Do You Like Ballet?The last time Macrine and I saw a live ballet presentation was at the Kennecy Center in Washington, DC sometime in the late 1990's. It was a very expensive experience, so if I have a craving for ballet music, I just watch the canned versions. I have DVD's of the Swan Lake and Nutcracker Suite in my collection. On Christmas time, special TV presentations of these classics are usually scheduled. Here's the Kirov Ballet performing a number from the Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky. Enjoy also the related videos!
In Western countries, The Nutcracker has become perhaps the most popular of all ballets, performed primarily during the Christmas season. In the United States, especially since the 1960s, it has transcended its origins as a mere ballet or piece of classical music, becoming a part of American tradition almost as much as the telecasts of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Countless cities across the U.S. now stage the ballet at Christmas time, and new telecasts, video versions and interpretations of the ballet now appear even more often than before. There are several versions of the ballet now on DVD that have never been telecast in the U.S. Its music, especially the music of the suite derived from the ballet, has become familiar to millions all over the world. And because of the ballet's fame, Hoffmann's original story on which it is based has also become well known, and has been made into an animated feature film several times.
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