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How famous Nutcracker ballet staged around the world

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How famous Nutcracker ballet staged around the world


05.01.2020

Photo credit: mos.ru

The Nutcracker ballet, written to the music of the great Pyotr Tchaikovsky, has been considered the main New Year’s performance in the world for 127 years now. The Izvestia newspaper explains how different countries put the famous ballet on stage.


The famous Christmas story is performed by ballet dancers in Germany, China, Chile, Kenya, Canada, the USA and other countries. The theatrical scenery and choreography acquire a national flavor, only Tchaikovsky’s music remains unchanged.

Photo credit: mos.ru

For the first time, viewers saw the Nutcracker on December 6, 1892. Since 1966, ballet has been staged at the Bolshoi Theater. Choreographer Yuri Grigorovich turned a children's fairy tale into a magical philosophical story. Over the years, the leading parts in this classic version of the play were performed by Ekaterina Maksimova, Vladimir Vasiliev, Svetlana Zakharova, Nikolai Tsiskaridze and other dancers.

In Kenya this season, the main roles in the production were played for the first time by local dancers. The Kenyan Nutcracker stands out with its bright costumes, the “Chinese dragon”, as well as young wards of charitable foundations in the role of cherubs and mice.

Photo credit: scene from The Nutcracker ballet (Canada)

In Canada, a Hazel bear with twelve cubs appeared on the stage, and the action begins with hockey at the pond. In a German production, classical ballet is intertwined with modern dance, the scenery is minimized, and the costumes are thought out to the smallest detail. In China, the stage is abundantly decorated, while the costumes of the characters seem modest.

Photo credit: scene from The Nutcracker ballet (Santiago)

Dancers in Santiago depict an epic saber battle, taking place against the backdrop of the presidential palace.

Photo credit: scene from the ballet The Nutcracker ballet (Scotland)

In Scotland, the main character is called Clara, as in the version of the Pacific Northwest Ballet, where the Nutcracker is presented in a completely new concept and recognized only by the famous music.

Russkiy Mir


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