The Twelve Days of Christmas “9 Ladies Dancing”
We’ve only nine more days until Yuletide. Countdown with Midphase for The Twelve Days of Christmas for ultimate holiday excitement.
Over the last three days we have featured drummers drumming, pipers piping and lords leaping. Here is your fourth installment of Midphase’s Twelve Days of Christmas. At Midphase we love the holidays so much that not only are we counting down the days, but we are offering an amazing contest and holiday deals.
When it’s Christmas time and you imagine the ninth day of Christmas, it is hard not to think of the Sugar Plum Fairies from The Nutcracker ballet. The Nutcracker has been a holiday tradition that has lasted through many generations since the very first performance in December of 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The Nutcracker was a collaboration between Peter Tchaikovsky and choreographer Marius Petipa. The story depicts the tale of the heroic nutcracker conquering the evil Mouse King on Christmas Eve. The first production was a complete flop; neither the composer nor the audience enjoyed the performance. With a few adjustments by George Balanchine the play would go on to be a huge hit in the United States and become the holiday tradition we know and love today.
Pretty impressive right? Here are nine more amazing facts about New York City Ballet company performing “The Nutcracker” to tide you over until the eighth day of Christmas:
- The New York City Ballet features 50 individual performances of The Nutcracker every year.
- The first New York City Ballet performance took place in 1954 under the direction of George Balanchine.
- The Sugar Plum Fairy’s tutus are composed of seven individual layers of tulle, giving them their dreamlike qualities.
- During the performance over 150 costumes will be worn by the assorted characters.
- Fifty-seven people work backstage to ensure success controlling lights, sound and props.
- The Nutcracker’s orchestra is composed of 62 musicians playing Tchaikovsky’s original score.
- Approximately fifty pounds of white shredded paper falls to the stage as artificial snow for each performance.
- Two of the characters’ costumes are the originals worn for the very first performance in 1954: the Grandmother’s cape and some of the embroidered applications for the female costumes during the Tea Dance.
- The first American performance of The Nutcracker took place in 1944 in San Fransisco, not New York.
Now that you’ve had your ninth day of Christmas fill be sure to share your own holiday traditions with the globe. Register a .family domain from Midphase to stay close with those who really matter during the holiday season.
Happy Holidays from Midphase.com!