JOFFREY’S TAKE ON THE NUTCRACKER TRADITIONRobert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker premiered in 1987. It was produced in the spirit of the original ballet by Marius Petipa, but Joffrey wanted his version to have an American feel. Before Joffrey’s version, productions of The Nutcracker were presented using European themes and traditions. In contrast, Joffrey’s version is set in 1850s America. Joffrey worked on his production of The Nutcracker for 15 years, all the while collecting Victorian cards, prints, illustrations, and toys that would form the basis for his sets and costumes.

Traditionally, Romantic ballets had taken their audiences to various settings and time periods by creating an elaborate visual spectacle. One way Joffrey added to The Nutcracker’s spectacle was by incorporating Christmas tree angels into the production. Joffrey’s research of Victorian tin toys also inspired the sleek, glow in the dark mice costumes. Another change Joffrey made was to “bring alive” a bouquet of flowers from the first act during the “Waltz of the Flowers” in the second act.

One of the most significant differences is in Joffrey’s Drosselmeyer. Some productions have portrayed Drosselmeyer as a frightening old man who leads Clara into a threatening dream world. Joffrey chose to represent him as an intelligent, charming character who makes Clara’s fantasy come true. Most importantly, Joffrey’s The Nutcracker highlights innocence, wonder, and family ties.

Many Romantic-era ballets employ a divertissement (dee-vehr-tees-MAHN), or collection of dances, toward the end of a ballet to entertain the audience rather than advance the plot.

The NutcrackerTHE JOFFREY BALLET

WORKING REHEARSAL

CHOREOGRAPHY BY ROBERT JOFFREY MUSIC BY PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Ashley Wheater, Artistic DirectorDavid M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Vice President, Education

Support for this working rehearsal is made possible by Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge

Cuesheets are produced by ArtsEdgE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about Education at the Kennedy Center at

www.kennedy-center.org/education

The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2015 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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THE STORYThe Nutcracker is about the magic of childhood and Christmas. The story begins at a Christmas party held by the Stahlbaums and their two children, Clara and Fritz.

The ProloguePeople are bustling on the street, preparing for the holidays. Drosselmeyer (DROS-sel-MY-er), a dollmaker and magician, buys a toy Nutcracker on his way to the party.

Act I Guests arrive at the Stahlbaums and exchange gifts. The children play games and dance together, and the adults perform a courtly dance. Drosselmeyer enters and performs magic tricks, captivating the children.

THE JOFFREY BALLET AND ROBERT JOFFREYWhen Robert Joffrey founded The Joffrey Ballet in 1956, he was 28 years old. At that time, most ballet companies were touring with shortened versions of foreign ballet classics. Joffrey wanted to create an American ballet company that performed works by American choreographers. Over the years, the company grew in popularity. The Nutcracker was the last ballet Joffrey choreographed for the company before he died in 1988.

WHERE DID THE NUTCRACKER COME FROM?Ballet first emerged in Italy during the Renaissance era of the 15th century, when artistic curiosity and creativity flourished. However, ballet as we know it today evolved from lavish court dances during the reign of Louis XIV, who ruled France from 1643 to 1715. And more than a century later in Russia, Marius Petipa (PEH-tee-PAH), artistic director of the

Imperial Russian Ballet, choreographer Lev Ivanov, and composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (cheye-KOFF-skee) created three of the great ballets of the Romantic period: Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker.

The Nutcracker presents a world of childhood wonder where magic blurs the line between reality and fantasy. The ballet is based on the story The Nutcracker and the King of Mice, by German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann. Marius Petipa conceived and planned a ballet based on a French version of Hoffmann’s tale written by Alexander Dumas. Petipa fell ill and was unable to choreograph the ballet. His assistant, Lev Ivanov, completed the choreography and the ballet premiered in 1892. Since then, numerous ballet companies all over the world have performed it. Choreographers have set it in different time periods, locales, and cultures, and it has remained one of the most popular ballets of all time.

About the Story

About the Working Rehearsal In Joffrey’s Nutcracker, Drosselmeyer is portrayed as a kind magician and family friend. Matthew Adamczyk as Dosselmeyer.

Clara is delighted with her new present, a nutcracker.

Drosselmeyer gives Clara the Nutcracker as a present. Fritz steals the toy from Clara and breaks it. Drosselmeyer helps Clara mend the toy before the children are sent off to bed.

Clara can’t sleep and returns looking for her Nutcracker. Her living room suddenly turns into a battlefield. Clara is surrounded by mice. Luckily, Drosselmeyer comes to her aid. He casts a spell making the Christmas tree grow and the toys come to life. Clara’s Nutcracker leads the toy soldiers in a battle against the mice. Clara helps the Nutcracker by removing her shoe and hitting the Mouse King on the head. Clara’s act of devotion transforms the Nutcracker into a handsome prince. He invites her to go with him to the Land of Snow.

The Snow Queen enters riding a horse led by her King. The Snow Queen and King dance a pas de deux (PAH-d’-DUEH), or a short dance for two. The act closes with the “Waltz of the Snowflakes.”

Act IIDrosselmeyer, Clara, and the Nutcracker prince are welcomed to the enchanted kingdom of the Sugar Plum Fairy. A victory celebration begins. Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Arabian folk dances are performed, ending with a Grand Pas de Deux by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. Clara returns to her home and family full of wonder.

ON THE COVER CHRISTINE ROCAS AND RORY HOHENSTEIN AS THE SNOW QUEEN AND KING. ALL PHOTOS BY CHERYL MANN.

THE STORYThe Nutcracker is about the magic of childhood and Christmas. The story begins at a Christmas party held by the Stahlbaums and their two children, Clara and Fritz.

The ProloguePeople are bustling on the street, preparing for the holidays. Drosselmeyer (DROS-sel-MY-er), a dollmaker and magician, buys a toy Nutcracker on his way to the party.

Act I Guests arrive at the Stahlbaums and exchange gifts. The children play games and dance together, and the adults perform a courtly dance. Drosselmeyer enters and performs magic tricks, captivating the children.

THE JOFFREY BALLET AND ROBERT JOFFREYWhen Robert Joffrey founded The Joffrey Ballet in 1956, he was 28 years old. At that time, most ballet companies were touring with shortened versions of foreign ballet classics. Joffrey wanted to create an American ballet company that performed works by American choreographers. Over the years, the company grew in popularity. The Nutcracker was the last ballet Joffrey choreographed for the company before he died in 1988.

WHERE DID THE NUTCRACKER COME FROM?Ballet first emerged in Italy during the Renaissance era of the 15th century, when artistic curiosity and creativity flourished. However, ballet as we know it today evolved from lavish court dances during the reign of Louis XIV, who ruled France from 1643 to 1715. And more than a century later in Russia, Marius Petipa (PEH-tee-PAH), artistic director of the

Imperial Russian Ballet, choreographer Lev Ivanov, and composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (cheye-KOFF-skee) created three of the great ballets of the Romantic period: Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker.

The Nutcracker presents a world of childhood wonder where magic blurs the line between reality and fantasy. The ballet is based on the story The Nutcracker and the King of Mice, by German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann. Marius Petipa conceived and planned a ballet based on a French version of Hoffmann’s tale written by Alexander Dumas. Petipa fell ill and was unable to choreograph the ballet. His assistant, Lev Ivanov, completed the choreography and the ballet premiered in 1892. Since then, numerous ballet companies all over the world have performed it. Choreographers have set it in different time periods, locales, and cultures, and it has remained one of the most popular ballets of all time.

About the Story

About the Working Rehearsal In Joffrey’s Nutcracker, Drosselmeyer is portrayed as a kind magician and family friend. Matthew Adamczyk as Dosselmeyer.

Clara is delighted with her new present, a nutcracker.

Drosselmeyer gives Clara the Nutcracker as a present. Fritz steals the toy from Clara and breaks it. Drosselmeyer helps Clara mend the toy before the children are sent off to bed.

Clara can’t sleep and returns looking for her Nutcracker. Her living room suddenly turns into a battlefield. Clara is surrounded by mice. Luckily, Drosselmeyer comes to her aid. He casts a spell making the Christmas tree grow and the toys come to life. Clara’s Nutcracker leads the toy soldiers in a battle against the mice. Clara helps the Nutcracker by removing her shoe and hitting the Mouse King on the head. Clara’s act of devotion transforms the Nutcracker into a handsome prince. He invites her to go with him to the Land of Snow.

The Snow Queen enters riding a horse led by her King. The Snow Queen and King dance a pas de deux (PAH-d’-DUEH), or a short dance for two. The act closes with the “Waltz of the Snowflakes.”

Act IIDrosselmeyer, Clara, and the Nutcracker prince are welcomed to the enchanted kingdom of the Sugar Plum Fairy. A victory celebration begins. Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Arabian folk dances are performed, ending with a Grand Pas de Deux by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. Clara returns to her home and family full of wonder.

ON THE COVER CHRISTINE ROCAS AND RORY HOHENSTEIN AS THE SNOW QUEEN AND KING. ALL PHOTOS BY CHERYL MANN.

JOFFREY’S TAKE ON THE NUTCRACKER TRADITIONRobert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker premiered in 1987. It was produced in the spirit of the original ballet by Marius Petipa, but Joffrey wanted his version to have an American feel. Before Joffrey’s version, productions of The Nutcracker were presented using European themes and traditions. In contrast, Joffrey’s version is set in 1850s America. Joffrey worked on his production of The Nutcracker for 15 years, all the while collecting Victorian cards, prints, illustrations, and toys that would form the basis for his sets and costumes.

Traditionally, Romantic ballets had taken their audiences to various settings and time periods by creating an elaborate visual spectacle. One way Joffrey added to The Nutcracker’s spectacle was by incorporating Christmas tree angels into the production. Joffrey’s research of Victorian tin toys also inspired the sleek, glow in the dark mice costumes. Another change Joffrey made was to “bring alive” a bouquet of flowers from the first act during the “Waltz of the Flowers” in the second act.

One of the most significant differences is in Joffrey’s Drosselmeyer. Some productions have portrayed Drosselmeyer as a frightening old man who leads Clara into a threatening dream world. Joffrey chose to represent him as an intelligent, charming character who makes Clara’s fantasy come true. Most importantly, Joffrey’s The Nutcracker highlights innocence, wonder, and family ties.

Many Romantic-era ballets employ a divertissement (dee-vehr-tees-MAHN), or collection of dances, toward the end of a ballet to entertain the audience rather than advance the plot.

The NutcrackerTHE JOFFREY BALLET

WORKING REHEARSAL

CHOREOGRAPHY BY ROBERT JOFFREY MUSIC BY PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Ashley Wheater, Artistic DirectorDavid M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Vice President, Education

Support for this working rehearsal is made possible by Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge

Cuesheets are produced by ArtsEdgE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about Education at the Kennedy Center at

www.kennedy-center.org/education

The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2015 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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