The Nutcracker

DANCE CONCERT REPORT
On December 16, 2017, I saw the Nutcracker at Hofstra University. In its entirety, The Nutcracker is a dramatic dance because it tells a story. It is about a girl who is given the nutcracker as a Christmas gift and dreams it comes to life and battles a mouse king. After the nutcracker proves victorious, it turns into a prince and takes the girl to the Land of Sweets. There, they are celebrated and honored with many types of dances. However, the dances I chose are more dances for dance sake because while they add to the story, they do not tell stories themselves. I chose the dance sequences of Drosselmeyer's Dancing Dolls and The Waltz of Flowers. For both pieces, in the story, the dancers were brought out to entertain the

The title includes the word waltz and flowers which foretells the daintiness and delicacy of the dance. The choreography, lighting, costumes, music, and dancers also aided in the creation of an ethereal mood. There were a variety of three costumes among the dancers. Two groups wore full tulle skirts that were either pink or fuschia. Only one dancer wore something different entirely as she was the “Dewdrop” and the focal point of the dance.The “Dewdrop” outfit was white, sparkly and had a stiff tutu, and in combination with her execution of movements, she did seem like a delicate dewdrop. The other costumes, did give off a floral appearance, which was the theme of the dance. The choreography had lots of pointe work, changes in level, and energy, which again gave the dance a tinge of playfulness and delicacy. The lighting was general again, but was pink which helped tie together the floral theme. The music itself was airy, fun, and energetic and matched the mood of the dance perfectly. The choreography included soft movements of the arms and became bubbly and energetic when the song sped up. They also had a lot of jumps which further contributed to the airiness and flutteriness of the entire piece. The relationship between dancers was apparent. The dancers that served as the petals often performed the same choreography in unison or they had movements that complimented each other. They