Snowflakes twirled in the air, sleigh bells rang, and people smiled at each other in anticipation of gifts and magic. The Christmas and New Year holidays were approaching, and naturally, everyone was rushing to the ballet “The Nutcracker.”

“The Nutcracker” is a masterpiece by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and the ballet theater. How many different versions of this magical performance have been staged around the world! How many children have been introduced to the world of ballet through this production! This ballet was one of the first for me as well.

A fairy tale told through the language of classical dance. The music that stays with you, humming all the way home… “The Nutcracker.” As winter approaches, this title becomes the most popular in theaters around the world. For me, this ballet is a world of joyful memories.

As a child who watched “The Nutcracker” numerous times, I later – as a student of the Moscow State Choreographic Academy – would come to see it to watch different soloists, to see older students who had already graduated and joined the Bolshoi Ballet, and also to see my teachers. Years flew by, and I found myself on stage in the heart of this fairy tale in the wonderful production by Yuri Nikolaevich Grigorovich. I’m sure I could still dance this choreography today, many years later.

How many remarkable ballerinas and dancers passed before my eyes! How many cheerful backstage memories! Surely every ballet artist has memories of “The Nutcracker,” or “The Crack,” as we dancers called it. And the most important performance was, of course, always on December 31st. The feeling of celebration, the anticipation of the festive table, and, of course, the joyful New Year’s Eve with gifts! After the performance, having quickly sipped some champagne in the dressing room, everyone rushed home where the tables were already set and guests had gathered. It was great not having to help out. Ballet artists had a respectable excuse: we danced “The Nutcracker.”

While my career as a dancer has passed, I still remain one at heart, and one of my first productions as a choreographer was this extraordinary ballet Back in my second year at the institute, I defended a term paper on the score of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. How much new and interesting I learned in the process of studying the score! It seemed I could sing all the themes from memory, but the universe of this work is so vast that not only I, but also dozens of choreographers, continue to find new, unexpected colors in it.

I was fortunate to stage this ballet several times (six times) in different theaters, cities, and countries. And everywhere during the work, there was a world of celebration in music and dance. Well, I hope the world doesn’t take offense, but I love my production at the Astrakhan Theater the most. Everything came together: the beautiful performance of the music, the unexpected “kind” solution in the scenography (artist Maria Volskaya), the cheerful, very “Nutcracker” costumes (designer Elena Vershinina), and the touching, pure performance of the young ballet company. How many performances we have done with our troupe around the world is already hard to count, but every time when the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky begins, and the artists appear on stage, the fairy tale of “The Nutcracker” is born again. Not just a dance – a fairy tale, a spectacle.

I really dislike it when this charming children’s story is turned into some modern space travel or a war of the worlds. This is an old, good festive story. Note that Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky called the score “Ballet-Féerie.” Don’t try to explain why. Let this be an assignment for second-year students, young and not-so-young choreographers, and those artists who take to the stage during the holiday season and, together with the audience, immerse themselves in the universe of “The Nutcracker.”

Snowflakes twirl in the air, people smile at each other, heading to the ballet in anticipation of the holidays. How to explain such a large number of ballet performances at this time of year? An incredible number of tours, and not just with “The Nutcracker.” “Swan Lake,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Giselle,” “Cinderella”… People around the world flock to ballet performances. Has this become a tradition? Or during this magical time of year, do people want to see beauty and wonder? Probably, the magic – the magic of ballet!

© Konstantin Uralsky