Monday, January 04, 2010

SECRETS OF "THE NUTCRACKER"



Here's three clips (above and below) of the Baryshnikov/American Ballet Theater version of "The Nutcracker." Together they add up to about 22 minutes, an eternity if you don't like ballet, and a frustratingly short time if you do. I do like it, particularly this version. It's so full of ideas!

For me this is a partly a story of initation into aristocratic secrets and values, and in that it sense it resembles Mozart's "Magic Flute". Of course in Magic Flute the theme was pretty much spelled out, and here it's only hinted at. I don't offer much evidence for this, I just talk about the way sequences make me feel, so I won't be surprised if some people disagree. That's okay. Part of the fun of art is the arguments you have after seeing it.

So let's get on with it. Here's what I'm seeing when I watch this ballet....

The opening narration introduces us to an overview of the Christmas party and the visit of Uncle Drosselmeyer, a mysterious bussinessman/scientist/wizard. Drosselmeyer distributes gifts to the children then: "Finally the surprise gift, the Nutcracker doll that Drosselmeyer creates for his favorite grandchild, Clara. With this gift Clara will enter an enchanted world where her beloved toy is transformed into a beautiful prince. Tonight is a special night for Clara. She's about to receive the gift of a dream."




The dance music at the party is charming and beautiful but is always threatening to transform into something serious and overwhelming, and constantly has to be roped back. You get the feeling that Tchaikovsky wants us to be aware of titanic forces that underlie the events of ordinary life, or maybe the mysterious nature of music itself, which always seems to demand an escalation of seriousness with every repeated phrase.

This is especially evident in the line dance which threatens to overwhelm us with power, but which is restrained by the composer from doing so. Even the incredibly cute dance of the boy soldiers threatens to get big and serious as it goes on, with one boy taking command and deftly brandishing a swinging saber.

Drosselmeyer enters and interrupts all this to test Clara by dancing with her to see if she's still in possession of the aristocratic virtues he prizes, those of self-discipline, charm, intelligence, idealism and earnestness. She is.



Satisfied that Clara, and to some extent the other kids, have passed the test and are ready for what comes next, Drosselmeyer presents his gifts. Among them are three mysterious and vaguely menacing wind-up dolls. The first is a harlequin, which executes a fun dance, but which knows nothing else of the world but fun. The second one is a dumb and awkward ballerina. She seems more human than the harlequin and is a disturbing reminder of the sluggish automaton in each of us that threatens to overwhelm our better selves. The third doll is the wild card, the exotic randomizer...the amoral barbarian with boundless energy for both good and evil.

With these dolls Drosselmeyer introduces the kids and us to the three hidden forces in the world, the three things everybody in the know will have to deal with in life.

Well, that's it...the secret message embedded in The Nutcracker. I wish I could have included a clip showing Baryshnikov as the nutcracker, and his amazing transformation into wakefulness and life. It would also have been nice to see his fight with the Mouse King, too. Oh, well. YouTube didn't have it, and the other video versions of this sequence weren't very good, so there's no use putting them here. I put up a charming video clip showing kids rehearsing for a kid version of The Nutcracker but that clip and another one vanished after I put them up. That's because I'm using a new beta version of Blogger, and it's still buggy.

10 comments:

  1. SO thats it then! The secret messege.

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  2. I remember my cousin would dance in a nutcracker presentation every year for 3 or 4 years. I hated going then, but I miss them now.

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  3. Anonymous8:30 AM

    Bob Clampett is the third doll. It's a pity Clampett never did a cartoon based on the Nutcracker.

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  4. Uncle Eddie,The Nutcracker is a beautiful and poetic rite of passage! I Recognize the mood in this ballet is enhanced by Tchaikovsky's music,that also speak a lot by itself.
    I learned something new from you as a valid argument to the intolerance toward opinions that the art is fun because it can be seen and interpreted freely by the observer and also makes me think the art is an interactive matter.
    For you: Which are the three forces everybody will have to deal with in life?

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  5. Denise: My three forces? I don't have three forces, but I'll accept Hoffman's til something better comes along.

    I've recently been influenced by the maxims of Teddy Roosevelt's dad: get action; do what you can, where you are, with what you've got, right now; and don't dwell on sorrow.

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  6. Anonymous7:23 PM

    Eddie, I bought the Mighty Mouse DVD today and was blown away by how good it was but I wish YOU had been interview for it or done commentaries! I liked the home movies of you though! You look good in a bow tie!

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  7. i dont know, my dad loves ballet and hes as macho as they come, i could never get into it, i dated a ballerina when i was in college and can appreciate all the hardships and the passion that goes into it, believe me you dont want to trade professions with them,its one of the last human endeavors where passion is actually required, but the end result leaves me cold, same as opera, i wish i could change that but ive tried and failed. its good to know that you appreciate all artistic endeavors, but me, i got too much of meathead mentality.

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  8. Speaking of Drosselmeyer, have you seen the 22 episode anime PRINCESS TUTU? Drosselmeyer is one of the main characters in it, a story teller who dies in mid-story and leaves his characters floundering. Yeah, it's got a silly title, and yeah, it's made for young girls, but when you see the entire series you will be blown away by the depth and complexity of the characters and the theme. Highly recommended.

    In a different vein, ever hear of the Stooge theory of humanity? It holds that all of humanity falls into one of three camps: Larries, Moes, or Curlies.

    Moes want to be the leaders, but they're not very smart and they don't realize they're not very smart; their plans keep leading everybody to disaster.

    Larries are the bulk of humanity, and for the most part they're content to believe the Moes and go along with whatever they want, even when it's obviously not in their best interest. The best thing you can say about Larries is that when pressed by the Moes, they will work hard. They support the Moes in attempting to supress the Curlies.

    Curlies are the crazies, the creatives, the saints who actually do all the creative and inventive work that keeps a society going. They see through the Moes and realize how dumb the Moes' ideas are, but they aren't able to do anything about it since the Larries take the Moes' side. The Moes know the Curlies see through them and are the genuine creative force in the world and hate them for this; they spend their time harassing and persecuting the Curlies. Sometimes they succeed in killing off the Curlies or driving them away. When they do, the Moes realizing they needs Curlies will try to promote some Larries into the Curlie class.

    These are Shemps, but it's never the same...

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  9. iam definately a curly, and i appreciate your understanding curly.

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