There are so many wonderful Nutcrackers out there and clips of them can be easily found on Youtube. Of course, I can't post links to them all.
So my last post is dedicated to my favorite Nutcracker since I was very little.
The Baryshnikov and Kirkland version is legendary. For many years it was a holiday staple on PBS and everyone watched it. This version nicely bridges the gap between children's entertainment with some psychological imagery for adults too. At the time Baryshnikov and Kirkland were in love and it shows on screen. The choreography for the Sugarplum Fairy variation is practically a love letter to Kirkland. Another piece of greatness for this version is that it does feature Kirkland's dancing. There are so few video recordings of her at her peak. I can't understand how one of America's greatest 20th century Ballerinas managed to avoid the camera. At least we have this record.
Labels: art, ballet, culture, videos, youtube