The+Nutcracker+Performance

Below is a synopsis based on the original 1892 libretto by Marius Petipa. In the original E.T.A. Hoffmann story, the young heroine is called Marie Stahlbaum and Clara (Klärchen) is the name of her [|doll]. In the adaptation by Dumas on which Petipa based his libretto, her name is Marie Silberhaus.
 * Nutcra** **cker Suite Ballet Performance**

Click on this link to view a scene from the Nutcracker [|The Nutcracker]

**Act I** **//Scene 1: The Silberhaus Home//** It is Christmas Eve at the house of Herr and Frau Silberhaus and their children. Family and friends have gathered in the parlor to decorate the beautiful Christmas Eve in preparation for the night's festivities. Once the tree is finished, the younger children are sent for; among them are Clara, the Silberhaus' young daughter, and her brother Fritz. The children stand in awe of the tree, sparkling with candles and decorations. The festivities begin. A march is played on the piano. Presents are given out to the children. Suddenly, as the owl-topped clock strikes nine, a mysterious figure enters the room. It is Herr Drosselmeyer, a local councilman and Clara and Fritz' godfather. He is also a talented toymaker who has brought with him gifts for the children, including four lifelike dolls -- a Harlequin and Columbine, and a Vivandiere and Soldier -- who dance to the delight of all. Herr Silberhaus has the precious dolls put away for safekeeping. Clara and Fritz are sad to see the dolls taken away, but Herr Drosselmeyer has yet another toy for them: a wooden nutcracker carved in the shape of a little man, used for cracking hazelnuts. The children are delighted. Clara immediately takes a liking to it. Fritz, however, tries to use the nutcracker to crack a walnut (too large and hard for the nutcracker's wooden jaw) and inadvertently breaks it. Clara is heartbroken. Clara takes the wounded toy to her doll's bed, lulling it to sleep. The boys interrupt with their toy trumpets and horns. Herr and Frau Silberhaus announce it is time to finish off the evening with a traditional Grandfather dance. After the dance, the guests depart, and the children are sent off to bed. During the night, after everyone else has gone to bed, Clara returns to the parlor to check on her beloved nutcracker. As she reaches the little bed, the clock strikes midnight and she looks up to see her Godfather Drosselmeyer perched atop the clock in place of the owl. Suddenly, mice begin to fill the room and Clara realizes she is shrinking as the Christmas tree seems to grow to dizzying heights. Clara finds herself in the midst of a battle between an army of gingerbread soldiers and the mice, led by the Mouse King. The mice begin to eat the gingerbread soldiers. The Nutcracker appears to lead the gingerbread men, who are joined by tin soldiers and dolls (who serve as doctors to carry away the wounded). As the Mouse King advances on the still-wounded Nutcracker, Clara throws her slipper at him, distracting him long enough for the Nutcracker to stab him.

**//Scene 2: A Pine Forest//** The mice retreat and the Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome Prince. He leads Clara through the moonlit night to a pine forest in which the snowflakes dance around them.

**Act II** **//Scene 1: The Palace of Sweets (Confiturembourg)//** Clara and the Prince travel in a nutshell boat pulled by dolphins to the beautiful palace of sweets in Confiturembourg, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Prince's place until his return. The Prince recounts for the Sugar Plum Fairy how he had been saved by Clara from the Mouse King and had been transformed back into a Prince. In honor of the young heroine, a celebration of sweets from around the world is produced: Chocolate from Spain, Coffee from Arabia, and Tea from China all dance for their amusement; Candy Canes from Russia perform an intricate hoop dance; Danish Marzipan Shepherdresses perform on their flutes; Mother Gigogne has her Polichinelle children emerge from under her enormous skirt to dance; a string of beautiful candy flowers perform a waltz. To conclude the night, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier perform a Pas de Deux. A final waltz is performed by all the sweets after which Clara and the Prince are crowned rulers of Confiturembourg forever and are shown the riches of their kingdom domed with an enormous beehive.

**A short History of Ballet:**

The Ballet began in the European courts of the 16th and 17th centuries. The court of Louis XVI of France was at the Palace of Versailles, just outside Paris. Courtiers took part in elaborate celebrations staged in gardens and ballrooms, called //ballets de cour//. These often had parades of horses, processions, speeches, and songs as well as dance. When ballet began to e performed in theaters, at first as part of opera, professional dances took the place of courtiers. Louis XIV founded the Academie Royale de Dance in 1672. Its director recorded the steps and positions of ballet, including the five positions of the feet, which form the basis of today’s technique. The 19th Century saw the development of the Romantic ballet in which ballerinas wore long tutus with a fitted bodice and soft net skirts that ended below the knee. Ballerina’s hair was parted in the middle and draped down over the ears, drawn into a low bun. At this time ballerinas began to raise on pointe (on the tips of their toes) to make them look very ethereal and as if they were floating. Late in the 19th Century, choreographer Marius Petipa devised a series of Classical ballets - grand and elaborate story ballets with lavish scenery and costumes. The stories are told through set patterns, a combination of sols for one person, //pas de deux// for two people, and small and large groups of dancers in the //corps de ballet.// Today, modern and contemporary ballets don’t always have a story. Instead they can be about moods and feelings, or purely about abstract design and energy in space.

Today, all kinds of cancers all over the world study ballet. Ballet is a universal language for dancers. Ballet technique contributes to skill and grace in many dance genres. Students of ballet all over the world learn the same five positions and the same steps. French, the original language of ballet has been maintained for dance instruction and ballet choreography. If you were to take a ballet class in Europe or Americans or Asia, the French terms for ballet steps would still be in use and the structure of the ballet class would be similar.

**Common ballet terms:**

Arabesque - A position on one leg, with the other leg lifted and stretched behind the dancer to create a flowing line from fingertips to toes.

Choreographer - The person who creates a ballet by arranging the steps and movements to music.

Classical ballet - A ballet technique used especially in the late 1800s. Ballets based on this technique are known as Classical ballets.

Composer - A person who writes music, including ballet music.

Corps de ballet - Dancers who perform together as a group and do not dance sols.

Grand allegro - Big jumps and quick movements

Grand jete - A big leap with both legs stretched out, as if doing the splits in midair.

Pas de deux - A dance for two people.

Pointe shoes - Shoes with specially hardened toes that ballerinas wear so they can dance on the tips of their toes.

Principal dancer - One of the leading dancers in a ballet company.

Soloist - A dancer who dances parts alone, but not usually the leading roles.

Tutu - A ballerina’s short, stiff skirt made of many layers of gathered net.

**Tchaikovsky's Sources and Influences**

//The Nutcracker// is one of the composer's most popular compositions. The music belongs to the Romantic Period and contains some of his most memorable melodies, several of which are frequently used in television and film. (They are often heard in TV commercials shown during the Christmas Season) The Trepak, or //Russian dance//, is one of the most recognizable pieces in the ballet, along with the famous //Waltz of the Flowers// and //March//, as well as the ubiquitous //Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy//. The ballet contains surprisingly advanced harmonies and a wealth of melodic invention that is (to many) unsurpassed in ballet music. Nevertheless, the composer's reverence for Rococo and late 18th century music can be detected in passages such as the Overture, the "Entrée des parents", and "Tempo di Grossvater" in Act I. Tchaikovsky is said to have argued with a friend who wagered that the composer could not write a melody based on the notes of the scale in an octave in sequence. Tchaikovsky asked if it mattered whether the notes were in ascending or descending order, and was assured it did not. This resulted in the //Adagio// from the //Grand pas de deux//, following the //Waltz of the Flowers//. A story is also told that Tchaikovsky's sister had died shortly before he began composition of the ballet, and that his sister's death influenced him to compose a melancholy, descending scale melody for the adagio of the Grand Pas de Deux. One novelty in Tchaikovsky's original score was the use of the celesta (a piano like instrument), a new instrument Tchaikovsky had discovered in Paris. He wanted it genuinely for the character of the Sugar Plum Fairy to characterize her because of its "heavenly sweet sound". It appears not only in her "Dance", but also in other passages in Act II. Tchaikovsky also uses toy instruments during the Christmas party scene. Tchaikovsky was proud of the celesta's effect, and wanted its music performed quickly for the public, before he could be "scooped." Everyone was enchanted. Although the original ballet is only about 85 minutes long if performed without applause or an intermission, and therefore much shorter than either [|//Swan Lake//] or [|//The Sleeping Beauty//], some modern staged performances have omitted or re-ordered some of the music, or inserted selections from elsewhere, thus adding to the confusion over the suites.

Reference:

//http://www.pasadenadance.org// "The Nutcracker." //Wikipedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2010. .

Discussion Questions

1. What words (verbs and adjectives) would you use to describe the performance?

2. Did any part of the performance intrigue you?

3. What are some of the specific tghins you learned or noticed about ballet and how it is danced?

4. What are some of the main elements of dance that you noticed in the performance? Shape? Direction? Force? Tempo?

5. How did the music and the dance relate to each other?

6. Describe the costumes. What qualities made them unique or different from other clothes?

7. How did the dancers use their bodies to communicate, to make designs, to emphasize musical elements, and tell a story?

8. What different jobs can you think of that are necessary to create a ballet performance?

Ballet Terms Quiz

1. The person who creates a ballet by arranging the steps and movements to music is the?

2. A dance for two people is called?

3. A person who writes music, including ballet music is called?

4. Blanks are big jumps and quick movements.

5. A blank is a dancer who dances parts alone but not usually the leading roles.

6. Blanks are dancers who perform together as a group.

7. A ballerina’s short, stiff skirt made of many layers of gathered net is called a blank.

8. A position on one leg, with the other leg lifted and stretched behind the dancer to create a flowing line from fingertips to toes is called?

9. Shoes with hardened toes that ballerinas wear so they can dance on the tips of their toes are called?

10. Blank i s a big leap with both legs stretched out, as if doing the splits in midair.

11. A blank is one of the leading dancers in a ballet company.

12. A blank is a dancer who dances parts alone, but not usually the leading roles.