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CASSE NOISETTE pas de deux moment


rg

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the caption says: SUGARPLUM FAIRY - V. A. NIKITINA AND PRINCE KOKLUSH - P. A. GERDT

i suspect this reproduction, published in a russian book comes originally from one of the YEARBOOK OF THE IMPERIAL THEATERS, mostly likely 1892/93.

post-848-1105200885_thumb.jpg

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Interesting! The picture I recall seeing had this reversed, but then either it or this version, which is sort of mixed-media, photography and photogravure, may have been "flipped". It happens all the time with old pictures made with glass-plate negatives. It may even be a collotype judging from the pebbly background. (A third change of medium.)

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I *assume* Wiley got the direction from the notation. I've not looked at the these particular notations too closely, but the Nutcracker notation as a whole (mostly in Nikolai Sergeev's hand ... and he appears to have to be in a hurry) contains at least ground plans for most of the formal dances, and arrows are often used to indicate traveling direction.

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re: direction of the photo and likely the choreographic path, i think i too have seen this pic reproduced 'flopped' - i must dig out other possible sources, at least two or three it would seem. i chose this one b/c it was near at hand and reproduced in a good size, as i recall the other uses as illustration reproduce the pic smaller than this one in my russian book.

re: koklush = whooping cough, arlene croce added a 1977 footnote to her 1974 NEW YORKER rev. of balanchine's NUTCRACKER, it goes as follows:

"Several readers wrote, identifying 'Koklush' as a Russian gallicism derived from 'coqueluche,' whooping cough, but suggesting that the NUTCRACKER Cavalier was namee after 'coqueluche,' originally 'a hooded bonnet of the Middle Ages worn by men and women of fashion' and hence a term for favorite, fashion, or rage, as in 'coqueluche de ville' (town dandy) or 'coqueluche des dames' (ladies man). No one has explained why the same word means whooping cough."

i still like mel's suggestion that there might be a link here to smith brothers cough drops - a manly mint, which was introduced to russia around this time.

[have just checked two more sources: both my editions of Roslavleva's ERA OF RUSSIAN BALLET, and of John Warrack's TCHAIKOVSKY, reproduce the illustration in the same disposition as that scanned and posted from my russian book on SCHELKUNCHIK.]

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I recall a Royal Ballet Production about 20 years ago -

Anthony Dowell pulled Leslie Collier along on a piece

of cloth --- it was stage left to right --- and I think this

was the version Peter Wright did using archival material.

It's not in the recent production video 2000. Maybe

Leslie took her magic carpet with her when she retired.

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