I’ve been sharing so many Nutcracker posts that I wanted to round them all up in one place for you! The best place to start is with December: A Nutcracker Christmas, and then work your way through the story, linked below. If you are interested in learning about the history (of the book or the…
In 1892, Marius Petipa, a French ballet dancer and choreographer, and Lev Ivanov, a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer, undertook choreographing the story of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King into a ballet. They used the French Dumas translation as the basis for their story. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who had worked with Petipa before on The Sleeping Beauty in 1890, was…
When Marie woke from her deep sleep, she found herself lying in her bed with the sun shining brightly through ice-covered windows. A man, whom she soon recognized as Surgeon Wendelstern, was sitting next to her. “She is awake!” Marie heard him say softly. Her mother came to her bedside and looked at her with…
“Hurry and play the beat, faithful drummer!” Nutcracker yelled. In response, the drummer began to play his drum skillfully. The windows of the glass case shook and buzzed. As the cabinet jostled and clattered, Marie saw the covers of the little boxes where Fritz’s army was quartered pop open. The soldiers jumped out and back…
Move over, Green Bean Casserole. There’s a new girl in town, and her name isn’t French fried onion strings. It’s cheese and bacon. And she’s here to tell you how green beans are really done. Don’t get me wrong, I love a can of cream of mushroom soup, and French fried onion strings are delish….
Something you should know about me is that I love to learn. If you spend even a few minutes with me, it won’t take long to realize that I delight in chasing rabbit holes and doing deep dives on a variety of topics (for example, the Nutcracker blog series I’ve been writing this month). And…
“Come to bed soon, dear Marie, or you will not be up in time tomorrow morning,” called her mother from the stairs. Marie had something she wanted to do, though she wasn’t sure why she had chosen to keep it a secret from her mother. As soon as she was alone, she set quickly to…
To your left, as you enter the parlor of the Stahlbaum home, is a tall glass cabinet. Displayed in this case are all the children’s lovely toys. Luisa was a young child when her father had the case constructed by a talented cabinetmaker who installed large, clear glass panes. Mamma meticulously organized all the toys…
When you think of the Nutcracker, visions of ballerinas probably start dancing in your head. But the ballet we all know and love didn’t start as a ballet at all. The original story was written by E.T.A. Hoffman (a writer, composer, and painter) for the children of a friend, Julius Eduard Hitzig. Hoffman was born…
