“Every holiday season, throughout the land, Mirlitons, Candy Canes, and other treats bounce briskly through The Nutcracker’s Kingdom of the Sweets.” (_The Ballet Companion_ p.158)
“The Nutcracker” ballet is such an epic part of Christmastime, and though I can’t possibly provide an exhaustive account of such a dancing phenomenon, I’d like to share some of the history and my own fascination with the music, dancing, costumes, and magical story. Hopefully it sparks a bit of your own childlike wonder, dreams, and fantasies as well as your grown-up appreciation of music, storytelling, and the art of dance.
“The Nutcracker is a Christmas holiday favorite and the most popular ballet in America. There are more than 2,000 performances of it every year around the country. You will probably have a chance to see it someday–and maybe even dance in it yourself, since it has a lot of roles for young dancers.” (_A Child's Introduction to Ballet_ p.47)
I share insights from George Balanchine on "The Nutcracker," the literature origins of the story, authors ETA Hoffmann and Alexandre Dumas, The Dance Channel's "History of the Nutcracker Ballet" video on YouTube, psychological elements in Barishnikov's "Nutcracker," themes of vengeance, Matthew Donnell's _The Boy with the Patch_ children's book about Drosselmeier's story, the ballet's debut in 1892 at the Mariinsky Theatre, Petipa and Ivanov, Tchaikovsky, Sadler's Wells, Ballet Russe, San Francisco Ballet, NYCB...
Here are some music favorites, and those I use in creative dance interpretations of the story are included in the'Nutcracker' Story for Creative Dance playlist on Spotify:
Scene 1: Overture, Party Scene, Children's Dance
Scene 2: Godfather Drosselmeier's arrival, Dolls dance
Scene 3: All go to bed, Battle Scene, Marie/Clara's role in winning
Scene 4: Snowy Forest, Waltz of the Snowflakes
Scene 5: Kingdom of the Sweets, Sugarplum Fairy/Pas de Deux, Waltz of the Flowers, Arabian, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Mirlitons/Marzipan, Mother Ginger/Polichinelles/Candy Canes divertissements.
Scene 6: Marie's return home, Finale
For a full ballet or dance class, I have arranged tracks from the ballet in my “Nutcracker” Ballet Class playlist
Questions for reflection:
What versions of “The Nutcracker” have you seen? Which is your favorite?
Have you performed in “The Nutcracker” ballet or other wintertime productions?
What holiday traditions will you enjoy this year?
What music fills you with the spirit of the season?
More resources will linked in the blog :)
Thanks for listening and happy holidays!
Blythe Stephens, MFA
she/her or they/them
A Blythe Coach: ablythecoach.com @ablythecoach
move through life with balance, grace, & power
