#staticsnowfall

gelsey kirkland, former principal dancer of the new york city ballet, as the sugarplum fairy in george balanchine’s “the nutcracker”

january 27th, 1948 — mikhail baryshnikov is born!

giselle and albrecht

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above are alessandra ferri and mikhail baryshnikov as giselle and albrecht, respectively. ferri is one of the greatest ballerinas in modern history, being one of eleven women granted the highest ranking and rarest title, prima ballerina assoluta. baryshnikov was the preeminent male dancer of the 1970s and 1980s, usurping rudolf nureyev off his “throne” as the most famous defected soviet danseur of the era. he is still considered one of the greatest danseurs of modern times.

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giselle is a two act romantic ballet created in 1841, with choreography by jean coralli and jules perrot. it is inspired by heinrich heine’s “de l'allemagne” and victor hugo’s “fantômes”.

the first act focuses on a blossoming romance between the peasant giselle, and the duke — albrecht — who is disguised as a peasant in order to join in on the fun of the village harvest festival. upon the arrival of albrecht’s fiancée, the noblewoman bathilde, giselle learns of albrecht’s true identity, becoming inconsolably distraught and succumbing to insanity. she dances erratically, and eventually stabs herself with albrecht’s sword. her suicide leads to her burial deep in the forest, on unhallowed ground.

in act two, giselle’s spirit is inducted into the wilis by their queen, myrtha. the wilis are vengeful ghosts, women who were betrayed by their lovers on mortal earth. meanwhile, albrecht arrives at giselle’s resting place, bearing lilies, weeping over her and the guilt he feels. the wilis emerge, and giselle forgives albrecht for his actions. however, myrtha, filled with disdain and resentment towards all men, forces the nobleman to dance to death. the two lovers are separated both literally and metaphorically by the mortal and immortal planes — giselle dances languidly, having all eternity to express her emotions; while albrecht is quick, desperate to escape the paranormal pull to his death by the rapid exertion of dance. fortunately, giselle’s love for the duke spares him at sunrise. this act frees her from the hatred myrtha and the wilis share, all returning to their graves as day breaks. the ballet concludes at sunrise with giselle tenderly bidding farewell to albrecht, before returning to the grave to rest peacefully for all eternity.

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the nutcracker (1993)

darci kistler and damian woetzel, principal dancers of the new york city ballet, as the sugar plum fairy and her cavalier

darci kistler’s debut as the sugar plum fairy in george balanchine’s “the nutcracker”, 1980

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“at the december 12th performance, for instance, the sugar plum fairy and her cavalier were danced for the first time by sixteen-year-old darci kistler (she did her first dewdrop two evenings previously) and ib andersen, former star of the royal danish ballet. it was a solidly performed pas de deux rather than an exciting one, but miss kistler demonstrated her grasp of the balanchine style, and the partnership gave promise of good things to come…” — glenne currie, upi lively arts center, december 23rd, 1980

darci kistler is considered balanchine’s last muse before his death in 1983. she joined the new york city ballet in 1980, and was promoted to principal dancer in 1982, at the age of seventeen. she remained in that position until 2010, when she retired after thirty years with the company. she is commonly known for playing the sugar plum fairy in the 1993 stage-to-film adaptation of the nutcracker (featuring macaulay culkin).

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opening night of new york city ballet’s 2024-25 season

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last night, new york city ballet opened the doors for its 76th season. featured above are new york city ballet principal dancers tiler peck and chun wai chan, dancing a pas de deux from george balanchine’s tchaikovsky piano concerto no.2 (formerly titled ‘ballet imperial’). the ballet is a tribute to tchaikovsky, and balanchine’s teacher, marius petipa. it was created even before city ballet was formed, choreographed for balanchine’s former company, american ballet caravan. it premiered on june 25th, 1941, at teatro municipal, rio de janeiro, as a way to show the world that american ballerinas could be just as refined and talented as their european counterparts. balanchine removed to allusions of imperial russia in 1973, giving the ballet its current title. another note — it was also chan’s debut in this role! merde!

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marie lindqvist and anders nordström, principal dancers of the royal swedish ballet, as the maid and the prince in pär isberg’s ‘the nutcracker’

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corps de ballet of the new york city ballet performing “waltz of the snowflakes” from george balanchine’s “the nutcracker”