Yamaguchi to Host Nutcracker Ballet on PBS

Joesitz (RIP) · Dec 14, 2008

Should be a real treat for anyone who has never seen Nutcracker. The San Francisco Ballet is a first rate company, and the stars of this Nutcracker
I believe are Russian.

In the NY area, PBS is on channel 13,and it's scheduled for Wednesday, l7 December from 8 to 10pm

Check with you local PBS stations to find out when they may show it.

We know Kristie can dance, but can she deliver a story?

Tonichelle · Dec 14, 2008

if she's hosting isn't all she's doing is presenting it at the very beginning of the show?

though PBS is into their Christmas membership drive, so every so often maybe they'll break in and talk to her?

Joesitz (RIP) · Dec 14, 2008

Tonichelle said:
if she's hosting isn't all she's doing is presenting it at the very beginning of the show?

though PBS is into their Christmas membership drive, so every so often maybe they'll break in and talk to her?

I'm not sure of the format for hosting this Nutcracker, if it's a fund drive, I would assume that Kristie will be at the beginning, the end of the First Act and the end of the ballet.

Tonichelle · Dec 15, 2008

thanks for the info... I'm just trying to figure out if I'll be able to catch her or not...

Mathman · Dec 17, 2008

*bump*

Johar · Dec 21, 2008

I got to watch alot of it. I wish I could find out who the ballerina was who played the ballerina coming out of a package at the Christmas party. She was very pretty.

Mathman · Dec 21, 2008

It's on right now (4:00 Sunday) here in Detroit, chanel 56. :clap:

MissCleo · Dec 21, 2008

It came on last week in my area. My favorite part (as always) was the end of Act I. In this version, the Snow King and Snow Queen actually dances this part and leads straight to the dance of the Snowflakes.

The ballet was designed with the theme of the World Fair circa 1915 (?) when San Fransisco hosted it. So, all the dancers at the party dressed up in period clothes. And the elaborate dreams were based on what one could see at the World Fair.

Johar · Dec 22, 2008

That was alot of fake snow they were dropping on them during the dance of the Snowflakes! I wouldn't have been able to see, LOL.

ManyCairns · Dec 22, 2008

cleopatra20042004 said:
It came on last week in my area. My favorite part (as always) was the end of Act I. In this version, the Snow King and Snow Queen actually dances this part and leads straight to the dance of the Snowflakes.

The ballet was designed with the theme of the World Fair circa 1915 (?) when San Fransisco hosted it. So, all the dancers at the party dressed up in period clothes. And the elaborate dreams were based on what one could see at the World Fair.

I really enjoyed the production. I thought bringing in the World's Fair as a reason Clara might dream of chinese, russian, etc. dancers was inspired! Kristi was a poised hostess, but (at least in the broadcast I saw) they didn't go back to her at the end for her to wish us good night, and I wish they had.

Cleopatra, you seem knowledgeable about the ballet and can maybe help me out with something I've tried to reasearch but haven't found the answer to. Has the role of the Snow Queen indeed been different in different productions over the years? Because I LOVE versions that give the Snow Queen and King a featured dance. However, I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one production that didn't have a SQ, or at least it wasn't a featured role. Is this a role that was added or developed over time? Or was it in the original score and stage directions, but is sometimes taken out?

As long as there's a Snow Queen, my favorite part is the end of Act I, too.

I like being able to showcase more than one soloist. If there's only the Sugar Plum Fairy, only one lady gets a big role (unless the production beefs up the Clara role, but even then ...)

Thanks for cleo's or anyone's input!

MissCleo · Dec 22, 2008

rallycairn said:
Has the role of the Snow Queen indeed been different in different productions over the years? Because I LOVE versions that give the Snow Queen and King a featured dance. However, I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one production that didn't have a SQ, or at least it wasn't a featured role. Is this a role that was added or developed over time? Or was it in the original score and stage directions, but is sometimes taken out?

I will not pretend to be an expert or extremely knowledgeable. It's just that the Nutcracker is the most common ballet and it is easy to see so many different productions, and rarely are two productions alike.The Snow Queen/King and the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy are usually the biggest differences of the different productions. Here's the link to wikipedia's article on the ballet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutcracker

Traditionally, there isn't a Snow Queen or King. The scene before the dance of the snowflakes is usually for the Prince and Clara in which the Prince thanks Clara for saving him and they depart into the dream world.

Sometimes, the pas de deux is danced by a grown up Clara and the Prince or by the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince, or even the Sugar Plum Fairy and another male dance (the Sugar Plum Prince maybe?). I think I may have saw a production where the grown up Clara danced to the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (it was a local production, a cost saving move I believe)

Click to expand...

Mathman · Dec 22, 2008

In my home town all the dance studios (for children) got together every Christmas and did a Nutcracker, with the proud parents turning out to see their little mice and toy soldiers do their parts. (I played trombone in the orchestra as a high schooler.

)

The older girls (teenagers) got to be featured dancers. But the problem was, there were never any boys to partner them. So each year they hired a professional dancer from San Francisco or Los Angeles to be the nutcracker.

The only problem was, that meant the male dancer was like 1000 times better than any of the females, so they let him do a solo after his duties of sheparding the young ladies around the stage were done. :clap:

Yamaguchi to Host Nutcracker Ballet on PBS

Joesitz (RIP)

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

Joesitz (RIP)

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

Mathman

Johar

Mathman

MissCleo

Johar

ManyCairns

MissCleo

Mathman

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