If you crave high culture during the Christmas season, you will probably turn to two classic productions: Handel's Messiah (a portion of which we examined in Module 5) and Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. The Nutcracker actually expands the dance art form to include much more of what we would expect in theatre than is usual in this medium. This makes the experience all the richer and provides additional clues to the story being told.
Using the outline given below, write a critical analysis of part of Act One from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker: The Nutcracker Ballet [Video file][4 min 52 sec] (minimum one-full page). Refer to the example at the end of Chapter 9 as a guide, but be sure to include the following expanded outline points:
• Genre
• Overall theme
• Story line, movement (including the basic dance steps you recognize, mime and pantomime)
• Characters
• Costuming
• Mise-en-scene (set)
• Score (musical background)
• Use of color
• Lighting techniques
You will need to do some research to obtain information about the story, as we are only viewing the first part of the production.
Be sure to include a convincing, inclusive conclusion at the end of your critical analysis and a bibliography of at least two sources that you used to prepare your analysis, one of which may be the class text. Do not use and cite Wikipedia. Instead, visit the Excelsior College Library to learn about academic sources. The page on Evaluating Information includes helpful sections on "Print vs. Web Resources," Evaluation Criteria," Evaluation Scenarios," and "Media Literacy."
Write a 250 word critical analysis. Follow the APA style, using the Excelsior College Library resources on learning to use APA Style.