Saturday, December 16

[dirac]

Behind the scenes at San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker.

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Beyond the War Memorial Opera House’s stage door, a sprawling hive of activity unfolds. Dancers weave through the backstage chaos, synchronized with the efforts of stagehands and crew. The vast backstage area, a multifloored labyrinth, presents a challenge for even the most seasoned professionals, where one can easily lose their way.

 

[dirac]

A look at the origin of the Nutcracker story.

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E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” tells the tale of our young heroine, who only sees the nutcracker come to life while she sleeps and sees him battle a seven-headed mouse king during which she falls and cuts her arm on a glass cabinet amid the “fevered dream.”

While healing, the mouse king “brainwashes her.” Marie’s family bans her from speaking about her outrageous dreams, but when she says she loves the “ugly nutcracker,” he comes to life, marries her and whisks her away to live in their world of dolls.

 

[dirac]

 A preview of Eugene Ballet 's Nutcracker.

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Eugene Ballet has brought this production to Alaska ten times since 2009, when the Anchorage Concert Association first invited them to perform. For each of these performances, one of the artistic staff travels to Anchorage in the fall to host three days of auditions and initial rehearsals for the local students, some who travel long distances in hopes of being a part of “The Nutcracker.”