Daily Dance Break: Christmas in July – Matthew Bourne’s “Waltz of the Flowers”

Remember how we talked about all the variety in different versions of the Nutcracker yesterday? Well there is a little more variety headed this way. Often the second act of The Nutcracker takes place in the land of sweets – and Matthew Bourne’s production goes one step further and drops the “Waltz of the Flowers”… Read More

Daily Dance Break: Christmas in July – Bolshoi Ballet

One of the best things about The Nutcracker is that it comes in all different forms. While the music (usually) stays the same, each region and culture adds their own special touch to the holiday classic. Today we have the Bolshoi Ballet performing what we call the “Arabian Coffee” solo in the George Balanchine Nutcracker.… Read More

Daily Dance Break: Christmas in July – “Nutcracker:The Motion Picture”

Here is a scene from Act I of Nutcracker: The Motion Picture, a film version of the ballet created by Kent Stowell (founder of Pacific Northwest Ballet and father of our own Artistic Director Christopher Stowell). The production was designed by the author and illustrator Maurice Sendak who is probably most famous for his children’s… Read More

Daily Dance Break: Christmas in July – Kirkland & Baryshnikov

We’re continuing our Christmas in July celebration in honor of OBT’s Korean summer tour to perform George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker in Seoul and Buson. Today we have Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland in the 1977 Nutcracker video which often plays on public television during the holidays. Has the grand pas de deux ever been more… Read More