Nutcracker Nation: How an Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 256 pages
• Published by: Yale University Press October 11, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0300105991
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0300105995
• Book Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 10.4 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Dance scholar, critic and former snowflake Fisher presents a lively historical and cultural analysis of The Nutcracker. The beloved ballet bonbon has been performed by the world's most prestigious dance companies, shown on television, adopted and adapted across North America, leaving one dance critic to grumble that, every year, we are all "one more Nutcracker closer to death." Still, Fisher's thoughtful account puts the phenomenon in perspective. Created in 1892 to Tchaikovsky's lush score, The Nutcracker was introduced to North America in the early 20th century by Russian touring companies and legitimized in the 1950s by George Balanchine, who had danced Lev Ivanoff's original steps at St. Petersburg's Maryinsky Theater. Balanchine choreographed his own distinctly Americanized version, adding it to the New York City Ballet's annual holiday repertoire. Televised in the late 1950s, NYCB's Nutcracker was seen across the continent, and as baby boomers were sent off to ballet classes, The Nutcracker became the perfect vehicle to showcase their talents. With its secular holiday appeal, it also became a moneymaker for struggling regional dance companies, who lent their versions of the ballet a unique flavor-hulas in Hawaii, cowboys in Arizona, cross-dressing in Mark Morris's The Hard Nut. Fisher deconstructs many of these versions, analyzing how the ballet has become both an annual ritual and a rite of passage. The Nutcracker may be, as Fisher writes, "the ballet we love to hate," a "clich‚ in a world that craves constant innovation," but she also explains why it has become a meaningful ritual that Americans have "taken to heart." forty illus.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Review
"A book for dance outsiders and insiders, for all grownups who have lived the Nutcracker experience and wondered about its sometimes crazy mix of history, kids, and pure stage magic." Lynn Garafola, coeditor of The Ballets Russes and Its World

Fascinating. . . . mines the myriad ways that a single artwork can penetrate everyday life and reflect a nation's values. . . . [I]nformative. . . . -- Nicholas Fox Weber, New York Times Book Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: "Nutcracker" Nation: How an Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World (Hardcover) "Nutcracker Nation" is a fascinating examination of a much-loved, much-performed, but little-analyzed ballet. Fisher examines the question of just why American loves "The Nutcracker" so much, and what the ballet can teach us about ourselves. Fisher finds real meaning in the seemingly simple (and admittedly rather silly) story of Clara, her mysterious godfather, and the nutcracker prince. Rather than stop there, though, Fisher also examines the impact "The Nutcracker" has had on American culture, and vice versa. She interviews parents, dancers, technical crew, artistic directors, and other workers from 2 productions of the ballet, one amateur and one professional. We learn their opinions on performing the same ballet Christmas after Christmas, their ideas about where the Sugar Plum Fairy is from, and the joys of moving up the ranks from mouse to snowflake to Sugar Plum. Fisher also analyzes many serious issues related to the ballet, such as the controversial second act divertissments and their characterizations of various ethnic groups. "Nutcracker Nation" is an insightful, entertaining book and is highly recommended to both ballet enthusiasts and the uninitiated.