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…
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…
It feels like the calendar turned to December only a few days ago, but we are already approaching the deadline for guaranteed Christmas delivery! If you hope to have Whitney English products under the tree this year, read on to find out holiday order deadlines—and if you are still working on your Christmas list, we’ve…
Front Door Santa goes a long way back. Back before I had kids. Before I was married. Back in those days, I babysat some pretty special kids. I’ve always liked to encourage those around me to stretch their creative muscles, so one night, near the holidays, I decided we needed to get crafty. So, we…
Marie hesitated to leave the table because she had spied on something no one else had seen. As Fritz’s soldiers marched away from the tree, a peculiar tiny man came into view. He stood calmly as if waiting for his moment to be acknowledged. To be sure, his physical appearance was not remarkable. His head…
On the other side of the double doors, a tall fir tree glistened atop a table in the middle of the room. It was decorated with gold and silver apples, and every imaginable kind of candy, from sugar almonds to comfits. Lemon drops hung like flowers from its branches. But the most spectacular thing about…
CHRISTMAS EVE During the long, long day of the twenty-fourth of December, in an expansive home, somewhere in Germany, a little dark man was seen gliding softly through the entryway. He carried a large chest under his arm. All the residents of the big house, even the three Stahlbaum children, knew it could only be one…
