The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker

Hi everybody, Mary here.

So, here is the beginning of this special week about The Nutcracker and this very special ballet, music by Tchaikovsky and choreography by Marius Petipa ! My very first ballet and one of my favourites, actually !

The Nutcracker : from childhood to adulthood

The very first point I'd like to raise is the character of Clara : a little girl in the beginning, she ends up falling in love with the prince/the nutcracker, and grows up as she faces the hardships of the Land of Sweets. Being given an important role as the ruler, with the prince, of the Land of Sweets, shows that from the beginning when she's just an innocent girl tot he end when's finally taught a life lesson by the puppeteer, Drosselmeyer. Thanks to this trip in the Land of Sweets, she has become more mature than ever, and that is a great life lessons for us all.

The second point is that this ballet is, indeed, a Christmas ballet, and it also shows how he characters are growing up. In the beginning,  there are children awaiting for their presents under the tree, and adults, as they are more mature than them, are the ones perpetuating the tradition. In his typical Victorian era and Christmas, poverty was common and it was a tradition to give an orange to children. But Clara's family seems to be more wealthy since they can afford plushies and wooden toys. There is still the magic of Christmas in this ballet, and this is what makes this ballet unique and different from the others.

The third and last point, is about the Land of Sweets. Showing a various display of people from different ethnic origins, China, Arabia, Russia, Spain, Denmark. It may seem to exist only to satisfy the curiosity of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, but for a ballet that originated in 1892, it seems to be an advance of mindsets compared to the ever-whiteness of the ballets, even nowadays (if the cast followed, and now follows, the origins of the dancers portrayed in the show, without being stereotypical). The music for the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is very known and used in various ads, even in the modern era.

In conclusion, a really great ballet, from the great Tchaikovsky, featuring a growing child who learns how to love, multiple ethnic origins, a wonderful classic fairytale and a Christmas carol for all, children and adults. I would recommend it very much !

Okay, that's it for today, I hope that you liked this post and I will see you very soon with another one, I hope !

And as usual, our last word : KIDNEYS !