The Nutcracker is a magical Christmas ballet that has become a tradition for many families. The story of the Nutcracker originated in 1816 and is based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s The Nutcracker and the Mouse King but wasn’t performed as a ballet until 1892 in Russia. Many people disliked the ballet even though Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s score was widely admired; the dancers were not professional and were very young giving the show an amateur feel. The ballet finally gained popularity when it came to the United States with large amounts of popularity in 1954. The main cause of the ballet gaining popularity is credited to George Balanchine, who worked mainly with the New York City Ballet and is one of the most famous classical ballet choreographers in the United States. He decided to change almost all the choreography and hire an older cast with almost all professionals and some well-trained, young dancers. His version was very successful and started a tradition of the Nutcracker in the United States. Now almost every Nutcracker is a different version depending on what the choreographer is trying to portray.
The Nutcracker story itself is about the same anywhere you go with minor adjustments giving each story a different feel or flare. The basis is that there is a young girl named Clara, or in some places Marie or Masha, who is throwing a Christmas party with her family, inviting all their closest friends. At that party, Clara receives a Nutcracker toy from her godfather, Drosselmyer, and immediately falls in love with it. After the party, Clara goes downstairs to check on her toy and falls asleep on the couch, when she wakes up she finds mice all around her frightening Clara until Drosselmyer comes to the rescue and makes the Nutcracker come to life. The Nutcracker and his soldiers fight the mice and their Rat King but they are losing so Clara hits the Rat King on the back distracting him enough to stab the Rat King ending the fight. The Nutcracker is so thankful that he takes Clara to the Land of Sweets through the forest where the icicles and snowflakes dance for them. Once they get to the Land of Sweets they are greeted by all the different candies from all different countries they all dance for her in gratitude. After they dance for her, the Nutcracker takes her home and she falls asleep waking up in her home with the Nutcracker toy in her arms realizing it was just a dream.
The Nutcracker is a well-loved tradition for many families and is at Salina’s Stiefel Theater on December 14-15. This production will be put on by Ballet Salina and the Salina Symphony. This is the third year of this production and it is hoped to continue alternating between The Nutcracker and The Salina Symphony Christmas Show every other year. There are around 80 dancers in the Nutcracker and over 100 people involved in the production including the symphony and children’s choir. The dancers have been working since August every Saturday leading up to the performances. Almost all costumes are hand-made and owned by Ballet Salina. The eighth grader, Katelyn Towes, and freshman Brielle Felzien at SES are dancers in this performance, along with multiple other dancers from different Salina schools and surrounding areas. As of December 13, there are still tickets available so come see the Nutcracker this holiday season.
