Nutcracker Narrative Essay

As a youth, I engaged in many forms of dance expression. I studied tap, jazz, and ballet for fifteen years. During these formative years, I choose to forgo many youth experiences so that I could participate in advance dance programs. The hard work paid off when I received a college scholarship to a performing arts

The first experience of watching a ballet, for me or any little girl, can be fascinating and exhilarating. Wondering how a dancer can be so steady on her toes as she spins in circles and leaps through the air. Watching a ballet, there is a feeling of wanting to be graceful, as well as the warm sensation felt by a little girl as she slips into dream land. My mom had taken me to my first ballet when I was 11 years old. When we returned home home, she signed me up for classes at the local dance center. The expectations to become a prima ballerina would involve much hard work and concentration. I knew when I started it would take years of steady practice and commitment. Learning the history of ballet and the famous

Whether rooted deeply through generations of a family or formed through an experience, passions and fascinations are what drives us, humans, to be who we truly are. At this point in my life, I do not want to reach comfort or perfection, but rather feel composed and confident in what I chose to merge my ballet skills with. When I dance, I escape reality and feel a pure exhilaration.This sensation shapes my curiosity and interest in the human anatomy. From the elements that make it up to ways in which people individually move their bodies, the human body is absolutely fascinating. Specifically, I am passionate about teaching ballet to younger students. By introducing ballet to kids early on, they will experience the same joy almost all dancers feel for a longer period of time. When I’m dancing I’m challenging your mind, releasing endorphins, and working hard. I am also eager to own my own business linked with teaching that will provide people with affordable dance equipment, and even more crucial, advice on what suits each person's personal needs. I know as I grow old my body will not be as capable as it once was, but I’m dedicated to spreading my appreciation of ballet to others. Overall, my passion for ballet and how I can utilize it to positively impact society as an entrepreneur has developed through the inspiration of my grandparents, the creativity of my former dance teachers, and my interest in the human bodies relation to ballet.

Ballet is a beautiful and romantic type of performance art. It originated in the Italian court systems in the 15th century (Jonas). Since its origination, ballet has undergone many changes and gained worldwide recognition. Filled with elaborate costumes, cheering audiences, lights, weightless movements and beauty; ballet is admired by many. On the magical stage ballerinas can become whoever they wan to be, and perform in a world of fantasy. For these reasons, children, especially little girls, all over the world dream of becoming ballerinas when they grow up. However, becoming a professional ballerina is an extremely difficult accomplishment, in which few will achieve (Kelso 1). The world of ballet may seem to be filled with glitz and

In modern times, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet, The Nutcracker, is a Christmas classic. With memorable songs and beautiful instrumentation, many cannot imagine Christmas without it. Dance companies perform the ballet year after year with spectators coming to watch annually. There have even been LGBT, hip hop, and Jewish adaptations to the popular ballet (Begley). Thousands of musicians and dancers all over the world perform it to add to the excitement and cheer of the holidays.

On November 25, 2017 I attended The Nutcracker ballet performance at the Eisemann Center. The dance was adapted from a story by E.T.A Hoffman with the music by Tchaikovsky. The show was a faithful adaptation of The Nutcracker with the dancers, costumes, sets, and Tchaikovsky’s music all playing an integral part in depicting the story in an entertaining way. Overall, the presentation was successful in portraying the holiday classic that is The Nutcracker, and the majestic sets and costumes along with the music allowed for sustained attention and spectacle that was still true to the narrative of The Nutcracker. The production did this by having grand, bright costumes and sets that resembled the time period of The Nutcracker and depicted the setting of the dances, the original music by Tchaikovsky which was able to produce the emotions that come with the story, and lighting techniques that showed the weather and time of day which helped show what scenes were being told throughout the performance.

It was Halloween night and Elizabeth was at the pumpkin patch picking the perfect pumpkin for the pumpkin carving contest on her street. She saw her best friend, Lindsey, down the street so she ran down to meet her.

As a little girl, I would constantly walk on my toes. Because of this tendency, my parents enrolled me in a beginner ballet class at the age of three. I learned how to walk like a ballerina, the art of pointing my toes properly, and how to properly curtsy at the end of class. Throughout the months leading up to the recital, my classmate and I learned a piece to perform, and I practiced in class and at home for my parents and brother. On the day of the recital, I performed the dance perfectly in my green sparkly tutu and the smallest size ballet slippers. However, I was disgruntled with the other baby ballerinas for making mistakes on the stage.

Listening to Music class has taught me a new way to listen and enjoy music. I have learned how to differentiate the melodies, rhythms, and instruments in a song. It has also introduced me to different genres in the music world, aside from what is usually played on the radio. I can now attend any concert, listen to any genre, or watch any ballet and easily recognize the many specific aspects the music being played has. Ballets are very interesting to me. The audience is able to enjoy the music being played as it is telling a story, and being acted out through the performer’s body language. In the two ballets, The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker, a great story is told in both referencing the many great dynamics music has. These two specific ballets are written by different composers, and each one of them have certain conditions they were written under. As well as different receptions, popularity, and development. The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker’s differences has made some sort of an impact in the performing world back then as well as now.

From its title, one gets the idea this story is going to be a myth about redemption and empowerment. In actuality, this is a tremendous true story about a man named Jimmy Braddock who lives out a fairy tale, not a sugar coated fairy tale, but more of a grimace one. Cinderella Man is a film of survival and people finding strength within, to do what they have to do to carry on, particularly for what it takes a man to provide for his family.

Quickly third and fourth grade approached, the plans for my life had changed to being a dancer. Dancing is an art. I had watched a movie about a beautiful dancer on broadway, and had decided that is what I wanted to do with my life. As time passed, and my life became a little clearer, and I realized that I lived in a small town of 1,000 people and the nearest dance company that I was going to be joining had just closed.

At three, I was put in dance classes to make this dream happen. Tap and jazz, definitely not the princess dancing I imagined. This became apparent when the first recital came around. We were given fluorescent, sparkly leotards. No ball gowns or even a tutu. I don’t recall the reason for my following actions, but according to my mom when all the other little dancers took position and began dancing I didn’t. I sat on the stage. My mother was furious,

What is the Nutcracker? How long does it take to learn and teach the Nutcracker? Why is it called the Nutcracker? How does it impact people's lives? Does it have an impact? Who invented it? How does it changes things we do today? What advantages do we have today with it? These are all questions we have about different things, but I’m here to talk about what I love and how it impacts my life, dance. Dance is what makes me happy. Do you have something that makes you happy? You know the feeling of what you do and how you love. Ya I get that feel when I watch dance, do dance and hear the music. My favorite is ballet, ballet make me feel invincible. Do you have something to make you feel invincible? Ya I thought so. My favorite is the Nutcracker, let's talk about it.

Jada has been involved in ballet since age four, and for the last three years she has been in the Santa Cruz Ballet’s production of Nutcracker. Some of Jada’s old ballet skills, such as staying still for long periods of time and performing moves on cue, require less effort to perform them than before. Similarly, Jada writes with ease, focusing on content of her stories rather than the formations of the letters. Throughout the past few months, Jada has shown an increase in spelling precision, seldom making errors of known words and retaining the knowledge of how to spell unknown words at higher rates. This automization allows for her to learn new skills using her old ones as a foundation (Berger,

     When examining adaptations of fairytales you must look at the original source. This can be a very difficult task because with fairytales we never really know where the original came from. I will base my paper on the theory that the original tale of Cinderella comes from the Grimm Brothers version of Ashputtle. In comparison we will examine two movies. First there is the Disney version Cinderella. Secondly we will look at the movie 'Ever After'.