JRL NEWSWATCH: “Cracking open ‘The Nutcracker’s’ dark Russian past; Behind the holiday classic lies an unsavory history that may change the way you think about it” – Washington Post
“… The fruits of a violent imperial system lie behind the work’s bright, bouncy ‘Chinese’ dance … and its slow, seductive ‘Arabian’ scene…. At ‘The Nutcracker’s’ premiere … [in] 1892, in St. Petersburg, the ballet paid homage to the czar and his empire …. If you look at some of the forces giving rise to it, and that still live within it, ‘The Nutcracker’ isn’t all that sweet. … To be clear, this isn’t about canceling “Nutcracker.” It’s about understanding the lived experiences from which the ballet sprang. … not entirely unique to Russia …. [b]ut … prompt[ing] reflection on why they were carried into the ballet. … an authoritarian system that foreshadowed expansionist events today. ‘The history of Russia is a history of violence,’ says Princeton music professor Simon Morrison, author of ‘Bolshoi Confidential: Secrets of the Russian Ballet from the Rule of the Tsars to Today.’ ‘… Moscow became its head … through acts of incredible aggression. And a lot of the culture was imported, including ballet. Music came [from] … Ukraine and Poland — in some cases musicians and singers were kidnapped from Kyiv and hauled up to Moscow. There are horror stories all the way to the Far East.’ …”