Christmas Traditions: The Nutcracker

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Good Evening Guests!

How are you on this fine Tibb’s Eve? What’s Tibb’s Eve you ask, well it’s a Newfoundland thing. I’ve always called December 23rd the Eve of Christmas Eve but a few years back I learned it was also called Tibb’s Eve, you can learn more about it here.

I spent this evening watching The Nutcracker. Not just any Nutcracker, the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s version! I have talked about it here on the blog before but really I cannot sing the praises of this film loud enough! Compared to all the other ballet versions, this one is the best.

Not to say that all the others are worthless, certainly not! I’m just a sucker for the story of the Nutcracker. Like with Phantom of the Opera, I’ve tried my best to get my mitts on every version made.

Also, I was trilled to learn that this most treasured movie of mine is now available on iTunes for rent and download. I want to scream this from the rooftops. The movie was never released on DVD. There are a few used VHS tapes floating about on eBay and Amazon, but this iTunes download will be a real treat. Until I do get around to downloading it, I shall stick with the copy I have.

Speaking of my copy, it’s a VHS that was taped from TV, in 1990. 1990! 21 years old, almost as old as I am! I can’t believe it still works!

This year I was finally able to place a date on the year of the VHS by paying attention to the commercials. You should see the commercials on it, seriously, they’re brilliant! Yes, I’m the sort of person who will give up an hour of her life to watch old commercials on YouTube ^__^ It was a commercial for the film Havana (1990), announcing the date it would be in theaters. As well, there’s a commercial for Sports Illustrated which mentions the coming year, 1991. One less mystery in the world...

If you want to view the trailer for the film you can view it on iTunes, sorry I couldn’t get code to embed it here. What I do have for you is the trailer for the ballet. See, that’s the exciting thing about the movie. The designs, the dances, everything you see in the movie is still being used by the PNB in their yearly performances of the Nutcracker. Of course, there have been some changes, but still, the thought warms my heart.

The PNB YouTube channel not only posts trailers and clips of their performances but interviews with their dancers, like this one, On Being Peacock:

I admire this young woman so much! This is the role I dreamed of having as a child. When I was young, I would take several of my play skirts, layering and tucking them in such a way as to try and create a sort of tail for myself. Ended up being more of a bustle I suppose, an early sign of the lolita fashion to come perhaps? ^__^

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Tomorrow I’ll be watching another VHS I have of the Nutcracker, and I may even re-watch the Care Bears Nutcracker Christmas Special ^__^ And tomorrow night, Christmas Eve, me and mom will be watching A Christmas Carol (1951) with Alistair Sims as Scrooge.

In other news, I must quickly note that it’s been snowing all this evening. The next few days are forecasted for snow as well. Perhaps I will get the white Christmas I wish for every year.

We get plenty of snow in Newfoundland, just not in December, mainly in the New Year. Oh yes, ask me in January and February if I’m enjoying the snow!

Stay Spooky,

The Nutcracker: Pieces of Childhood - Piece I, Act 2

Journeying to the far reaches of YouTube, I have returned to The Grimm Tea Party with clips from this most beloved performance of mine (see last post - link).

PNB's Nutcracker-Load In Time Lapse


An extra song.
A comment on the YouTube video says that the song is from “Tchaikovsky's opera "Queen of Spades,"” Of all the versions of The Nutcracker I have seen, only PNB includes this.


Clara and the Nutcracker
and The Nutcracker battles against the Army of the Mouse King


In The Christmas Tree
and The Waltz of the Snowfalkes


Variation II (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy)


Divertissement
Chocolate (Spanish Dance), Coffee (Arabian Dance), Tea (Chinese Dance), and Trépak (Russian Dance)


Divertissement
Dance of the Reed Flutes and Polichinelle


Intrada


Intrada, continued

Kindest personal regards,
Do not forget the reason for the season,
Miss Alice Grimm

The Nutcracker: Pieces of Childhood - Piece I, Act 1

Pacific Northwest Ballet Nutcracker, originally uploaded by kuow949.

A very intimate post I bring to you, one of the many pieces that form my childhood. The Nutcracker. The very name thrills me. The music was part the musical score for my childhood.

I hardly know if I can properly express how much I truly adore this creation. It had everything my young heart looked for in entertainment. A love story, with beautiful visuals, delightful and dark music, a hero I could believe in, and a villain who was equally fascinating.

The particular interpretation of the story which is dear to my heart is performed by the Pacific Northwest Ballet (link). This is the version which I grew up with. I am very thankful that the VHS recording that my mother has still works. I hope one day they will release a DVD of the performance.

One notable aspect of this production is the costumes and sets, designed by Maurice Sendak. I am sure many of you know him at the illustrator and writer of Where The Wild Things Are. After re-reading the story book (before going to see the film) I realized that the Wild Things have the same eyes as my beloved Nutcracker. Maybe that is why I have such a soft spot for them in my heart.

IMG_0577, originally uploaded by Yakpimp.

Further making the PNB performance, in my mind, of The Nutcracker as the definitive performance is the presence of this illustrated book (). It is the one that I grew up with. I still read it every Christmas. This could be the first year I do not read it, for I have loaned the book to a friend. Hopefully I shall have it again by Christmas Eve.

(Photo from Stuart Ng Books: link)

Nevertheless, the VHS is still working, and clips of the production exist on YouTube (stay tuned for another post with YouTube clips). Furthermore, the performance, the sets, the costumes are still in use today! As can be seen in the trailer below. This is what gives me the greatest thrill; that I may one day be able to see a performance that I cherish greatly as a child.

And I feel certain that whatever the performance is like, even if they have changed something, will still be better than the performance that I saw at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre last year. That performance is worthy of a rant. Maybe even a future blog post. Maybe. Maybe not.

Kindest personal regards,
And do not forget the reason for the season,
Miss Alice Grimm