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Nutcracker Season

Updated: Dec 16, 2023

December 16th, 2023


"Music is an incomparably more powerful means and is a subtler language for expressing the thousand different moments of the soul's moods" - Pyotr IIyich Tchaikovsky

One of the most popular, well known, and adored music scores of all time is Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite. Even if you are not immersed in the fine arts world, I can almost guarantee that you have been exposed to the music in some way, shape, or form. The unmistakable melody's are hard to miss when they come over the speakers in the malls, restaurants, grocery stores, and radios during the Christmas season.


The storyline of The Nutcracker was written by E.T.A. Hoffman titled The Nutcracker and the Mouse King which was written in 1816. Much to your surprise, the original story was not written for the intent of children entertainment, but rather to expresses a darker side of humanity. Many people compare his work to the original Grimm's Fairy Tales. I like to use the analogy of relating it to how a nightmare can shed light on some of your greatest fears. For example, in Hoffman's storyline, The Mouse King is described as a terrifying creature with seven heads. Now you can understand how this would be scary for children of all ages. The most recent version of this classic story is the movie, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, which is a close adaption of Hoffman's original, darker work.


Pyotr Tchaikovsky composed the music for this beloved ballet between February 1891 and April 1892. This was one of the last piece's of music he composed before his death in November of 1893. His collective body of work consists of 169 pieces which include: operas, concertos, symphonies, cantatas, and of course, ballets. Some of his most famous compositions include the scores written for the iconic ballets: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and later, Serenade (George Balanchine) and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux (George Balanchine). The original score for The Nutcracker was commissioned by world renowned choreographer, Marius Petipa, of the Imperial Russian Ballet in 1891. Petipa followed a much lighter version of the story written by Alexandre Dumas who reimagined a much more family friendly version of the original story written in 1844. The first ever Nutcracker Ballet was performed on December 17th, 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia. This timeless holiday classic has been entertaining audiences for the past century, and will continue to spread joy during the Christmas season for the years to come.


Okay, your history lesson is over.


After our closing production, I had some time to rest and reflect over the past few months. I had the distinct honor of serving as Children's Ballet Mistress for Flint Institute of Music's annual production of The Nutcracker! We were so incredibly fortunate to have beautiful live music from the Flint Symphony Orchestra directed by Timothy Muffitt and professional guest dancers from College Dance Collective in Memphis, Tennessee! Our dancers at the Flint School of Performing Arts auditioned in September and began rehearsals in October. With this being my first year on Faculty, the entire ordeal was a bit overwhelming in many different ways. However, I had so much support from the dancers, their wonderful families, my colleagues, and my beautiful boss.


My Saturday's consisted of ballet technique classes from 9 AM - noon and rehearsals from 12:30 PM - 5 PM. It truly amazes me how quickly a production of this magnitude can come together. We had two months to teach, rehearse, choreograph, clean, put it on stage, and get our professional guest dancers added to the production. It took a village of dancers, volunteers, staff, parents, crew, conductors, directors, seamstresses, and musicians to accomplish what we accomplished. It is honestly one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my career, and my heart is overjoyed that I get to be a part of the magic every year. My beautiful mother also had the opportunity to sew costumes for the production which is something that she hasn't been able to do since I was dancing!


I had the opportunity to perform with a live orchestra when I danced in Grand Rapids Ballet's and Dayton Ballet's versions of The Nutcracker, but this was my first time experiencing it from the other side of the audience. My favorite music in the entire ballet is the the Grand Pas de Deux which is danced by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier toward the end of Act II. I cried watching our guest dancers perform it on opening night. The live orchestra heightened the entire production, but hearing the breathtaking music really moved me to tears. I have a great sense of pride in our version of this iconic production, and I am so excited to see how in continues to change, grow, and expand in the years to come.


We were blessed with not only one, but two sold out performances at the Whiting Auditorium on December 2nd and 3rd! My beautiful family and close friends were also able to attend which made the performances so special. Someone once told me that life is only as good as the people you share it with. I have been trying to live in accordance with that statement recently. I am constantly reminded of their unfailing love and support throughout the years as I chased my career while I was growing up. I was so proud to have them in the audience for my first Nutcracker.


My incredible boss and Chair of the Dance Department at the Flint School of Performing Arts, Tara Gragg, demonstrated amazing leadership during this year of transition for so many people. Change is never easy, but she handled the entire situation with so much grace, humility, encouragement, honesty, and dedication. Elizabeth Philippi, Ballet Mistress, was such a huge blessing throughout this entire process. Her endless wisdom, knowledge, experience, love, and support made all of the difference during the rehearsal process and into tech week. I was so honored and proud to stand next to them throughout this season of change. I am forever grateful for the role that both of these women play in my life, and I am so excited to see what the future has in store!


Until next year, Nutcracker.




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