Widely considered as the “modern gateway” to classical ballet, The Nutcracker tells the story of a young girl, Clara, and her dream-like experiences after receiving a toy nutcracker for Christmas. Originally written in the 1890s, The Nutcracker has changed with the times and solidified its place in history as one of the greatest ballets ever created.
In 1890’s Berlin, Germany, Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffman wrote the very first version of The Nutcracker. From there, Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky adapted the story into the very Nutcracker performance known and loved today. Although The Nutcracker has managed to stay true to its original storyline, the ballet has also developed adaptations over the many decades of its existence.
Many small changes have been integrated into modern productions of the ballet since the original 1892 version, including the reimagination of different scenes for aesthetic purposes. The original ballet ended with a scene composed of dancers around a hive called “The Bee Dance,” which has not been performed on stage for over a century. “The Bee Dance” was morphed into the well-known “Waltz of the Flowers,” depicting an arrangement of “Flowers” danced by the Corps de Ballet and joined by the “Sugar Plum Fairy” in the “Land of Sweets” at the end of Clara’s journey. The main reasons for changes like these are the director’s creative eye; “The Bee Dance” was deemed unfit to match the overall whimsical aura of the ballet’s second half.
In recent years, The Pacific Northwest Ballet company (PNB) has made changes specific to their own rendition of The Nutcracker in an attempt to make the ballet more inclusive. Unlike many other companies, PNB has modified racially insensitive dances within the ballet, changing the original “Chinese Tea” dance into the “Cricket” dance and the original “Arabian Dance” into the “Peacock” dance. Elise Hueffed, a dancer for the past eleven years who has performed the role of Clara in PNB’s The Nutcracker, explains how PNB goes the extra mile when it comes to inclusion. “PNB is really good at having diversity within their dancers,” Hueffed said. “They’re ranked top in the nation for that.” On top of drawing their performers from different cultural backgrounds, the company makes an effort to diversify its audiences. “PNB is also one of the first companies to make a sensory-friendly production for every show they do,” Hueffed said; for each ballet, PNB creates an alternate version with modifications to lighting, audio, and seating. Whether you’re young, old, or if ballet is completely foreign to you, PNB’s The Nutcracker has something for everybody. “Overall, they’re a good company to support,” Hueffed said.
PNB’s production of The Nutcracker can appear effortless to general audiences, but there’s a lot to be said for the preparation and dedication it takes to bring the ballet to life—for what goes on behind the red curtains. The entire process, spanning over a period of several months for the dancers, is filled with long hours and physically demanding days, challenges that are made harder by the fact that half of The Nutcracker’s cast is between the ages of eight and fourteen. With such an extensive amount of dedication needed, it may be surprising to hear that the allocation of The Nutcracker’s roles isn’t strictly based on skill level. “I feel like getting Clara, at least for PNB’s version, isn’t really about dancing,” Hueffed said. “It’s about how tall you are, what your smile looks like… It’s all about smaller details that the public might not be aware of.”
Dancing is only one of the many elements of ballet that makes The Nutcracker so exceptional; the costumes, set design, and music score are all part of the magic. There’s plenty of variation in The Nutcracker from company to company—but some things never change. “The costumes are different, people have different characters… but the one thing that’s the same about every Nutcracker is the music,” Hueffed said. The Nutcracker’s music, written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, is one of the most recognizable orchestral scores ever created, influencing countless aspects of pop culture. The score has also appeared in numerous film and television series, including “The Simpsons” and “Fantasia.” If The Nutcracker’s allure could be boiled down to one thing only, it would arguably be the music.
The Nutcracker makes more revenue than any other show organized by PNB, which is exactly why it is imperative they receive support from us Bulldogs. “The Nutcracker is the biggest money-making production of the whole year,” Hueffed said. “They want it to be familiar so people will come back.” And they do; tickets often sell out—so for this upcoming holiday season, make sure to claim a seat at PNB’s The Nutcracker, showing from Nov. 29-Dec. 28 at McCaw Hall, Seattle Center.
