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Leap into the magic of the holidays with Philadelphia Ballet.
“We’re presenting the number one tradition here in Philadelphia,” says Angel Corella, Artistic Director of Philadelphia Ballet. “George Balanchine’s ‘The Nutcracker.'”
Corella calls the classic story “a beautiful fairy tale.”
“Really, really Christmassy,” he says. “We love doing it.”
Performances run through December 31 at the Academy of Music.
Dancers from both the professional company and children from the school start rehearsing about a month prior.
About 80 dancers of all ages share the stage.
“The first act mainly is the kids,” says Corella. “And how they grow into being principal dancers, or doing the principal part, it’s quite rewarding.”
We meet Marie at a Christmas party with her family, where her Uncle Drosselmeyer brings her a nutcracker that is supposed to be magical.
She falls in love with the Nutcracker, but her brother, Fritz, breaks it.
Marie gets really upset, but her uncle fixes it up and she falls asleep with the Nutcracker.
She opens her eyes to find everything gigantic, including mice who attack her.
“The Nutcracker comes to life and then defends her, kills the Mouse King,” says Corella.
Together they travel through a forest where it starts to snow, which Corella says is “most people’s favorite scene.”
“It’s so beautiful and pure that it’s quite touching,” he says. “Like the perfect vision of the holidays.”
From there they go to the Land of Sweets.
“They’re sitting in a throne in the back, and the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier, they dance for them,” he says. “And this is their way of celebrating with Marie and the Nutcracker.”
The second act is mainly the company dancing. Different countries are represented by the candy and Tchaikovsky’s score shines.
In the end, was it all just a dream?
“The sets, the costumes, the dancing is so spectacular,” says Corella. “‘The Nutcracker’ is a holiday tradition not to be missed.”
Philadelphia Ballet presents George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” through December 31 at the Academy of Music.
For more information:
Philadelphia Ballet – George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker”
Link to Tickets at Academy of Music
Academy of Music
240 S. Broad Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19102
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