Tchaikovsky and The Nutcracker

Sterling Hyltin as The Sugarplum Fairy and Andrew Veyette as her cavalier
in "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (TM)" as part of NYCB 

Every year in December, thousands of dancers put on costumes and take their places backstage for the top of the one of the most legendary ballets of all time. This is the show they have been preparing for since September, the Nutcracker.

Pytor Ilych Tchaikovsky

The Nutcracker is the story of a girl named Clara, who at her family’s annual Christmas party gets a Nutcracker. That night, at midnight, she is attacked by rats and their rat king, but her Nutcracker and her brother Fritz’s toy soldiers come and defeat the rats. She is then transported through a land of dancing snowflakes to the Land of Sweets where the Sugar Plum Fairy and her attendants dance for her and the Nutcracker. Pytor Ilych Tchaikovsky, a famous composer, wrote the score these dancers dance to.  Born May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia, he grew up with four brothers, a sister, and a half sister. He composed many symphonies, operas,  concertos, ballets, and chamber music pieces in his time. His famous ballets besides the Nutcracker include Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. He died in St. Petersburg in November 6, 1893. He was the first Russian composer to be internationally known.

Me as a party girl this year

Tchaikovsky’s music was so popular at the time because of it’s emotion. He composed pieces that were happy, and you wouldn’t forget. He made people feel what was going on onstage, helping to move the scene along. The emotion is what makes us want to see his ballets like The Nutcracker over and over again, giving us that holiday cheer every time.

There are many different versions of the Nutcracker, the original being Marius Petipa’s and the most common now being George Balanchine's. With these varying choreographies there are many different names of parts with different ages dancing the roles. George Balanchine’s version has the little angels, the party children, the soldiers, Marie, the Nutcracker, the polichinelles, the candy canes, and the girl chinese soloists, and the maids as students, with the company dancers dancing the parts of snow, flowers, party parents, rats, spanish, arabian, marzipan, dewdrop, leads, and sugar plum fairy and her cavalier.

In September, while the rest of the world is enjoying the remains of summer, many ballet dancers are already listening to the well-known music of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, learning choreography, getting selected for roles. The Nutcracker auditions usually occur in late August to early September, with choreography starting anytime from September for students to November for professionals. The life of a ballet dancer is a busy one, most dancers 6th grade and up dance at least 6 hours per week, if not more. As the Nutcracker draws nearer, the hours of rehearsal increase, accumulating at Dress Rehearsal which can be 8 to 12 hours. Costumes arrive from October to November, their beauty showing the seamstress’s love for the show.

Me and two friends backstage
ready for flowers

While many may guess that backstage is quiet, and everyone is waiting in the wings to come on, anyone who has been there knows that this is not the case. Crazy quick changes, stressed directors, and dancers going every direction to get where they need to be is a very normal backstage. That’s not counting the broken costume or missing pointe shoe that usually takes place. The dressing rooms is where most dancers spend the bulk of their time backstage. There is usually one large dressing room per part or two parts for the dancers in the school, and one small dressing room for one or two dancers per room for company. Here is where dancers stay when not onstage or close to going on. People play card games, watch movies, play on iphones and ipads, warm up, stretch, goof off and choreograph dances.

I have been in The Nutcracker seven times and they have all been amazing. I have so many memories that I won’t share now, I have laughed, cried, nearly puked, been nervous, fallen flat on my face, gotten in trouble, but above all, had some of the most fun I ever had.

The Nutcracker is an annual Christmas tradition for many, whether backstage, onstage, or in the audience. It has warmed many hearts in its time, Tchaikovsky's music aiding this. For me, it is truly the most wonderful time of the year, and my many performances of it I will always keep near me. It is beyond doubt, a wonderful show.

Credits

http://www.exploredance.com/article.htm?id=1655 for George Balanchine's Nutcracker picture

Anna Rigles and Classical Ballet Academy for the picture of Olivia Andersen in passé ( www.classicalballet.net )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marius_Petipa