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Nutcracker
Music: Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Feng Ying
Based on Peter Tchaikovsky's music,the National Ballet of China has choreographed a Chinese Version of The Nutcracker,which takes place during the Chinese Spring Festival.
The sound of firecrackers accompanies the Spring Festival.In the dream, the red crowned crane leads the child to the Land of Porcelain,The Nutcracker, which has almost become a kind of annual Christmas ritual in many cities of the West,is also becoming a popular ballet of the Chinese Spring Festival.
Act 1
Scene 1
Beijing, capital of China: It is snowing on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year. The city, decked out with lanterns and colorful decorations, is bustling with people shopping goods for the spring festival.
A Chinese girl named Yuanyuan, grandchild of an antiques connoisseur, and her cousin Tuantuan, are frolicking around. A foreign guest, invited by the antiques connoisseur, comes to their house to visit them. Marvelous things happen thereafter.
Scene 2
There is an air of festivity in the home. Family members are bustling round the room, making ready the family reunion dinner. The arrival of the foreign guest makes this spring festival differs from the past ones. The guest and host exchange gifts: the guest gives Yuanyuan a nutcracker as a gift; the gift presented to the foreigner is a painted scroll titled Magic Crane.
Tuantuan, jealous of Yuanyuan¡¯s presents, tries to snatch the nutcracker from her. The girl, getting angry, returns to her room and falls asleep with the nutcracker in her arms.
Scene 3
In her dream the bed curtain is drifted up by a breeze, and a flock of bats appears to attack her. At this moment, the nutcracker comes to her defense. Aided by other toys of Yuanyuan, the nutcracker battles the bats bravely. To her regret, the Nutcracker is slaied by the king of the bats. The grandfather told Yuanyuan that the bat, emblem of felicity, will bring the nutcraker back to its life. The bat turns into a magic crane, and leads both Yuanyuan and the nutcracker into fairyland.
Act 2
The crane leads them into the Kingdom of porcelain, in which her beloved things such as fan, pieces of silk, top, string of candied haws, kite, shoe-shaped gold, etc dancing magically. Mingled with them, the porcelains and cloisonne, nutcracker and Yuanyuan as well are dancing to the wonderful waltz too.
Yuanyuan is awakened form her dream by the firecrackers. The bell strikes midnight. Outside the window is the blossoming firecrackers and the city ablaze with light. The city of Beijing is ¡¡fascinating in the joyous mood.
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