Thursday, December 18, 2008

dancing mice

in honour of the season: the very first Nutcracker ballet was danced on this day in 1892. the holiday classic was reluctantly composed by Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky as a commission, based on an original Hoffmann story.

no one can quite agree who choreographed the original ballet, though the first costumes (above), by Ivan Vsevolozhsky look lovely. the piece debuted in St. Petersburg at the gorgeous Mariinsky Theatre... sugar plum fairies & wee child mice have been dancing ever since.

(this is Konstantin Ivanov's original set design for Act II)

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