This is the time of year when one man's work is widely celebrated.

His name used to be hugely famous, but nowadays, it draws blank stares, even from people who know the work.

We're speaking about E.T.A. Hoffmann, original author of The Nutcracker.

He wrote Nutcracker and Mouse King in 1816.

E.T.A. Hoffmann’s first name was Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann, then changed from Wilhelm to Amadeus - out of admiration for Mozart. 

Hoffmann wrote about music and composed it.

He also drew, painted and wrote stories… spooky tales that blurred the border between fantasy and reality.

He was known as a champion of the wild imagination.

Hoffmann was rebelling against the dominant movement of the time, the Enlightenment, and its emphasis on rational philosophy. He believed strongly that the imagination was being attacked by the rise of rationalism throughout Europe. "The only way that an artist can survive is to be totally dedicated to another way of looking at the world, and to reclaim nature, innocence, and an authentic way of living."

The Nutcracker and Mouse King expressed Hoffmann's very attitude about imagination, reality and childhood.

In 1844 Hoffmann's story was adapted by the French writer Alexandre Dumas.

He altered the original version, making it lighter and less scary.

And in 1892, a team of Russians turned Dumas' version into a ballet.

The Nutcracker did not enjoy great success at first,

but the music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky eventually did.

And staging it has become a Christmas season ritual, sugar plums and all, to this day.

The Imperial Theater of Saint Petersburg commissioned Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to compose the music for the ballet. Tchaikovsky didn’t want to score the ballet at first because he was having a difficult time in his life. His sister had died during that time and he asked to postpone the work for a year. He was also under appreciated as a composer by the Tsar. 

Marius Petipa was selected as choreographer and adapted Dumas’ text of The Nutcracker.

Petipa would fall ill during the process and the ballet was completed by his assistant, Lev Ivanov.

But many changes were made to Hoffmann's story in Dumas’ interpretation; Marie became Klara, her flights of imagination became sweeter and more tame, there was a child marriage in the story (which was widely accepted at that time) AND... there was no Sugar Plum Fairy in the original story! It was all very complicated and confused.

The ballet debuted on December 18,1892 and was savagely reviewed by critics who called the Sugar Plum Fairy “corpulent,” and claimed that you couldn’t tell what was going on. 

Hmmmm... I’m not the only one!

So what inspired the Snow scene in the Nutcracker?!

From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne first appeared in print in 1865. Verne was a pioneer of science fiction and his book is an adventure imagining humans’ first journey into outer space.

The story went on to inspire an opera called “Voyage to the Moon”. The lavish production included a ballet scene depicting snowflakes dancing on the moon. This captured the imagination of the theatrical world and inspired many imitations for many years to come.

Snow ballets were all the rage.

But all of these have been forgotten, with one notable exception…

the stunning climax at the end of Act I of The Nutcracker.

The snow scene, in fact, was the only part of the original 1892 Nutcracker that received widespread praise from critics. They considered the snow scene a success. And it must have been spectacular. It was choreographed for an ensemble of sixty women who danced in the patterns of stars, crosses, zigzags, and Russian round dances. The choreographer was assistant Lev Ivanov. He would go on to create the lakeside scenes in Swan Lake just a few years later.

Lots of fun things to think about the next time you’re admiring this visual delight from the audience or bourréing through the blizzard onstage.

On December 25th,

Dancers’ Workshop invites you to

Save the Date

for our virtual gift of this longstanding Jackson Hole tradition

from our students, families and community to you in your homes.

Donate here now to reserve your virtual On Demand seat from December 25th!

Wishing you all a happy holiday season.