ABOUT THE EVENT

Ballet Company M is proud to present a rendition of Tchaikovsky's classic holiday ballet, The Nutcracker. With the help of her Nutcracker, the audience will travel with Clara from her mother's holiday party, through a beautiful snowstorm and into the magical Land of the Sweets.

Synopsis

Act 1

Scene 1: The Party
It is Christmas Eve at Clara’s house, and her mother is hosting their annual Christmas party. As they welcome the arrival of their family and friends, the party grows festive with music and dance. The party is interrupted by the arrival of the mysterious Drosselmeyer, Clara's godfather and renowned doll maker. He gifts his beloved goddaughter a beautiful handmade nutcracker, stirring jealousy in Clara's younger sister, Francine. Drosselmeyer entertains the guests with life sized ballerina dolls, who dance together and become the life of the party. Overcome with jealousy, Francine steals Clara's nutcracker and breaks it. Drosselmeyer quickly acts to console the heartbroken Clara and fixes her nutcracker. As the evening grows late, the guests depart and Clara is sent off to bed without her gift. Clara, worried about her beloved Nutcracker, sneaks back into the living room and falls asleep with him in her arms.

Scene 2: The Battle
Late in the night, Clara awakes to the unusual scurrying of tiny mice. Things grow strange as the clock strikes midnight and Clara shrinks to be the same size as the mice and her toys. The room fills with an army of mice, led by the Mouse Queen. When Clara is cornered, her toy soldiers and beloved Nutcracker come to life to defend her. The battle rages and things are beginning to look bad for the Nutcracker, when Clara makes a final daring throw of her slipper at the Mouse Queen. The Nutcracker regains the upper hand and slays the Mouse Queen. The remaining mice scatter and the Nutcracker brings Clara to the land of snow.

Scene 3: The Land of Snow
Clara and the Nutcracker make their way through the land of snow and encounter the Snow Queen, who welcomes them into her kingdom and offers them a place to rest after the great battle. Clara and the Nutcracker accept the Snow Queen's offer and rest while dancing snowflakes fill the air. After resting, Clara and the Nutcracker are shown the way to the Land of the Sweets and leave the Land of Snow.

Act 2

The Land of Sweets
Clara and The Nutcracker enter the Land of Sweets, and are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her entourage of sweets and flowers. Clara entertains all with her story of the daring battle that ensued between the Mouse Queen and the Nutcracker. The Sugar Plum Fairy, impressed by her story, rewards her by inviting her to dance with the sweets in a grand celebration. As the night comes to a close, Clara and the sweets dance together one final time. Clara falls asleep in the Land of Sweets and awakens at home with her toy nutcracker. She dances with it remembering her wonderful adventure.