The Nutcracker
Study Guide for Teachers
General Facts About Ballet
Audience Etiquette
Ballet Terminology
Background - Nutcracker Ballet
Biographical Notes: Tchaikovsky
Activities
Library Series - The Nutcracker
I. Ballet is an art of movement.
Movement is vertical and horizontal on stage movement is organized in space and follows time in rhythnllcal patterns as indicated by the music. Movement sequences can convey a story without the use of words or even mime movement can establish mood, make statements and develop a good story line.
Note: A good ballet does not need an explanation, it visually illustrates a piece of music.
II. As a performmg art, ballet combmes a number of elements to create an overall theatrical spectacle.
Music, lights, costumes, scenery. (A combination of all these elements help convey the story.)
III. The teaching language of ballet is French, a universal language understood by all dancers. Dancers can learn from teachers and choreographers, even though they might not speak the same language because the names of the steps are the same no matter where they are used.
IV. All ballet steps and movements have a common denominator as everything begins or ends in one of five basic feet positions. Steps can be linked together in movement phaasesor combinations.
V. Plie' (plee - a) is a fundamental element in ballet technique. It helps begin and end jumps with ease and grace. It also prevents injuries.
"Turn Out" of the feet is another fundamental. Most ballet movements are performed in a turned out position and a leg rotation from the hip. Modem ballet sometimes breaks this rule in choreography.
VI. Dancing en-pointe is a female technical feat. It requires great muscle strength in the legs, feet, lower back, and pelvis. A dancer must begin an early training, at about 11 - 12 years of age, with several classes a week to learn this skill. A professional ballerina wears pointe shoes most of the time during training and rehearsal to strengthen her feet and legs. Most pointe work involves balance.
Dancing en pointe requires special shoes. These shoes are designed to give support in the arch. They have a box around the toes to give support, as well as to provide a platform upon which a dancer can balance, turn, or even jump. Shoes are hand-made of fabric and a leather s. Ballerinas must prepare their shoes before wearing Lbe~ Preparation includes sewing-on ribbons, cutting satin off the point of the shoe, and beating the shoe to loosen it up. Pointe shoes have no left or right and they last for only a few hours of wear. This expense is one of the largest items in any ballet company's wardrobe budget.
VII.Ballet dancers are athletes and professionals. They spend long hours training in order to perform. This training stats at an early age, 8-11 years old. Training hours increase with a dancers physical development ability. Professional dancers train 7 hours a day, 6 days a week, and even longer on performing days.
Certain rules apply when attending a live performance.
1. Students should use the restroom before leaving school. The ballet takes almost two hours. It is improper to leave the inside of the theater once the curtain has gone up.
2. Talking should stop when the ballet begins. This is a courtesy to the dancers as well as audience members. Not only is extraneous noise distraction to the dancers, but it can hamper their performance.
3. An audience member is allowed to clap when the conductor enters his box. Clapping is also welcome at the end of each piece. There are times when it is acceptable to respond favorably, such as when a dancer performs exceedingly difficult passages, or the ensemble work is especially exciting. Never should the audience clap to the rhythm of the music.
4. At no time is it proper to jeer or boo during a performance. This is unpleasant for other audience members, and is not acceptable behavior at public performances. The dancers, choreographers, musicians, and technicians have worked many long hours to bring an exciting theater experience to the audience. Therefore, a respect for their efforts should be shown by appreciation, not criticism.
Note: Dancers on stage have an etiquette of their own. They must dance the choreography to the music no matter what happens in the audience or on stage, unless one is injured to the point where it is impossibie to continue.
If these simple rules of etiquette are applied, it will be a most satisfying experience for all present at the ballet.
Adagio (A-daj -ee-o)
A dance designed to enable a female dancer, generally assisted by a male partner, to display her grace, sense of line, and perfect balance.
Arabesque (Air-Rah-Besk)
An elongated classical position when the dancer balances on one leg with the other extended behind the shoulder.
Ballerina
Originally an Italian word meaning female dancer. Usually refers to a female dancer of principal or soloist status.
Choreographer
"Someone who makes dances. The choreographer is best compared to the poet: He is a man who uses the material of the classic dance that has been developed over hundreds of years, just as the poet uses language. And like the poet, the choreographer finds new ways of saying things. "--Mr. George Balanchine
Classical
A term used to describe ballet technigue. Also used to describe ballets of the latter half of the 19th century which display classical ballet in its purest form.
Contemporary Dance
A neo-classic style of dance less rigid in structure than classical ballet.
En pointe (On point)
Standing or dancing on the tips of the toes in pointe shoes.
Grand lete (Gron Jet-Tay)
A leap through the air with legs outstretched.
Mime
A set of gestures with meanings which tell a story.
Pas De Deux (Pa-Duh-Duh)
Steps where a male and female partner each other.
Pirouette (Pee-Rou-Et)
A complete revolution on one leg.
Premier Danseur (Pre-Mer Dan-Sur)
A title which can be given to a principal male dancer.
Romantic
A term used to describe the style of ballet created during the
Romantic era in the first half of the 19th century.
Technique
The skill required to perform ballet movements.
Turnout
The distinguishing characteristics of the classic dance: knees that are turned out from the hip at an angle of ninety degrees, allowing the body to move more easily in more directions.
The Nutcracker Ballet was first performed in Russia, on December 5th or December 1st in 1882, almost 100 yrs. ago. It was written by Peter Tchaikovsky who lived between the years 1840 and l893 and wrote many famous scores for ballets including Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. This piece of music was his 1st Opus or work.
During the tirme that the Nutcracker was performed, Russia was not a communist country. They were ruled by a Tsar, the Russian word for Caesar, and Russia was not just a country, but an Empire. The Tsars were very wealthy, although their country and their people were not. Ballet was mainly meant to be entertainment for the wealthy. However. many ordinary people also saw the Imperial Ballet, and were inspired to become dancers, like Anna Pavlova.
This time in ballet history is called the Classical Period. Many famous ballets were performed during this age. It was a very exciting time to live in. The man who made up most of these famous dances was named Petida, but he was growing old. He needed help with the Nutcracker Ballet. From a projected plan, Petipa guided his assistant, Lev Ivanov (Johnson or Jones in English), In the choreography, or the actual making up of the steps. The story of the ballet is based on one of the Tales of Hoffman called The Nutcracker and the Kid of Nice This story was changed some when they made it into a ballet, just like Walt Disney sometimes changes his fairy tales.
Fort Worth Ballet Student Matinee Performances
Pvotr Ilvich Tchaikovsky (chy KAWF skih) (1840-1893)
Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840, at Votkinsk, Russia. He studied law in Saint Petersburg (now Leningrad), and then worked for some years as a clerk in the Russian Justice Department. He also studied music at Saint Petersburg Conservatory.
From 1866 to 1877, he taught harmony at the Conservatory of Moscow. He was far from successful with his first coinpositions. After an unhappy marriage, which lasted only a short time, Tchaikovsky suffered from frequent depressions. Nadejda von Xeck, a wealthy widow, then entered into a letter-friendship with him. Although they did not meet for many years, she provided him financial aid. He gave up teaching and traveled, met influential people, and concentrated on contposition.
By the end of the 1870's, Tchaikovsky had finished his opera "Eugene Onegin (1878), the "Romeo and Juliet" overture-fantasy (1869), the ballet "Swan Lake" (1877), the "Concerto in D major" for violin (1878), and "Marche Slav." Hans von Bulow, a great German pianist and conductor, introduced Tchaikovsky's "Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor" for piano in Boston in 1875. This concerto became a landmark in piano music. He wrote the "1812 Overture" in 1880. It celebrated the defeat of Napoleon in Russia and also the completion of the Temple of Christ in Moscow. He composed the graceful "Nutcracker Suite" in 1892, the year before he died.
Tchaikovsky completed his first symphonic masterpiece, "Symphony No. 4
in F minor", in 1877. He dedicated it to his patron, Nadejda von
Xeck. His next, "Symphony No. 5 in E minor," was introduced in Saint
Petersburg in 1888, with Tchaikovsky himself conducting.
Tchaikovsky began to make concert tours in 1887, and visited Berlin, Paris and London. He traveled to the United States in 1891 and conducted some of his own compositions at the dedication of Carnegie Hall in New York City. He received an honorary doctor's degree from Cambridge University in 1893. He died on November 6, 1893, of cholera.
Tchaikovsky is highly regarded in Russia for his operas, two of which world-wide fame, "Eugene Onegin" and "Pique Dame," or "The Queen of Spades" (1890). Some of his piano works and many of his songs, including "None But the Lonely Heart," "The Pilgrim's Song," and "Why?" have been reprinted many times. A movement of the "Quartet in D major" became universally known as "Andante Cantabile."
Tchaikovsky is not a typical Russian nationalist. Such composers as Nikolai A. Rimski-Korsakov and Modest Mussorgsky represent the nationalists in music much more purely. Tchaikovsky tried to equal the symphonic and operatic achievements of the German, French and Italian composers of his era, so he was a far more cosmopolitan composer that the other Russians of his day. He wrote only a few perfect compositions, but he left a great many splendid works.
Word Association
Match the words on the right with a word on the left. Afterwards, discuss why you matched your words together.
| pas de deux | dancing on pointe |
| tutu | language |
| Clara | Cinderella |
| ballerina | costume |
| make-up | tackle box |
| mime | "The Nutcracker" |
| pointe shoes | duet |
| Fairy Godmother | female dancer |