The Nutcracker
Inspired by Tchaikovsky's iconic ballet - The Nutcracker - A Ballerina's most beloved holiday tradition
Fun Facts about The Nutcracker:
- The ballet's original title paralleled the story it was based off; The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.
- There are two basic versions of the Nutcracker performed in the United States. The Eastern side of the country tends to perform derivatives of Balanchine's Nutcracker - which calls the heroine Marie - while the Western half tends to perform derivatives of Mr. C's version which calls the heroine Clara. Most of the world knows her as Marie, Maria or "Masha" which is a Russian nickname for Marie.
- The music for the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavaleir's pas de deux was written right after the death of Tchaikovsky's beloved sister. That music is so dramatic and powerful because it was a love letter to her.
- Balanchine's nutcracker did not come to the United States until 1954. America's first widespread exposure to the score was by way of Disney's Fantasia.
- Unfortunately, Tchaikovsky died less than one year after the first production of The Nutcracker in 1892 and did not live to see the ballet’s later success. He was disappointed in his own work on the score, thinking that it didn't live up to his best work in the Sleeping Beauty.