From Story to Ballet: Interesting History of The Nutcracker by Sheri Leblanc

Every holiday season, both the young and young at heart flock to see one of the world's most famous ballets: The Nutcracker. But where did the story behind The Nutcracker ballet originate, and how did a little wooden novelty become one of the world's most recognizable protagonists? The Nutcracker ballet is based on a story called "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" written by a German writer, composer, and critic known as E.T.A. Hoffman (E.T.A. Hoffman being his pen-name; his actual name was Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffman.) Hoffman wrote Romantic stories of horror and fantasy, and "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," written in 1816, incorporates elements of both; indeed, the story combines love, violence, and the grotesque in a way that rivals the works of Byron and even Poe. Read more from Sheri Leblanc on the history of Hoffman's original story, the history of the ballet adaption, and more about many of The Nutcracker ballets performed worldwide.

Ballet in the City's Growing Impact

Jessica Wallis founded Ballet in the City (originally Ballet in Cleveland) to ensure and enhance the presence of ballet in American cities. Founded in 2012, the organization now offers scholarships, summer intensives, and unique presentations of world-class ballet at a national level. The World Dances spoke with Wallis about the passion driving Ballet in the City, the importance of ballet, and some exciting news! Follow @balletincity and check out Ballet in the City on Facebook for announcements, tour dates, and more.

What inspired you to start Ballet in the City?

I started it to revitalize the professional ballet scene in Cleveland, originally. We then rebranded to be Ballet in the City. Companies like American Ballet Theatre used to tour to Cleveland regularly, as did Joffrey Ballet and National Ballet of Canada. I really missed that as an audience member and I was sure I wasn't the only one who missed seeing that level of dance. We started by working with Ballet West's Allison DeBona. It was right before the second season of Breaking Pointe came out, so she was really in the limelight. Allison is an amazing teacher, so now we have a summer intensive that we run with her. Recently we worked with Kathryn Morgan to create The Red Shoes, which we're now taking to cities nationwide.

Your partnership with Kathryn Morgan has been a huge success!

Kathryn Morgan and I are making the announcement that we're taking An Evening with Kathryn Morgan, the performance we produced with her, to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.!

Congratulations! Can you please tell us more about the project?

We started working with Kathryn Morgan last spring. Kathyrn, of course, was a soloist with New York City Ballet and resigned to take charge of her health. She then launched her own YouTube channel, which is extremely successful with over 40,000 followers. I saw her as a dancer who was doing her own thing, and she wasn't constrained by a contract, which allowed her to do something unique. We developed this full-length performance called An Evening with Kathyrn Morgan which basically tells her life story. It shows how she started dancing all the way up through her life now. She dances different variations throughout the evening, but we wanted the performance to include a piece that was a brand new ballet, unique to her, that had never been performed before. We came up with The Red Shoes, choreographed by Donald Garverick. It's approximately a 10-minute variation, which is really hard for a dancer to carry all on her own! The acting is intense also. We presented the piece in Cleveland this last fall. We're taking it to Detroit in the summer, and we decided to take it somewhere really big after that. That's where Kennedy Center is coming in.

Ultimately, what is the impact you hope to make?

This is a pretty big goal, but ballet is so stigmatized still. I want to show that ballet is something that has a place in every city and can be meaningful in some way, big or small, to every person. Many people think ballet is unimportant, or just tiaras and tutus. I want people to know that's not all it is. I would love for people to think about ballet a little bit differently because of the thumbprint our organization has been able to make.

For more on Ballet in the City, please click here.

By Tamara Johnson

A More Conscious Nutcracker?

Celebrating Diversity

Keshet Dance Company. "Nutcracker on the Rocks"
Courtesy of Pat Berrett

One of the most important stories to come out of the dance world this year has been Misty Copeland's landmark promotion to Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre and the vital--and revitalizing--conversation around diversity in ballet it fueled. While gaining momentum, this dialogue has a long way to go. "More than equality is at stake," writes Gia Kourlas in this New York Times article. "When a company is diverse, the audience becomes more diverse, too, and for those faced with aging, dwindling audiences, that is priceless." Beyond the incentive of ticket sales, we're not living up to our potential as artists if we only challenge ourselves to connect with a specific sliver of the brilliant culture spectrum. In the spirit of pushing ourselves to do better as a community, it's timely and important that so many dance writers have been questioning the treatment of culture in The Nutcracker.

The beloved classic (and I do love it!) presents problems, if we're honest. "Companies rely on The Nutcracker to sustain them for the rest of the year; at NYCB Nutcracker generates about 40% of the annual revenue," writes Alice Robb in New Republic. "It also traffics in blatant and offensive stereotypes." Different versions offer different takes on the Land of Sweets, but we can probably all agree the Arabian Coffee and Chinese Tea variations are problematic, to say the least.

Here, I highlight and celebrate some wonderful Nutcracker versions that celebrate diversity.

Keshet Dance Company's Nutcracker on the Rocks takes inclusivity to a literal level. Shira Greenberg, Keshet's visionary founder, goes beyond weaving the traditional score with rock, swing, and hip hop music; she casts amateurs alongside professional dancers. "As long as novices are willing to commit to the troupe's rigorous training and rehearsal schedule, they're in," Greenberg says in an interview with the Albuquerque Journal. "That may mean they dance in a wheelchair or they are blind.

Tony Williams' Urban Nutcraker blends dance forms from ballet to dance battles in a contemporary Boston setting, populated with multiracial families. You can watch some inspiring rehearsal footage here.

The Hip Hop Nutcracker reimagines the entire ballet, with an onstage DJ, updated story, and seriously high voltage choreography. (Click on the link to see lots of great video.)

For a diverse audience to identify with and care about what happens in dance is important. I'm not saying the traditional Nutcracker should be scrapped--one of my favorite things about ballet is its deep and beautiful heritage. We should, however, be open to discussing limitations of that heritage and working to expand our artistic horizons. To read more about diversity in dance and The Nutcracker, please click here. On that note, if you're involved in or see an innovative Nutcracker this season, let us know at @TheWorldDances.

By Tamara Johnson

Jobs in the Dance World

Thinking about starting the new year off with a new career? ADF is looking for Summer Festival Staff. College of St. Benedict and St. John's University in MN seeks an Executive Director as do Joy of Motion in D.C. and Todd Rosenlieb Dance in Norfolk. Ballet Austin wants to fill the role of Resident Instructor of Dance and Charlotte Ballet is looking for an Artistic Director. Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre has three openings -- Experience Director, Office Manager and Opportunities Associate. Do you have the best skill set for these roles? Check out these and other current dance job listings on TheWorldDances.com. Here's to finding the perfect match for your experience, passion, and talents!

December 4, 2015

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November Harlequin Floors Scholarship Winners!

Harlequin Floors is proud to award $1000 in scholarships every month to dancers to help make their dreams come true. Thank you to all of the great dancers who share their videos each month! Enjoy watching more than 1900 dance videos on TheWorldDances.com for ideas, inspiration and entertainment. We invite you to watch the scholarship-winning videos and read the wonderful bios and teacher appreciation messages from the past Harlequin Floors Scholarship winners in the Meet the Winners section. Watch the videos from November scholarship winners Avery Alexander, Amber Skaggs, Natalia Duran, and Scott Nicholson & Evgeniya Gorobets below. Enter your video today for the December Harlequin Floors Scholarship contest. We look forward to seeing you dance!