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The Enduring Appeal Of 'The Nutcracker' And Where You Can Watch The Christmas Perennial This Holiday Season
Dancers from the Royal Ballet perform a dress rehersal of "The Nutcracker" by Tchaikovsky at the Royal Opera House in London in 2005, ahead of the Christmas season.
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JOHN D MCHUGH/AFP via Getty Images
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On Christmas eve, a girl is taken to a magical world where toy soldiers battle a mouse army in a candy winterland ruled by a sugar plum fairy.
That’s the story at the center of the The Nutcracker ballet performed in myriad ways to the music of Tchaikovsky.
The Nutcracker debuted in Moscow in 1882 but it wasn’t until the 1940’s and 50’s when American stagings gained popular attention. From there, renditions of the classic took off and quickly became a holiday season tradition.
“There's a nostalgic aspect to 'The Nutcracker,'” said Jackie Kopcsak, assistant dean at the Gloria Kaufman School of Dance at USC . “If you were taken to The Nutcracker as a young person, you want to share that experience as you grow older with the young people in your life.”
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The ballet remains both an audience favorite but also a tentpole for the industry.
“Many dance companies in North America are still dependent on Nutcracker revenue to fund the rest of their seasons,” said Kopcsak.
Where you can see The Nutcracker in person:
- Ballet Repertory Theatre at Golden West College’s Main Stage Theater, Dec. 24
- American Contemporary Ballet, Dec. 24
- Los Angeles Ballet at Dolby Theatre, Dec. 24 and Dec. 26
- Degas Dance Studio at Plaza De Oro Shopping Center, Dec. 26
Where to stream The Nutcracker from home:
- George Balanchine’s 1993 New York City Ballet (with a young Macaulay Culkin)
- The Nutcracker Ballet with Mikhail Baryshnikov 1977 full movie
- 2007 - San Francisco Ballet
- Mark Morris Dance Group: The Hard Nut (part 1)
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