Synopses & Reviews
The Nutcracker is the most popular ballet in the world, adopted and adapted by hundreds of communities across the United States and Canada every Christmas season. In this entertainingly informative book, Jennifer Fisher offers new insights into the Nutcracker phenomenon, examining it as a dance scholar and critic, a former participant, an observer of popular culture, and an interviewer of those who dance, present, and watch the beloved ballet.
Fisher traces The Nutcrackerand#8217;s history from its St. Petersburg premiere in 1892 through its emigration to North America in the mid-twentieth century to the many productions of recent years. She notes that after it was choreographed by another Russian immigrant to the New World, George Balanchine, the ballet began to thrive and variegate: Hawaiians added hula, Canadians added hockey, Mark Morris set it in the swinging sixties, and Donald Byrd placed it in Harlem. The dance world underestimates The Nutcracker at its peril, Fisher suggests, because the ballet is one of its most powerfully resonant traditions. After starting life as a Russian ballet based on a German tale about a little girland#8217;s imagination, The Nutcracker has become a way for Americans to tell a story about their communal values and themselves.
Review
and#8220;A book for dance outsiders and insiders, for all grownups who have lived the Nutcracker experience and wondered about its sometimes crazy mix of history, kids, and pure stage magic.and#8221;and#8212;Lynn Garafola, coeditor of The Ballets Russes and Its World
Review
"A lively historical and cultural analysis of The Nutcracker."and#8212;Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
This entertaining book offers new insights into North America's love affair with The Nutcracker. It traces the ballet's history, describes its many variegated productions and explains its allure as a way for Americans to tell a story about their communal values and themselves.
Synopsis
A lively discussion of North America's favorite ballet--its history, productions, and significance
The Nutcracker is the most popular ballet in the world, adopted and adapted by hundreds of communities across the United States and Canada every Christmas season. In this entertainingly informative book, Jennifer Fisher offers new insights into the Nutcracker phenomenon, examining it as a dance scholar and critic, a former participant, an observer of popular culture, and an interviewer of those who dance, present, and watch the beloved ballet. Fisher traces The Nutcracker's historyfrom its St. Petersburg premiere in 1892 through its emigration to North America in the mid-twentieth century to the many productions of recent years. She notes that after it was choreographed by another Russian immigrant to the New World, George Balanchine, the ballet began to thrive and variegate: Hawaiians added hula, Canadians added hockey, Mark Morris set it in the swinging sixties, and Donald Byrd placed it in Harlem. The dance world underestimates The Nutcracker atits peril, Fisher suggests, because the ballet is one of its most powerfully resonant traditions. After starting life as a Russian ballet based on a German tale about a little girl's imagination, The Nutcracker hasbecome a way for Americans to tell a story about their communal values and themselves.
Synopsis
This entertaining book offers new insights into North America’s love affair with The Nutcracker. It traces the ballet’s history, describes its many variegated productions and explains its allure as a way for Americans to tell a story about their communal values and themselves.
“Fascinating. . . . “Nutcracker” Nation mines the myriad ways that a single artwork can penetrate everyday life and reflect a nation’s values. . . . [It] is informative and reflects years of worthy intellectual investigation.”
—Nicholas Fox Weber, New York Times Book Review
“One of the first focused examinations of why this particular Russian ballet has enjoyed such success in America . . . [written] engagingly . . . [and] with great feeling.”—Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post
“Engaging and readable.”—Karen Campbell, Christian Science Monitor
“Lively, readable prose. . . . [Fisher’s] study might even provide a momentary antidote to the cash-register mentality that infects the holidays.”—Marcia B. Siegel, Boston Phoenix
Synopsis
The Nutcracker is the most popular ballet in the world, adopted and adapted by hundreds of communities across the United States and Canada every Christmas season. In this entertainingly informative book, Jennifer Fisher offers new insights into the
Nutcracker phenomenon, examining it as a dance scholar and critic, a former participant, an observer of popular culture, and an interviewer of those who dance, present, and watch the beloved ballet.
Fisher traces The Nutcracker’s history from its St. Petersburg premiere in 1892 through its emigration to North America in the mid-twentieth century to the many productions of recent years. She notes that after it was choreographed by another Russian immigrant to the New World, George Balanchine, the ballet began to thrive and variegate: Hawaiians added hula, Canadians added hockey, Mark Morris set it in the swinging sixties, and Donald Byrd placed it in Harlem. The dance world underestimates The Nutcracker at its peril, Fisher suggests, because the ballet is one of its most powerfully resonant traditions. After starting life as a Russian ballet based on a German tale about a little girl’s imagination, The Nutcracker has become a way for Americans to tell a story about their communal values and themselves.
About the Author
A former snowflake and flower, Jennifer Fisher is an assistant professor of dance history and theory at the University of California, Irvine. She has written about dance for many publications, including the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Dance International.