The Nutcracker and a Russian Tea Party

The enchantment begins with our Russian Tea Party - Enjoy an intimate setting, dine on traditional tea fare, learn the story of Masha, meet our dancers, and experience the culture behind the Nutcracker. Enjoy preferred seating at our Matinee performance of the Nutcracker.

The enchantment begins when the mysterious Herr Drosselmeier arrives at the Stahlbaum's Christmas party bearing exciting gifts and magic for all. Amidst the seasonal glitter, one young girl falls in love with a simple, ugly nutcracker doll, scorned by the other children. As the guests melt into the night the girl is left alone in the dark with her beloved doll. Can her steadfast devotion to him transform her nightmares into the sweetest, most wonderful dream?

Vasily Vainonen's choreographic version of Nutcracker represents the closest surviving version of the Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov original of 1892, and established the Nutcracker standard for Kirov/Maryinski and Bolshoi Ballets for decades. Although less familiar to American audiences, this was The Nutcracker that Nureyev and Baryshnikov grew up on and which informed their own productions of the ballet here in the West. Although built upon a traditional classical base, Vainonen's version added more psychological depth, including the transformation of the child Masha into her adult counterpart. Now, under the staging of Alyona Yakovleva, Indianapolis is proud to continue this benchmark of Russian repertoire right here in the Hoosier Heartland.

Music by Tchaikovsky, Choreography by Vainonen, Staged by Alyona Yakovleva.