The Nutcracker Tradition

By Basia, 2012

Many people associate the Winter Holiday Season with the well known Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Nutcrackers Ballet. Our family strives to keep the story and dreams alive by reading, playing and enjoying it every year. We’ve already seen Keith Michael’s The Nutcracker. It is performed throughout December at the New York Theater Ballet  http://www.nytb.org/season/family-series/.

The Nutcracker Ballet is based on a very old story from 1816 called “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by E.T.A. Hoffmann. There have been many adaptations of the Nutcracker’s story, including movies, TV shows and even a cartoon.

The Nutcracker Ballet story in glance

The ballet takes place in Germany in the early 19^th century. The curtain rises on a Christmas Eve party in the Silberhaus home. The children get their presents then dance about the room. The door opens. A strange little man named Drosselmeyer comes into the room. He makes playthings. He is little Clara Silberhaus's godfather. He has four dancing dolls for the children and a special surprise for Clara. It is a Nutcracker. She loves it, but her brother Fritz breaks it. She puts the Nutcracker in her doll bed to get well. The party ends and everyone goes home. Clara and her family go to bed. Clara creeps back to the room. She needs to be certain her Nutcracker is resting quietly. All of a sudden, mice start running about the room. The dolls, the tin soldiers, and all the other playthings come to life to fight the mice. The Christmas tree rises higher and higher. The Nutcracker jumps out of the doll bed to fight the Mouse King. When the Nutcracker is in danger, Clara saves his life by throwing her slipper at the Mouse King. The Mouse King runs out of the room with all the other mice. The Nutcracker becomes a human prince. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince set off through the snowy woods for the magical Land of Sweets. The beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy rules this land. She welcomes the two children then orders her subjects to dance for them. The ballet ends with everyone dancing a waltz. 

A cartoon version can be watch on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byrYjX4fhmQ

We made our own puppet version of The Nutcracker Ballet.

We used printable pages http://printables4kids.com/printable-nutcracker-puppets/, 

By Basia, 2012

colored characters, 

By Basia, 2012

supported with a scotch tape, 

By Basia, 2012

cut them out and taped to popsicle or chopsticks.

By Basia, 2012

And finally Barbara performed as a Bavarian Doll in “The Nutcracker” by Manhattan Youth, Downtown Community Center http://www.manhattanyouth.org/, an excellent production directed by Susan Kay, choreographed by Frida Persson, Joy Voelker, Junie Kenworthy, Lauren Ferebee, Kara Zacconi and Vanessa Reyes, set by Jacqueline Leung and Michael Cohen, costumes by Constance Tarbox, sound design by Susan Kay, Lu Yang and Caleb Eberhardt. “The Nutcracker” multidisciplinary show was not only a huge success but for us, the parents a Christmas gift watching our kids smiling and dancing with joy.

Dear Manhattan Youth Team!

We are truly grateful for your hard wok.

We would like to thank you and wish you

A happy Holiday Season and the New Year!

The parents

“The Nutcracker” by Manhattan Youth, Downtown Community Center

With Basia as a Bavarian Girl, 2012