Dear Dancing Families,

In a future blog post, I’ll tell you about a few Nutcracker events coming up on our area to which you can bring your preschooler and family. Not all of those events will present the ballet in its entirety, so I thought I’d offer some online productions to either whet your family’s appetite for ballet’s “holiday confection” or help you decide your child’s love for dance ends in the classroom (for now).

The Bolshoi’s production from 1989 is a lovely one—Russian productions are typically lavish and rich with history—and you can see that here.  One of the culturally unique aspects of the Russian productions of the Nutcracker is that it features no Sugar Plum Fairy—instead, Clara does the dance, usually earlier in the production, and in stead of a finale, the dancers dance for her on the wedding she shares with the Nutcracker Prince. A Mariinsky version can be seen below:

The New York City Ballet, never one to be outdone, made a production of the Nutcracker in 1993 with all the cinematic flair they could muster. It’s not my favorite but it can be engrossing, which is special. Also, in this production they’re following the lesser-known tradition of naming the main character “Marie.”

If you didn’t know yet, I left my heart in San Francisco, and SF Ballet’s production is my very favorite. They set the story in 1915 San Francisco and we get to see Droselmeyer’s Rube Goldberg-inspired toy shop. The second act is particularly impressive, and since that’s typically the act kids fall asleep in, you’ll notice a lot to keep your attention high and spirits bright.

I hope you love it all!!!!!

Warmly,

Miss Sara