Behind The Curtain
Talmi Entertainment has been sharing our Christmas tradition with families across North America for over 30 years of NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet. The ballet company has historically been made up of the top artists from around the globe, including Ukraine, Tokyo, Italy, Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Germany and more.
NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet consistently delivers record-breaking seasons, thrilling audiences from New York City to Los Angeles and from Puerto Rico to Calgary. With a history of offering classical ballets such as NUTCRACKER!, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake, sold-out theaters attest to the enduring quality of Talmi Entertainment productions.
The press confirms artistic excellence: the LA Times states, “Disarmingly poetic…bravura expertise”; the Minneapolis Pioneer Press says, “Sweeps you up in the bliss of beauty”; and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette notes, “Stunning visuals, effortless dancing…full of joyful energy.”
NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet boasts award-winning principal dancers and a corps de ballet of 40 Vaganova-trained ballerinas and danseurs who make the Holiday tradition for families across America uniquely special. Averaging 100 performances during November and December, this phenomenon combines the highest caliber ballet with historic international theatrical traditions, 10-foot tall playful puppets, 9 intricately hand-painted backdrops and hundreds of exquisite costumes.
NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet’s unique “Dance with Us” program provides an opportunity for thousands of local children to perform side-by-side with the professional company in roles created just for them and at varying skill levels. NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet Audition Directors travel the United States each Fall before the tour to personally audition and rehearse aspiring student dancers, preparing them to perform with the professional company. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for young dancers.
NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet is also all about community engagement, which includes Creative Development Residencies, interactive workshops and performances for all children via New Horizons – A Children’s Program for Life, the opportunity for local, accomplished pre-professional musicians to accompany the principal ballerina through the Musical Wunderkind program, and more.
History of NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet
NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet, a classic Holiday story, originated as a fairy tale ballet in two acts that revolves around the Stahlbaum family’s Christmas Eve celebration. Alexandre Dumas Père adapted the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, which was set to music by Tchaikovsky and choreographed by Marius Petipa. Commissioned by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, the director of Moscow’s Imperial Theatres in 1891, the ballet premiered a week before Christmas in 1892.
Since its premiere in western countries in the 1940s, NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet has become the most popular ballet performed during the Christmas season. The story focuses on a young girl’s Christmas Eve and her discovery of the magical wonder of toys coming to life, enchanted animals and an adventure to the Land of Peace and Harmony in Act II. Before the ballet’s premiere in December 1892, the composer selected eight of the most popular pieces, which formed the Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, as heard in NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet productions. The suite became instantly popular, but the complete ballet did not achieve its current popularity with millions of tickets sold each season until almost 100 years later.
REPERTORY
Talmi Entertainment presents a collection of world-class ballet performances, including the NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet, the tragic love story of Swan Lake, the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, the heart-warming production of Cinderella, and the premiere of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet with all-new choreography. With stunning sets, lavish costumes, and award-winning dancers, these performances are a feast for the eyes and ears, set to the timeless score of Pytor I. Tchaikovsky. Experience the beauty and precision of Vaganova ballet with Talmi Entertainment’s unforgettable productions.