The Nutcracker is a Christmas ballet that is traditionally performed. It is popular with both children and adults, unlike many other ballets. The Nutcracker tells the story of Clara, a young girl who dreams of having adventures with a nutcracker she receives for Christmas. It is based on a surreal short story by German writer E. T. A. Hoffmann. Because it is made to look like a man, as is customary in Europe, this nutcracker is especially suited to such fantasies.
The Nutcracker’s music was composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1891-1892. The ballet was first performed around Christmastime in 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The ballet, despite its current popularity, did not take off right away. In fact, the ballet was not performed outside of Russia until 1934 in England, and it would take another ten years for it to reach the United States. While the ballet was slow to gain popularity, Tchaikovsky’s ballet music, collectively known as The Nutcracker Suite, was frequently performed in concert.
In 1954, renowned choreographer George Ballanchine of the New York City Ballet breathed new life into The Nutcracker. The ballet had become a Christmastime staple by the 1960s, and the New York City Ballet has performed it every year since its premiere. One of Ballanchine’s first innovations was to cast children in the roles of Clara and the Nutcracker, whom he renamed Marie. Another version, choreographed by Russian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, who also played the title role, helped to cement the ballet’s fame. Baryshnikov’s version, which premiered in 1976 and was broadcast the following year, was nominated for an Emmy and went on to become the best-selling ballet video of all time.
Every year at Christmas, different versions of this ballet are performed, and stranger interpretations of the story have begun to emerge. There have been television adaptations of ice skating versions, such as The Nutcracker: a Fantasy on Ice from 1983. In 1992, Mark Morris created The Hard Nut, a satirical version of the ballet. There have also been many loosely based animated versions, such as The Nuttiest Nutcracker from 1999.