Nutcracker

Nutcracker

1. Choreographer - Matthew Bourne

   • First Performance - August 1992
   • Company - Was first performed by Adventures in Motion pictures but now performed by New Adventures
     • Choreographic style - A reworking of a traditional ballet. Narrative and comic, influenced by film and theatre. There is a close relationship between dance and music
       • 24 Dancers
       • Staging - Proscenium
         • Scenario - Matthew Bourne and Martin Duncan
     • Starting point - The classical ballet, the music and images of victorian childhood.
       • Structure; Two acts with nine episodes (original version)
   • Dance style - Contemporary and balletic. It is exaggerated but has realistic use of gestures.

2. Accompaniment; Pyotr IIyich Tchaikovsky

   • Classical, orchestral.
     • It was composed in 1892 for the original Ivanov ballet

3. Costume - Anthony Ward

   • Colourful and 'over the top' to show characters. Cultural influences and literal references to sweets.

4. lighting - Howard Harrison

   • Theatrical, helps create atmosphere.

5. Set design - Anthony Ward

   • Partly realistic but over exaggerated and cartoon like. Scene 1 is a drab orphanage with iron beds. There is an interval scene on a frozen lake and Scene 2, entered through a large mouth representing Sweetieland - it is then complete with a massive three-tier wedding cake.

6. Gobstobbers

   • They are typically masculine, as they portray 'laddish' behaviour. This is reinforced by the costume which portray biker boys most notably 'Mods' from the 1960s
     • The three boys wear matching costumes, the only difference is the colour. Red, blue and yellow are used; these colours make a direct reference to the colour of the sweets, quite clearly Gobstoppers.
       • The biker helmets are shiny and the round shape suggests gobstopper sweets. The round, black target design on the colour t-shirts reinforce the 'mod' influences on the costume and characters.
       • Coloured Biker boots and black sleeveless leather jackets are worn to reinforce the 'laddish' and biker images created. This is further supported by the skin tight black jeans worn by all three dancers; along with coloured belts.
   • The Russian Trepak is dominated by strings, flutes and wind instruments. The tambourine is used to show the speed of the movement and therefore the athleticism of the Gobstoppers. The lively quality supports the boisterous nature of the 3 boys.

7. Liquorice Allsorts

   • The dancers wear a mid - length, black, full skirt, decorated with large Liquorice Allsorts, a direct reference to the sweet. The dress has a fitted bodice which is a shiny black material.
     • The whole dress suggests a flamenco/spanish style which reinforces the dance style seen. The female dancer also wears a black bolero with Liquorice allsort detail around the neck line, another reference.
       • Black spanish style high heeled shoes are worn to reflect the style seen in divertissement. The female dancer wears a black wig which is shiny and clearly styled in a stereotypical spanish hairstyle, most notably seen in the curls in front of the ears.
     • The male dancers wear very tight clothing, with stripy materials suggesting their sweets. They have a flat combed and sleek hairstyle.They wear black studded jackets and have a black moustach stereotypically spanish.

8. The Marshmallow Girls

   • They all wear the same costume to highlight that they are all 'ditsy' girls who follow in a group and are lost.
     • The dresses worn have a halter neck, stereotypically 'girly'. The neck line is decorated with white pompoms which are also dotted over the bodices - make reference to white fluffy marshmellows.
     • The pink skirt section of the dress is layered net, the short and bouncy quality is enhanced by the springing steps and also link to pink marshmallows.
       • The dancers wear pink, feathered hats, which also bounce with the spring steps. They wear heeled shoes which again reinforce the girly and ditsy characters.
   • It is a quick flute melody with plucked stringed instruments. The light tune represents the ditsy characters of the lost girls whereas the bouncy melody supports the bouncy movement of the girls flick kicks and spring points.