The Nutcracker Ballet
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The Nutcracker T he magic of the Ballet Nutcracker returns for the beginning Presented by The New Mexico Ballet Company of the holiday season. With its myriad Artistic Director/Choreographer, Jolie Sutton-Simballa of memorable characters, as well as lavish costumes, sets, and scenery, this enchanting tale brings Tchaikovsky’s timeless music to life through dance, while also serving as a one- hour introduction to classical music and the exquisite art of ballet! Monday, STANDARDS ADDRESSED BY ATTENDING THIS PERFORMANCE November 26, 2012 FINE ARTS/THEATER, DANCE AND MUSIC Standard 3: Integrate understanding of visual and performing arts by seeking 10:15am only connections and parallels among arts disciplines, as well as all other content areas. Standard 5: Observe, discuss, analyze, and make critical judgments about artistic works. Tuesday, LANGUAGE ARTS Strand I: READING AND LISTENING FOR COMPREHENSION November 27, 2012 Content Standard I: Students will apply strategies and skills to comprehend information that is read, heard, and viewed. 10:15am & 12:15pm As part of our mission to integrate the arts into classroom academics, the Grades: 3 - 12 Dreamcatchers Study Guides are intended to provide helpful information for teachers and students to use before and after attending our performances. Curriculum Connections: Language Arts, The activities presented in these guides are suggested to stimulate lively Fine Arts/ Theater, Music & Dance responses and multi-sensory explorations of concepts and themes in order to use the theatrical events as a vehicle for cross-cultural and language arts learning. Educators are encouraged to use our suggestions as springboards to lead students into meaningful, dynamic learning thus extending the In this issue of Dreamcatchers– dramatic experience of the plays. Introduction ............................................................ 2 Selected Dreamcatchers materials provided by The New Mexico Ballet Synopsis ............................................................................ 2 Company, The Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge, The Milwaukee Ballet and other Fun Facts ........................................................................ 2 resources noted throughout this guide. Vocabulary .................................................................... 3 Pre-performance Activities ..................... 4 Post-performance Activities .................. 6 Outreach Activities ............................................ 8 Resources & Websites...................................... 10 About the Artistic Director/ Choreographer ........................................................ 10 Worksheet ..................................................................... 11 Etiquette ........................................................................... 12 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky by Nikolay Kuznetsov, 1893 Introduction (http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org) The first performance of The Nutcracker took place in Russia in 1892. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (pronounced chai-KOFF-skee) adapted the ballet from a story called “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” written by German author E.T.A. Hoffmann. Marius Petipa (PEH-tee-PAH), and his assistant Lev Ivanov, created the original choreography. Surprisingly, the first performance of the In the Pine Forest (Song 9) – The sounds of the battle scene melt into ballet was not regarded as a success. In fact, 25 years passed before dreamy melodies, created with a harp and other stringed instruments, as anyone outside of Russia performed it! Clara and the Prince dance through a wintry landscape. Waltz of the Snowflakes (Song 10) – While in the Land of Snow, Clara A complete version of The Nutcracker was not performed in and the Prince are greeted by the Snow Queen and her cavalier. The song the United States until 1944, when it was presented by the is unique because of the combined use of voices and instruments. San Francisco Ballet with choreography by Willam Christensen. ACT II It was the San Francisco Ballet that began the tradition of presenting Divertissement (an amusement) – Clara and the Prince arrive in the The Nutcracker on an annual basis. Land of the Sweets and the Prince describes Clara’s brave deed. The While The Nutcracker may have been born in Russia, it has certainly Sugarplum Fairy orders the inhabitants to celebrate. This section is made adapted to its American home. It become both an annual holiday up of a group of dances, performed to some of the best-known melodies from the ballet. tradition, and, with all of its variations, a reflection of the character Chocolate - Spanish Dance (Song 11) – “Chocolate” is a Spanish-flavored of our country—that is, a mix of many ethnicities and ideologies. dance; listen for castanets. Coffee - Arabian Dance (Song 12) – An Arabian dance. Synopsis Tea - Chinese Dance (Song 13) – Oriental in flavor; listen for the The abbreviated version of The Nutcracker to be performed for the glockenspiel. Popejoy Schooltime Series runs sixty minutes, and features highlights Trepak - Russian Dance (Song 14) – A trepak is a fiery Russian dance and on-stage narration for this introduction to ballet and classical music. set to a simple beat. In a trepak, the dancer squats on his or her haunches The Overture (Song 1) – A preview/summary of the music to be heard and kicks out each foot alternately. throughout the performance. Dance of the Flutes (Song 15) – Also called The Dance of the Toy Flutes. ACT I Mother Ginger & The Gingerbread Cookies (Song 16) – Mother Ginger Decoration of the Christmas Tree (Song 2) – The energy and style of greets Clara and her Prince, then has her little children, the Gingerbread this piece echoes the busy preparations for Christmas. The Stahlbaums Cookies, dance in their honor. prepare for the arrival of their guests, while Clara and Fritz play. Waltz of the Flowers (Song 17) – In the Land of Sweets, even the flowers Finally, their guests arrive. dance for Clara and the Prince. March (Song 3) – The children play and dance joyfully to some of the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy (Song 18) – The Sugarplum Fairy and famous and memorable melodies of The Nutcracker. her partner perform a series of dances, including a pas de deux, a type of Children’s Gallup and Entry of the Parents (Song 4) – The children play ballet duet. mischievously, which leads into a delightful dance. Waltz Finale (Song 19) – The visit to the Land of the Sweets ends with Arrival of Drosselmeyer (Song 5) – An abrupt change in the music a grand waltz. The change in the music signals the end of Clara’s dream, signals the arrival of Fritz’s and Clara’s magical uncle. At first, he frightens as the Sugarplum Fairy bids her farewell. Clara suddenly awakens with a Clara and Fritz, but then delights them by making their toys dance. start and finds her Nutcracker back under the tree. She runs to hug her beloved Nutcracker, and is left to wonder if it was all indeed a dream. Grandfather’s Dance (Song 6) – Clara receives a beautiful Nutcracker as a gift from her Uncle Drosselmeyer. After Fritz breaks in a fit of jealous rage, he is sent to bed. Drosselmeyer then magically fixes the badly Fun Facts damaged Nutcracker. After the guests’ final dance, everyone gets ready to say goodbye to their hosts, while Clara reluctantly bids farewell to her (http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org and previous Uncle and goodnight to her beloved Nutcracker. Dreamcatcher study guides) Clara and the Nutcracker (Song 7) – After her parents insist that Clara Many of the dance steps and terminology used in ballet come keeps the Nutcracker downstairs, she creeps back down to check on it from the French language. That’s because ballet was popular- under the Christmas tree. Drosselmeyer appears to protect Clara from ized in France by King Louis XIV. He loved ballet so much that the evil Rat King, by bringing the Nutcracker and tin soldiers to life. The Christmas tree becomes gigantic and mice fill the room. he took dance lessons every day. He also started the first school of ballet, and his ballet master, Pierre Beauchamps, created The Battle (Song 8) – The sounds of the drum, flute, and horn create the feeling of a battle as the mice and the soldiers fight. Clara distracts special steps for the king alone to perform. the Rat King with a wedge of cheese, which gives the Nutcracker Prince Ballets are never interactive with the audience. The storytelling a chance to stab him. Listen for the dramatic change in the music that is done through movement and music, and thus requires silent indicates when the Nutcracker has turned into a Prince. attention at all times. Clap for spins! In any performance, you can clap after dances and after impressive dance moves, such as fast pirouettes, or quick rotations. In dance performances with live music, be sure to also clap when the conductor first appears. Choreography, like an essay, has a structural pattern and a texture governed by a controlling purpose. The structural pattern emerges from interrelated parts and a point of view, bound together in a unique pattern of emphasis, subordination, and coordination. 2. POPEJOY SCHOOLTIME SERIES PRESENTS The Nutcracker Ballet The texture projects elements such as tone (assonance, Vocabulary dissonance; satire, humor), rhythm, the “syntax”, “diction,” (http://dictionary.reference.com/) and “rhetorical” qualities of movement (expansion, compress- Sharing this vocabulary with your students will enhance their ion, hesitation, abruptness, fluency, etc.). experience at the performance. Encourage them to