You’ve probably heard of the book. Or maybe you remember the 1992 film that made everyone suddenly obsessed with the idea of crying into their cooking. But seeing the Like Water for Chocolate ballet in person is a completely different beast. It’s sweaty. It’s loud. It’s incredibly physical. This isn't just a group of people in tutus spinning around; it’s a full-throttle exploration of repressed desire, family trauma, and the kind of magic that feels real because it hurts.
When the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) or the Royal Ballet puts this on, you aren't just watching dance. You're watching Tita, the youngest daughter in a 19th-century Mexican family, deal with the absolute worst-case scenario: a family tradition that says she can never marry because she has to take care of her mother until the day she dies. It’s brutal.
The Man Behind the Magic: Christopher Wheeldon
Most people who follow the arts know Christopher Wheeldon is a big deal. He’s the guy who did An American in Paris and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But with the Like Water for Chocolate ballet, he took a massive risk. How do you translate "magical realism"—a literary genre where the impossible is treated as mundane—onto a stage without it looking like a cheap magic trick?
Wheeldon didn't do it alone. He teamed up with the original novelist, Laura Esquivel. That’s a key detail. Often, when books are turned into ballets, the original author is long gone or totally uninvolved. Esquivel was there, helping shape how the "emotions in the food" would actually look when translated into human movement.
The music by Joby Talbot is another layer of why this works. It’s not your standard Tchaikovsky vibe. It’s layered with percussion and guitar, feeling deeply rooted in the soil of Mexico. If you listen closely, you can hear the influence of Alondra de la Parra, the renowned conductor who served as a musical consultant to ensure the score didn't descend into "cliché" territory.
Why the Kitchen is the Real Main Character
In the Like Water for Chocolate ballet, the kitchen isn't just a set. It’s Tita’s world. It’s her prison and her sanctuary.
There’s this famous scene—the wedding cake scene. If you’ve read the book, you know Tita cries into the batter while making a cake for her sister, who is marrying the man Tita loves. In the ballet, the dancers move with this heavy, weighted quality. When the wedding guests eat the cake, the choreography shifts into something chaotic and nauseating. They don't just "act" sick; the movement becomes frantic and jagged. It’s a literal physicalization of Tita’s grief.
A Breakdown of the Power Dynamics
- Mama Elena: She isn't just a "mean mom." In the ballet, her movements are sharp, rigid, and terrifyingly precise. She represents the "old way" of doing things—tradition that kills.
- Tita: Her choreography is fluid but often interrupted. She starts a beautiful line and then gets pulled back, usually by her mother or the weight of her chores.
- Pedro: He’s the love interest, but honestly, he’s kind of the problem. His pas de deux with Tita are filled with "near-misses"—lifts that almost happen, touches that are cut short.
Realism vs. Magic
One of the hardest things to pull off in the Like Water for Chocolate ballet is the "ghosts." Mama Elena comes back to haunt Tita after she dies. In a movie, you just use CGI. In a book, you just write it. On stage, you have to use lighting and body language.
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The lighting designer, Natasha Katz, deserves a lot of credit here. She uses shadows to make the stage feel crowded even when only two people are there. It creates this sense of claustrophobia that Tita feels throughout the entire three-act production. You feel like the walls are closing in on her, which is exactly the point.
What Critics (and the Audience) Actually Think
Look, not everyone loved it at first. Some "purists" in the London dance scene thought it was too much like a Broadway show. They complained it was "too cinematic."
But they're kinda missing the point.
The Like Water for Chocolate ballet is meant to be seen by people who don't necessarily go to the ballet every week. It’s accessible. It’s a soap opera on pointe shoes. During the 2023 run at the Metropolitan Opera House, the audience wasn't just the usual Upper West Side crowd. It was younger, more diverse, and way more vocal. People were gasping. They were audibly sobbing. That’s the "Discover" factor—this production bridges the gap between high art and raw, relatable human drama.
The Technical Difficulty Nobody Talks About
We need to talk about the costumes by Bob Crowley. They are stunning, sure, but they are also a technical nightmare for the dancers. The long skirts and heavy fabrics of the period pieces make the footwork incredibly difficult. When you see Tita doing a series of turns, she isn't just fighting gravity; she’s fighting yards of fabric.
And the set? It’s massive. It’s inspired by the architecture of Luis Barragán, with those huge, flat planes of color. It looks simple, but moving those pieces around while people are dancing at full speed is a logistical feat that requires a massive backstage crew.
Navigating the Themes of the Ballet
If you're heading to see the Like Water for Chocolate ballet, don't expect a happy-go-lucky night out. It deals with some heavy stuff:
- Generational Trauma: The idea that we inherit the pain of our parents. Mama Elena is the way she is because of her own secrets, which the ballet hints at through flashbacks.
- Sensuality and Food: The connection between what we eat and what we feel. This is the hardest part to dance, but they do it through a "Rose Petal" sequence that is probably the most erotic thing you’ll see on a classical stage.
- The Price of Duty: Tita’s struggle between what she owes her family and what she owes herself.
Honestly, it's a bit of a miracle this ballet exists. Taking a story so deeply rooted in the internal feelings of a woman in a kitchen and turning it into a three-hour spectacle is a bold move. It works because it doesn't try to be subtle. It’s big, it’s loud, and it’s unapologetically emotional.
What You Should Do Next
If you want to actually understand the hype, don't just watch clips on YouTube. They don't capture the scale.
- Check the Tour Schedule: The American Ballet Theatre often keeps this in their rotation. Look for their spring seasons in New York.
- Read the Program Notes: Seriously. There are a lot of characters (Tita has two sisters, Rosaura and Gertrudis) and their plotlines move fast. Knowing who is who will save you a lot of confusion in Act II.
- Listen to the Score: Find Joby Talbot’s Like Water for Chocolate on Spotify. Listen to the track "The Wedding"—it tells the whole story through sound alone.
- Compare the Mediums: If you have time, watch the film first. It’ll make you appreciate the creative choices Wheeldon made to turn a "smell-based" story into a "sight-based" one.
The Like Water for Chocolate ballet is a reminder that ballet isn't a dying art form. It’s just evolving. It’s finding new ways to tell old stories, and in doing so, it's making us feel things we didn't know a dance could trigger. Go for the dancing, stay for the absolute heartbreak of it all.