-in-the-Arabian-Variation-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sergey Chumakov and Elena Petrichenko perform the Arabian Variation in &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_13-Sergey-Chumakov-and-Elena-Petrichenko-in-the-Arabian-Variation-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>Sergey Chumakov and Elena Petrichenko perform the Arabian Variation in &#8216;The Great Russian Nutcracker.&#8217; </caption5><photoCredit5>Submitted photo </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>With dancers so mesmerizing, it&#8217;s hard to look away</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

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Review: Reporter couldn’t take her eyes off dancers in ‘The Great Russian Nutcracker’