The Joffrey Ballet: The Nutcracker

THE NUTCRACKER Working Rehearsal

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Cuesheet

The Joffrey Ballet

Getting Ready to SeeThe W

hen Robert Joffrey founded The Joffrey Ballet in 1956, he was 25 years old. At that time, most ballet companies were touring with shortened versions of foreign ballet classics. Joffrey wanted to create an American ballet company that performed works by American choreographers. Over the years, the company grew in popularity. The Nutcracker was the last ballet Joffrey choreographed for the company before he died in 1988.

Clara is delighted with her new present, a nutcracker.

Where Did The Nutcracker Come From . ?

The Joffrey Ballet and Robert Joffrey

Ballet first emerged in Italy during the Renaissance era of the 15th century, when artistic curiosity and creativity flourished. However, the ballet we know today evolved from lavish court dances during the reign of Louis XIV, who ruled France from 1643 to 1715. And more than a century later in Russia, Marius Petipa (PEH-tee-PAH), artistic director of the Imperial Russian Ballet, choreographer Lev Ivanov, and composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (chy-KOFF-skee) created three of the great ballets of the Romantic period: Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker.

THE JOFFREY BALLET’S CAITLIN MEIGHAN AND MAURO VILLANUEVA IN THE NUTCRACKER. PHOTO BY HERBERT MIGDOLL

The Nutcracker presents a world of childhood wonder where magic blurs the line between reality and fantasy. The ballet is based on the story The Nutcracker and the King of Mice, by German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann. Marius Petipa conceived and planned a ballet based on a French version of Hoffmann’s tale written by Alexander Dumas. Petipa fell ill and was unable to choreograph the ballet. His assistant, Lev Ivanov, completed the choreography and the ballet premiered in 1892. Since then, numerous ballet companies all over the world have performed it. Choreographers have set it in different time periods, locales, and cultures, and it has remained one of the most popular ballets of all time.

What Is It About The Nutcracker?

After the working rehearsal, discuss why you think this ballet has appealed to dance companies and audiences for more than a century.

COVER: THE JOFFREY BALLET’S CHRISTINE ROCAS AND RORY HOHENSTEIN IN THE NUTCRACKER. PHOTO BY HERBERT MIGDOLL

The Story

T

he Nutcracker is about the magic of childhood and Christmas.

The story begins at a Christmas party held by the Stahlbaums and their two children, Clara and Fritz.

The Prologue People are bustling on the street, preparing for the holidays.

Drosselmeyer (DROS-sel-MY-er), a dollmaker and magician, buys a Nutcracker on his way to the party.

Act I Guests arrive at the Stahlbaums and exchange gifts. The children play games and dance together, and the adults perform a courtly dance.

Drosselmeyer enters and performs magic tricks, captivating the children.

Drosselmeyer gives Clara the Nutcracker as a present. Fritz steals the toy from Clara and breaks it.

Drosselmeyer helps Clara mend the toy before the children are sent off to bed.

Clara can’t sleep and returns looking for her Nutcracker. Her living room suddenly turns into a battlefield.

Clara is surrounded by mice. Luckily, Drosselmeyer comes to her aid. He casts a spell making the Christmas tree grow and the toys come to life. Clara’s Nutcracker leads the toy soldiers in a battle against the mice. Clara helps the Nutcracker by removing her shoe and hitting the Mouse King on the head.

Clara’s act of devotion transforms the Nutcracker into a handsome prince.

He invites her to go with him to the Kingdom of Sweets.

–Robert Joffrey

JOFFREY BALLET COMPANY AND NUTCRACKER CHILDRENS CAST IN THE NUTCRACKER. PHOTO BY HERBERT MIGDOLL

Joffrey Ballet

“I wanted a company out of my own roots, out of America.”

The other children are envious when Drosselmeyer gives Clara the nutcracker as a present.

The Sugar Plum Fairy enters riding a horse led by her Cavalier. The Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier dance a pas de deux (PAH-d’-DUEH), or a short dance for two. The act closes with the “Waltz of the Snowflakes.”

Act II Drosselmeyer, Clara, and the Nutcracker prince are welcomed to the enchanted kingdom of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

A victory celebration begins. Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Arabian folk dances are performed, ending with a Grand Pas de Deux by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. Clara returns to her home and family full of wonder.

Think Like A Choreographer Listen to Tchaikovsky’s folk dance music in Act II. Imagine the dance movements. Watch how the choreography reflects each country and its music.

THE JOFFREY BALLET’S APRIL DALY AND DYLAN GUTIERREZ IN THE NUTCRACKER. PHOTO BY HERBERT MIGDOLL

Many Romantic-era ballets employ a divertissement (dee-vehr-tees-MAHN), or collection of dances, toward the end of a ballet to entertain the audience rather than advance the plot.

David M. Rubenstein Chairman Michael M. Kaiser President Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided by Adobe Foundation, The Clark Charitable Foundation; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Macy’s Foundation; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Park Foundation, Inc.; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; an endowment from the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation; U.S. Department of Education; and by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas

Joffrey’s Take on The Nutcracker Tradition

R

obert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker premiered in 1987. It was produced in the spirit of the original ballet by Marius Petipa, but Joffrey wanted his version to have an American feel. Before Joffrey’s version, productions of The Nutcracker were presented using European themes and traditions. In contrast, Joffrey’s version is set in 1850s America. Joffrey worked on his production of The Nutcracker for 15 years, all the while collecting Victorian cards, prints, illustrations, and toys that would form the basis for his sets and costumes.

Traditionally, Romantic ballets had taken their audiences to various settings and time periods by creating an elaborate visual spectacle. One way Joffrey added to The Nutcracker’s spectacle was by incorporating Christmas tree angels into the production. Joffrey’s research of Victorian tin toys also inspired the

sleek, glow in the dark mice costumes.

Another change Joffrey made was to “bring alive” a bouquet of flowers from the first act during the “Waltz of the Flowers” in the second act.

One of the most significant differences is in Joffrey’s Drosselmeyer.

Some productions have portrayed Drosselmeyer as a frightening old man who leads Clara into a threatening dream world. However, Joffrey chose to represent him as an intelligent, charming character that makes Clara’s fantasy come true. Most importantly, Joffrey’s The Nutcracker highlights innocence, wonder, and family ties.

What’s Your Take?

How would you restage The Nutcracker? Pick a time period and location for the story to take place. How would that change the movement and the costumes? Describe your version to the class, including drawings of what your set and costumes would look like.

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