I went to the ballet, the Nutcracker, on December 3, 1996. Because I never have seen the ballet in the theater before, I was very exited. The ballet took place in Irvin L. Young Auditorium at the Center of the Arts. It was performed by Indianapolis Ballet. It was originally based on a story written by German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann. The legendary choreographer Marius Petipa presented Tchaikovsdy with an exact scenario which he wanted, including the rhythm, tempo, and number of measures for each dance.
The story began on Christmas Eve. Dr. and Mrs. Stahlbaum were having their annual Christmas Eve celebration. There were also their children, Clara and Fritz, and guests who having a party. Clara received a special gift, a beautiful Nutcracker doll, from her godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer. After everyone was asleep, the Nutcracker comes to life. While the Rat King and the Nutcracker began their battle, huge mice attacked toy soldiers. The evil seized Clara. She threw her shoe at the terrible villian. It worked. A spell was broken and the Nutcracker became a handsome prince. Their journey took them through the enchanted land of the Snow Queen, Snowflakes and Candyland, where they met sweets from around the world. They were met by the Sugar Plum Fairy and the beautiful waltzing flowers. Clara didn't want to leave her Prince, but she awakened under the Christmas tree with her family around her. She was left with the Nutcracker Doll and wonderful memories of her Christmas.
Because the genre of the Ballet is dance, the Ballerinas express their emotions by prescribed movements and actions. Dance is a fundamental means of self-expression, communication, and aesthetic communication through the design of time, sound, and space focusing on the human form. The dance told me a story well. The movement utilized energy, which had quality(swing, percussive, suspending) and dynamics(slow, fast, sharp, soft).
