The holiday classic The Nutcracker originally premiered on the Mariinsky Theater stage of St. Petersburg, Russia, December 17, 1892. The audience considered it a massive failure. The ballet’s composer, Mr. Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, died less than a year later, believing that the audience thought his ballet was “boring” and that “the public did not seem to like it,” according to The Washington Post. Today, however, The Nutcracker has turned into a beloved holiday tradition. The plethora of modern-day productions of The Nutcracker in the United States (US) provides performance opportunities that enchant young dancers and more challenging roles for dancers to grow into as they advance. In recent years, production teams have begun working to improve the cultural accuracy of some character portrayals, seeking to build a stronger connection to the cultures represented on stage rather than make audience members who identify with these cultures feel imitated.
The ballet’s original Russian interpretation drew inspiration from an adaptation of Mr. E.T.A. Hoffmann’s classic story Nutcracker and the Mouse King. French choreographer Mr. Marius Petipa was tasked with choreographing the ballet. Although the audience did not receive the story of the ballet well, they considered the musical score “the best of Tchaikovsky’s ballets,” according to wilsoncenter.org.
In 1940, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, a small traveling ballet company, performed a small excerpt of The Nutcracker in the US, which inspired Mr. Willam Christensen and Mr. George Balanchine to choreograph the first full production of the ballet in the US for San Francisco Ballet, according to sfballet.org. Mr. Christensen and Mr. Balanchine’s 1944 production was more lavish than Mr. Petipa’s original and shifted towards Mr. Hoffmann’s original Nutcracker and the Mouse King instead of Mr. Petipa’s adaptation.
The story tells of a young girl, Marie (other adaptations may refer to her as Clara), who receives a beautiful nutcracker doll at her family’s Christmas party. As Marie is fast asleep that night, the audience finds their way into a world of her dreams. In her dream, Marie experiences a battle between life-size mice scurrying around her living room, led by the Mouse King, and her magical Nutcracker Doll and his army of toy soldiers. Once The Nutcracker slays the Mouse King, he transforms into a handsome prince and guides Marie through an enchanted forest where snowflakes dance a beautiful waltz, guiding children to The Land of the Sweets. Upon their arrival in The Land of the Sweets, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier greet Marie and the Prince, who then arrange a variety of divertissements, each representing delicacies from cultures worldwide, to entertain the guests, as well as Dewdrop and her waltzing flowers.
Each year, ballet students and professionals across the country prepare to perform in their local productions of The Nutcracker, with some children starting as young as seven or eight years old. As a dancer myself, I have grown up with the ballet as a favorite holiday tradition. Its nostalgic music and captivating storyline allow dancers and audience members to appreciate the art of ballet annually during the Christmas season.
I performed in The Nutcracker for the first time at the age of seven. Ever since, I have appeared in the production every year with the New England Academy of Dance (NEAD). My first performance of The Nutcracker sparked my passion for ballet, and my annual participation continues to foster my love for dance. As I reflect on this year’s production, I am reminded of my development as a dancer through the progression of roles I have received over the past ten years. I am eager to continue watching my progress as a dancer through future performances in The Nutcracker.
In recent years, some ballet companies’ representations of the Chinese tea and Arabian coffee divertissements have received scrutiny, which has inspired some of these companies to work to portray these characters differently. For instance, the director of Scottish Ballet, Mr. Christopher Hampson, reflected that when Mr. Petipa first introduced The Nutcracker as a ballet, it was acceptable to represent other cultures through imitation, which is no longer the case. Mr. Petipa did not have sufficient knowledge of the cultures he was portraying on stage, which led to inaccurate representations that some consider mockery, according to bbc.com.
Modern ballet companies like Scottish Ballet are researching aspects of these cultures more carefully in order to display a more authentic image. Scottish Ballet has been working for years with specialists in traditional Chinese dance to create a more respectful representation of Chinese culture, as well as acquire more authentic costumes for the Arabian dance. Mr. Hampson commented that Scottish Ballet’s efforts aim to allow audience members to feel an accurate representation of their culture on stage and feel celebrated instead of mocked, according to bbc.com.
“If we are representing a culture, it’s important that we have done our due diligence to ensure it is done so authentically,” Mr. Hampson said, according to bbc.com. “By rectifying inappropriate cultural stereotypes, we’re adding to the production’s heritage and making it richer.”
A movement titled Final Bow For Yellowface created a pledge to eliminate the practice of yellowface or putting on specific makeup or clothes to appear to be of Eastern Asian descent. Almost every major ballet company in the nation has signed the pledge, and many companies are taking the initiative to create authentic representations of Chinese culture for the Tea Dance. This development of inclusivity in The Nutcracker will allow the ballet to continue to serve as an annual holiday tradition while educating audience members about cultures other than their own, according to yellowface.org. Mr. Hampson spoke about what Scottish Ballet strives to achieve with the initiative they are taking to create a stronger sense of inclusivity in The Nutcracker.
“When people are in an audience and see a representation of their culture on stage, at Scottish Ballet, we want that to be a positive experience,” Mr. Hampson said, according to bbc.com. “We want everyone to feel welcome to come see a performance and to feel represented and celebrated.”
Featured Image by Juliet Lannamann ’26
