cubanmiamiboy

Some fragments of Vainonen's look just like takes from Petipa's Rose Adagio, like the series of supported developpes a la seconde...

The next fragment from Ratmansky's interview for Dance Magazine got me thinking... DM- "And what about the Nutcracker for ABT in December? Will it be a Russian Nutcracker or an American Nutcracker? AR- It probably will be somewhere in between, like I am—hanging between the traditions and styles and expectations. So I got a whole set of questions... Will he takes bits from the most revered rendition of the ballet in Russia-(Vainonen)? Will he try to keep the only preserved Ivanov chunk of choreography...(the Sugar Plum Fairy Pas de Deux)-like Wright and Alonso...? Will he try to do some athletic rendition, a la Grigorovitch for the Bolshoi...? And here are four clips of the aboved mentioned choreographies. What do you think...? Vainonen for the Mariinsky. (Lezhnina/Baranov) Grigorovitch for the Bolshoi. (Maximova/Vasiliev) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTuqFXmZhkc Ivanov, staged by Sir Peter Wright for the RB. (Collier/Dowell)

From Dance Magazine. DM- "And what about the Nutcracker for ABT in December? Will it be a Russian Nutcracker or an American Nutcracker? AR- It probably will be somewhere in between, like I am—hanging between the traditions and styles and expectations. Nutcracker is challenging because everyone knows what they want to see. And everything has been done already. If the tree does not grow, people will be upset. My main concern is to listen to the music because the score is so great. It’s the reason the Nutcracker exists. You can’t jump over Tchaikovsky. And every day you listen differently. You’re a different person and the life around you is different. Even though I’ve made a Nutcracker for Royal Danish in 2001, and I started one at the Kirov". http://dancemagazine.com/issues/February-2009/Between-Two-Worlds-expanded-version

Your gain is our lost. I had eyed Mr. Baker long time ago, and proclaimed him MCB's "Best Lifter" . Beautiful stage presence, amazing strength, joyful demeanor , always an EXCITING performer to watch...(a factor sadly getting lost this days in the ballet world). Ah...and definitely the BEST candy cane I've ever seen...(damn...and now he's gone, just when I was getting to terms with this character... ). I even thought that in no time he would be escalating the ranks to become Principal Dancer here. Ballerinas ALWAYS looked SAFE during his daring partnering segments... Enjoy Baker, guys...

I agree. I would like to note that Miss Valdes' climbing has been a really hard one. I remember that while I was still living in Cuba she was just a First Soloist all while Miss Lorna Feijoo was everyone's sweetheart and favorite...the real reigning queen of the CNB. I also remember the early critiques from the most hardcore balletomanes about Valdes' said to be lack of artistic skills and refinement. It wasn't really until Feijoo and Alihaydee Carreno defected that she was able to be promoted to Primera Bailarina, and then she had the chance to show off her technical power. To be fair, I must say that I think she has come a long way on her artistic development, and as I said earlier, she's probably not the best actress of this world, but neither the very worst. I think she knows her limitations, and then she tries hard to make it up to her loyal fans with her fierce display of technical fireworks. As Paul noted, I think she was a hit in "The Magic Flute", DEFINITELY as Kitri and even not that bad in Giselle. Her problem seems to be at portraying regal or delicate characters-(Swan Queens, Fairies , Princesses and the like...). Still, I give her credit for always giving an exciting, HONEST performance to her audience, and at the very end, that's what really matters. Just a thought...

As Swanilda http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V9-BqFhLaU&feature=related and to compare...

I only recently learned (from an earlier post in these forums, most likely) that the Marzipan section represented Denmark. I was under the misapprehension that they were supposed to be French. Also, and this is new to me here, I had thought the Commedia del Arte-inspired Polichinelles were Italian. Nor had I understood that the Flowers were also actually sweets. Carbro...I even knew LESS than that...I didn't even know about the candy canes-(yes, I knew about Balanchine's claim, but wasn't sure about it up until I saw Mel's transcription...My previous experience with the Russian Dance had been Alonso's Three Ivans/Trepak). And that's exactly my point about the ideal reconstruction. In between the candy canes, bonbons, marzipan, icing cake flowers and the rest, along with what I supposed would be self explanatory original costume and set designs, I think this ballet could finally make so much more sense, and the story could finally be "seen" in all its glory...

Oh, so then the last name changes from Hoffmann to Dumas, and the first name from Dumas to Vsevolozhsky...? Hoffmann= Marie Stahlbaum Dumas= Marie Silberhaus Vsevolozhsky= Clara Silberhaus ..am I right now..? Thanks, volcanohunter, Mel, Richard, Mme. Hermine... Oh, boy...talk about an identity disorder...poor girl...

Oh, so then the last name changes from Hoffmann to Dumas, and the first name from Dumas to Vsevolozhsky...? Hoffmann= Marie Stahlbaum Dumas= Marie Silberhaus Vsevolozhsky= Clara Silberhaus ..am I right now..?

So...let me get this clear. Hoffmann= Marie Stahlbaum vs. Dumas/Vsevolozhsky= Clara Silberhaus. Did I get that right...?

I looked up some info in Wiki on the source for the libretto E T Hoffmann's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King . There Clara is described as Clara Stahlbaum. I don't have a feel for how conclusive that info is though. And whatever the original story contained it's pretty much fair game for change in the process of adaptation into another media. Names particularly are very much changeable. I'd like to see what the original source material shows. Well...according to the original Vsevolozhsky's libretto transcribed in Balletalert, the name is Silberhaus. I always like to look up to the librettos, because sometimes they differ a bit from the stories from which they come from. Same, I guess, with the Clara/Marie issue...

I notice that Clara's name varies from production to production. According to the original libretto-(beautifully transcribed by Mel Johnson in Balletalert)-the name goes by Clara Silberhaus, although it can also be noted as Marie Stahlbaum in other productions. Why the duality...? Thanks!

Isn't Balanchine's the only version with a Dewdrop? Most others I've seen just have the corps in the waltz of the flowers. In the version that Ruth Page choreographed in the 1960s, the Flowers soloist was called the American Beauty Rose. And both Vainonen's and Sir Peter Wright's have male dancers partnering the flowers...

I think that those are ballet slippers. Remember, one of them has to come off. Was that on the original libretto too...? More from wikipedia, from the plot summary from Act 1: A conflict ensues, and when Clara helps the Nutcracker by throwing her shoe at the Mouse King, the Nutcracker seizes his opportunity and stabs him. The mouse dies. (In some productions, she merely grabs the Mouse King by the tail, and in others Clara kills the Mouse King when she throws her slipper at him.) The mice retreat, taking their dead leader with them. The Nutcracker is then transformed into a prince. (In Hoffmann's original story, and in Peter Wright's Royal Ballet 1985 version, the Prince is actually Drosselmeyer's nephew, who had been turned into a Nutcracker by the Mouse King, and all of the events following the Christmas party have been arranged by Drosselmeyer in order to break the spell.) I also found this info...in that great place that is Balletalert...! -(great job, BTW) A PRECIS OF THE COMBINED LIBRETTO OF THE NUTCRACKER by Ivan A. Vsevolozhsky AND THE MUSICAL INSTRUCTIONS of Marius Petipa ACT I - The house of Herr Praesident and Frau Silberhaus Relatives decorate the family Christmas tree. The eldest of the children, Marianne, is sent to fetch the rest, who arrive to find the sparkling sight of the tree with its decorations, and all the family gathered, and all those presents! While the cousins play the piano, the children receive their toys to a sprightly march, and begin to play with them. Their merriment is halted, however by the chiming of the owl-topped clock, which heralds the arrival of Herr Drosselmayer, an old Town Councilman, who is of a mysterious appearance, but a loving nature. He has brought gifts for the children, too, and chiefly for Clara, the Silberhaus' daughter, and her brother Fritz, for he is their godfather. The Councillor brings some very odd-looking packages, a cabbage and a meat pie, from which issue a Harlequin and a Columbine doll, and two snuffboxes from which a vivandiere (a military saleswoman) and a soldier appear. The miraculous dolls are too precious to stand rough play, and the father orders them to a place of honor in the study for safekeeping. Clara and Fritz are heart-broken to see their lovely toys taken from them, and begin to weep. But Drosselmayer has another surprise for them hidden inside his coat - a beautifully-made, if comical-looking, nutcracker! The children are overjoyed, but in his enthusiasm, Fritz tries to crack walnuts with the beautiful nutcracker, and breaks it, it having been made for hazelnuts. Clara is horrified, and takes up her wounded beloved toy, and cares for it as if it were a real little man, putting it safe in her favorite doll's bed, and covering it. She cautions Fritz and the boys to keep the noise down so that her nutcracker may fall peacefully to sleep. The parents order the furniture all moved to the sides so that the evening may conclude with a traditional "Grossvater" (Grandfather) dance, at the conclusion of which the guests make their departures. Clara asks her father if she may take her sick nutcracker to bed with her. His permission is refused, and Marianne takes the children to their rooms. The lights in the drawing-room are put out. As moonlight streams through the frost-covered windows, Clara reappears in her nightgown, resolved to nurse the poor nutcracker back to health. Just as she reaches the little bed, the clock strikes midnight, and she looks up to see - the owl replaced by Drosselmayer, who flaps the bottoms of his coat like the wings of the owl in whose place he stands. The room becomes filled with mice! Clara tries to hide behind the nutcracker's bed. The moonlight takes on a magical shimmer, as the little girl shrinks to the size of her toys, and the Christmas tree seems to tower over her like a gigantic building. The mice encounter the pickets of the toy soldier guards, the stuffed-rabbit drummers beat To Arms. The Gingerbread soldiers move to repel the attack of the mice and are eaten! The mice squeak their cheers as their King arrives on the battlefield. The Nutcracker, still wounded, rises from his bed to take command of the situation. He recalls the toys, and recruits the dolls to be army doctors, to heal the wounded, who bravely rush back into battle. He calls up his reserves, the boxes of tin soldiers, who cannot be eaten by the mice. They form a square around Clara and their commander, and repel the charges of the mice. Finally, the Mouse-King and the Nutcracker meet in single combat. Weakened by his earlier wound, he is about to fall to his enemy, when Clara takes off her slipper and tosses it at the Mouse-King, distracting him so that the Nutcracker may disable him and send the mice packing. As the mice retreat, the Nutcracker kneels before Clara, and, upon arising, is shown to have been transformed into a handsome prince, a little older than she. He bids her follow him, and they walk through the Christmas tree, which tranforms into a beautiful moonlit forest of evergreens. As Clara and the Nutcracker Prince walk through the forest, snowflakes begin to fall all around them. Act II - The Palace of Sweets in the Kingdom of Confiturembourg The beautiful and wondrous Kingdom of Confections is readied for the reception of the Prince and Clara, who arrive in a shell-boat, drawn by dolphins, down a river of attar of roses. They are greeted by the regent of the land, the Sugar Plum Fairy, who has been ruling in the name of the Prince, against the day of his return. The benevolent spirit asks of the exploits of the newly-arrived Prince who recounts the story of the Battle with the Mice to the kingdom, and hails Clara as the heroine who saved his life. He then introduces her to his little sisters, who are beautiful little dolls studded with gems. They greet her warmly when he tells them of her great bravery. At table is brought, and a chocolate service is produced; Clara and the Prince are seated in order to watch the celebration ordered for their arrival. Chocolate from Spain is served. Coffee from Arabia is brought. There is Tea in the Chinese taste. Jesters in candy-cane stripes dance a Russian dance, with hoops. Marzipan shepherdesses from Denmark who look like Chelsea China figures, play on their mirliton-flutes. Mother Ginger and her Children are popular French bonbons 36 flowers made of cake icing dance a grand ballabile. The Sugar Plum Fairy and her cavalier end the entertainment with a Grand Pas de Deux with magical effects. A Grand Waltz for the entire kingdom ensues, after which the scene is transformed into illuminated fountains and a gigantic beehive is shown, with flying bees guarding the riches of the miraculous kingdom, over which Clara and her Prince reign forever. http://www.balletalert.com/ballets/19th%20century/Nuts/Libretto.htm

I think that those are ballet slippers. Remember, one of them has to come off. Was that on the original libretto too...?

According to Wikipedia, Stanislava Belinskaya, the Clara of the premiere was a "real child" and a student of the Imperial Ballet School rather than a soloist. If this is correct then the adult Clara came from later "enhancements" of the work, of which there have been many. Not an adult per se, but nor the balanchinean little girl either... She looks to me as the perfect choice: a pre-teen playing a pre-teen, but old enough to have some pointe work going on. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Belinskaya is wearing pointe shoes in this pic.(You can click on it to make it bigger) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Nutcracker_-Scene_from_Act_I_-Sergei_Legat_as_Nutcracker,_Stanislava_Stanislavovna_Belinskaya_as_Clara,_%26_Unidentified_as_a_Gingerbread_Soldier_-1892.JPG/800px-Nutcracker_-Scene_from_Act_I_-Sergei_Legat_as_Nutcracker,_Stanislava_Stanislavovna_Belinskaya_as_Clara,_%26_Unidentified_as_a_Gingerbread_Soldier_-1892.JPG

Cristian, your wish is our command. We now DO have a NEW SUB-FORUM devoted to "Nutcracker," and this is now the first thread at the NEW LOCATION. (The sub-forum is located under "Ballets and Chroeographers," as you suggest.) Over the weekend I will be trolling previous threads on Nutcracker to find a few to move to this NEW SUB-FORUM -- something to bulk up the list. If anyone has any older threads that they think should be moved, please p.m. a link to me and I'll move it this weekend. Oh bart...I feel moved and happy for my dear Clara and the Sugar Plum and the Nut and Petipa and Tchaikovsky . They ALL deserved this, and I'm happy to have contributed for this to happen. Meanwhile, as I'm writing this, I have located some threads...and I will send them to you right now.

Ever since I started visiting this board I noticed that discussions on The Nutcracker usually take place during Christmas time. When season is over, so are the threads. I've always been intrigued about this beautiful ballet, and yes...I regret the fact that it is such a neglected one, too often enclaustred in its "Christmas show", "holiday tradition" and "showcase for the children" cliche. Personally I do have TONS of questions and thoughts to ask and share about The Nut, and even if there have been many discussions before on different aspects of the work, there are spread out all over the place. Poor Nutcracker is the only Petipa/Tchaikovsky who doesn't has a Sub-Forum of its own. If there's one ballet that I wish could be reconstructed to Stepanov, it would be this one. This way we could finally see, for example, the Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux restored to its former-(and well deserved)-glory, or find out about the original composition of the Russian Dance-(Three Ivans/Trepak vs. Balanchine's said to be former candy cane role)-and so on. For once, I have numerous questions on the ballet, its choreography, score and history...and sometimes I kind of feel "guilty" about asking them "off season". Go figure. Anyway...I will write down some questions that I've been aimed to ask, or thoughts to share...and I will create different threads on them-(taking Alexandra's great idea on the Giselle forum ). Oh...and it would be WONDERFUL to have everything under the nice, proud "Nutcracker" title in the "Ballets" section. (hint-hint ). Would love to see if I get answers and responses.

In Cuba when the Nutcracker is announced and casting is up, the names of the Sugar Plum Fairy/Cavalier are the first ones to be presented, followed by that of Clara. There used to be two Primeras Bailarinas in both roles, but the "leading" material was that of the fairy/cavalier .

...and even a dancing bear!

...and I surpass her...

I wish choreographers would stop experimenting with this ballet's libretto. At some point we might see Clara dancing Mother Commedia's dance or Drossselmayer doing the celesta solo...

I notice that they give the names of only one couple. But...who are they..? An adult dancing Clara and the Nutcracker?-(given the pic of Gomes dressed as the character), or the Sugar Plum Fairy/Cavalier...?

Wow...Theme and Variations...now, THAT'S going to be interesting to find the outcome...considering the knowledge of this ballet by Cuban balletomanes...in its Alonso's version, IMO...