Ballet is a form of theatre that uses dance to tell a story. It began in the 15th century in Italy, and developed further in France, England, and Russia.
The word ballet (pronounced bal-LAY) comes from the French, who in turned borrowed the word from the Italian balletto meaning "little dance". Ballet was so popular in France that most of the words used to describe the different dance steps are in French.
A ballet is different from a play because it uses dance and music to convey the story, instead of spoken words.
Marie Taglioni (1804-1884) dancing the title role in "La Sylphide", 1832 (Source: Wikipedia)One of the most recognizable characteristics of ballet is the pointe shoe, the slippers that female dancers often wear. This slipper has a special hard toe that enables the dancer to stand on the very tips of her toes. One of the very first ballerinas to dance en pointe was Marie Taglioni, in the early 1830s.
What is "The Nutcracker"?
"The Nutcracker" is a two-act ballet composed by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. It was not originally much of a success when it debuted in 1892, but became extremely popular as a Christmas production in the mid-20th century, and the music is now one of Tchaikovsky's most recognizable works.
A scene from the original production of "The Nutcracker" at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg (Source: Wikipedia)The story begins at the Stahlbaum home on Christmas Eve, where the tree is being decorated and preparations are underway for a celebration. The guests arrive, and presents are given out to the children, including Clara Stahlbaum (in some productions, she is called Marie) and her little brother Fritz. As the clock strikes nine, a mysterious cloaked figure enters, who turns out to be Herr Drosselmeyer, Clara's godfather, with his young nephew. Drosselmeyer is a toymaker, and has brought for the children some wonderful life-sized mechanical dolls. He has also brought for Clara a special gift -- a beautiful nutcracker. Fritz teases Clara and breaks her toy, but Drosselmeyer bandages it with his handkerchief.
After the guests have left for the night, Clara falls asleep, but is woken by a mouse running through the room. Suddenly, the room is filled with giant mice who attack Clara, but toy soldiers, led by the brave Nutcracker, come alive and rescue Clara. With Clara's help, the Nutcracker defeats the horrible Mouse King and is transformed into a handsome prince. He then leads Clara through a magical pine forest to the Land of Snow, and on in an enchanted sleigh to the Kingdom of Sweets.
When Clara and the Nutcracker Prince arrive in the Kingdom of Sweets, they are greeted by the Sugarplum Fairy, who arranges in Clara's honor a performance by all the inhabitants of her kingdom -- chocolate, coffee and tea, flowers, candy canes, marzipan, and other wonderful things. The Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier dance for Clara and the Nutcracker Prince.
Clara awakens from her dream to find the Nutcracker Prince has been released from his enchantment and is now a real boy.
For further reading
Bussell, Darcey. The young dancer. London, New York : Dorling Kindersley, 1994.
Jessel, Camilla. Life at the Royal Ballet School. London, New York : Methuen, 1979.
Krementz, Jill. A very young dancer. New York : Knopf, 1976.
National Ballet School of Canada. The ballet book : the young performer's guide to classical dance. New York : Firefly, 2007.
Yolen, Jane. The Barefoot book of ballet stories. New York : Barefoot Books, 2009.
A longer list of books recommended by the New York City Ballet can be found here.
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