PrintSparkling snowflakes, delicate dewdrops, hot chocolate from Spain—all of these soul-warming things share a part in the New York City Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker,” a ballet that elicits nostalgia for those who have grown up watching it or a feeling of holiday cheer for those who are seeing it for the first time. Everyone has her favorite part; mine is the romantic pas de deux at the end of the second act. Choreographed to Tchaikovsky’s passionate and sometimes heart-wrenching score, the scene is full of intense emotion despite being part of a lighthearted children’s ballet.
The New York City Ballet puts on “The Nutcracker” every year and sells out more than half of their 45 performances each season—and they’re not alone. Ballet companies around the world depend on their “Nutcrackers,” and contemporary choreographers constantly stage new productions, well aware of the attraction the ballet possesses. But what makes this ballet so eternal and beloved? How does it succeed year after year, managing to bring in audiences who have seen it three dozen times already?
For one thing, going to see “The Nutcracker” is a quintessential Christmastime activity for tourists and locals alike. George Balanchine’s production, which has been performed by the New York City Ballet for 55 years and begins its season this year on November 24th, has a reputation for combining traditional ballet sentiments with the famous choreographer’s classical style. Tchaikovsky’s timeless score, the ornamented yet tasteful costumes, and the cozy stage sets all create an ambiance of holiday cheer and familial intimacy. These aspects—and the fact that children play several of the roles—make the ballet more accessible to families than, say, the tear-jerking tragedy of “Romeo and Juliet.”
The plot of “The Nutcracker” itself comes from a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann titled “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” Hoffman intended his piece to be a fairy tale for adults. Later, Alexandre Dumas wrote a much less frightening version for children. Marius Petipa, the ballet master of the Russian Imperial Ballet, then created a ballet based on Dumas’s version of the story. He commissioned Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky to write the score and with the choreography of Petipa’s assistant, Lev Ivanov, the first Nutcracker was performed in December of 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
George Balanchine danced the role of the Prince in “The Nutcracker” when he was a teenager in Russia. When he moved to New York City and founded his own dance company, he choreographed his own version of “The Nutcracker.” The choreography demonstrates the essence of Balanchine’s style without presenting the avant-garde form it takes in other, more neoclassical pieces. Those ballets can still appear too modern to contemporary audiences, but as Caroline Walthall, a Barnard junior, says, “The spectacle aspect of it and [its] ‘something for everyone’ quality make ‘The Nutcracker’ simple and accessible enough for anyone to enjoy.”
“Despite its Russian heritage,” continues Walthall, the ballet is “appropriated to be very American. It is both narrative and not narrative.” The steps compliment the music with subtle references and inflections, and groups of dancers form geometric patterns and sequences that give new meaning to the individual movements. The dancers’ impeccable technique adds a sparkling touch to an already dazzling spectacle, which includes a huge Christmas tree that seems to eternally grow into the sky, Mother Ginger’s dress, large enough to fit eight girls inside, and a magically-moving bed that Marie sleeps in while drifting through the snow. No one would know that there is a boy underneath, pushing the bed by crawling on his hands and knees.
New York City Ballet’s artistic director, Peter Martins, also uses the sheer number of performances of “The Nutcracker” as a chance to place budding members of the corps de ballet into leading roles to develop their potential—something that wouldn’t normally occur unless the dancer was extremely promising. The roles are by no means easy, but the ballet is so well-known—and most people go simply to see the spectacle rather than to applaud certain dancers—that the cast is almost irrelevant. But for more sensitive and knowledgeable ballet-goers, the cast rotations have subtle influences on the ballet’s performances that make each one unique.
Most importantly, since the ballet was originally intended for children, “The Nutcracker” is also usually the first ballet that a child experiences. As Peter Boal, former principal with the New York City Ballet and now artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet, explains, “‘Nutcracker’ is the entry point for aspiring dancers. It inspires them to pursue ballet or at least sparks an interest in ballet, and from there they are able to explore.” This ballet, a staple of the dance literature and a gateway into the discipline of ballet itself, serves to proliferate dance and create ballet lovers simultaneously.
But maybe it’s the little things, the subtleties and secrets that Balanchine hid so well, that truly make every experience at “The Nutcracker” somehow new and unique. Only repeat viewers will notice the way an elderly guest at the party in Scene I falls asleep on the couch, or a mime that the Nutcracker prince so deftly acts out at the beginning of Act II, or a new pattern in the choreography that can only be seen from the third tier balcony. This is what made Balanchine such a great choreographer—such idiosyncrasies and surprises in the choreography are always there, waiting to be found. You just have to be willing to look for them.