by Audrey Levine

Created on: January 05, 2010

Clara peers through the curtain, watching as the adults gather around the large Christmas tree, hanging up decorations and placing presents below it. Then, as the audience watches, the curtain rises and the latest performance of George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” begins.

The Pennsylvania Ballet held several performances of “The Nutcracker” throughout the month of December at the Academy of Music, in Philadelphia, and, for the ballet lover or first-timer, it was an experience to remember.

The Pennsylvania Ballet has been performing George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” at the Academy of Music for the past 41 years, beginning five years after Balanchine helped found the company in 1963. The company has also performed it in Cleveland, and, recently, at the Kennedy Center, in Washington D.C.

The story of “The Nutcracker” begins with a Christmas party at the home of Clara, her brother Fritz, and her family. During the party, Clara’s uncle, Drosselmeyer, arrives bearing gifts, not the least of which is the Nutcracker, which he gives to his niece. Torn with jealousy over the gift, Fritz breaks the Nutcracker.

Later, when the clock strikes midnight, Clara is checking on the Nutcracker – which her uncle had wrapped in a handkerchief – when the tree grows, and mice appear, led by the Mouse King, who come to attack her. Clara is defended by the wooden soldiers and the Nutcracker, who has come to life and defeats the King.

When the battle is over, the Nutcracker, who has become a prince – and is actually Drosselmeyer’s nephew – takes Clara to the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy, where they watch performances by the people of the Land of the Sweets. This part of the story features such dances as the “Waltz of the Flowers,” the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and the Russian dance performed by candy canes.

I could gush about the costumes, the set and even the theater, but I’d rather focus entirely on the dancing itself. I’ll begin just by saying that the performances were amazing, captivating, extremely well-done and big so the audience even in the far back of the theater could see the action.

My favorite part of “The Nutcracker” itself was the second act when Clara and the Prince had traveled to the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy, because that’s where the dancing truly began. As a former dancer, who has performed in her

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