"The Nutcracker" - America's favorite holiday classic comes to life with imaginative choreography, delightful sets and beautiful costumes!

The Mendocino Ballet is pleased to present six Mendocino County performances of the"The Nutcracker" in 2005.

Fort Bragg: Cotton Auditorium Saturday, December 10, 2005 at 7 pm Sunday, December 11, 2005 at 2 pm Ukiah: Mendocino College Center Theatre Saturday, December 17, 2005 at 2 pm Saturday, December 17, 2005 at 7 pm Sunday, December 18, 2005 at 2 pm Sunday, December 18, 2005 at 7pm

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call the Mendocino Ballet at (707) 463-2290 or visit the studio at 205 South State Street in Ukiah.

The Story of the Nutcracker

Prologue
It is Christmas Eve, a long, long time ago. The night is cold, snow is falling and everyone is on the way to a Christmas party at Clara’s house.

ACT I
Scene One
Clara’s house is gay and bright. A great Christmas tree stands in the middle of the room glistening with lights and ornaments. Underneath the tree, presents are piled high. All of Clara’s friends and relatives are here. The adults are laughing and talking while the children play and dance around the room.
In the middle of these festivities, the mysterious Herr Drosselmeyer arrives. He is Clara’s Godfather and entertains the children with magical dolls from fanciful Harlequin and Columbine Dolls to the beautiful Music Box Ballerinas, and a dancing Bear! Drosselmeyer then passes out gifts to the children; dolls for the girls, horns for the boys. Clara does not receive a doll and begins to cry. Drosselmeyer, who loves to tease his goddaughter, has been saving the special gift of a handsome toy Nutcracker for her.
When her brother Fritz sees the Nutcracker, he grabs it and throws it to the floor. The Nutcracker breaks, but Herr Drosselmeyer comes to the rescue and skillfully repairs the precious toy. Clara thanks her godfather and once again joins the girls in playing with their new dolls. The boys chase them with their bugles and the parents all join in a joyous dance. Tired children join their parents, the guests leave, and Clara and her family are off to bed.
Later that night, the room is quiet and dark, with only the lights of the Christmas tree glowing. Suddenly, Herr Drosselmeyer appears and begins to conjure a spell on the room.
Clara enters, finds her beloved Nutcracker and falls asleep. While she sleeps, giant mice appear as part of the magic spell! She awakens, surprised to find Herr Drosselmeyer in her house at this time of night.
Suddenly, before her eyes, the Christmas tree begins to grow under Drosselmeyer's magic spell. She watches with joy as he transforms her Nutcracker into a life-size toy! The mice return and a battle begins between them and life-size toy soldiers. A terrible battle between the Queen of Mice and the Nutcracker comes to an end as the brave Clara stuns the Mouse Queen with her shoe and hands the sword to the Nutcracker so he can rid the scene of the horrible Mouse Queen. The Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome prince who thanks Clara for saving his life. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince dance a beautiful "pas de deux" as he invites her on a magical journey to the Land of Sweets.
Scene Two
The Prince takes Clara into the middle of a beautiful snowy forest where winter never melts into spring. As Clara and the Prince dance through the luminous White Forest, a snowstorm begins with beautiful swirling white snowflakes dancing around them.

ACT II
Guardian Angles lead the way as Clara and the Prince continue their journey to the Land of Sweets. When they arrive, they are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy, and her delightful court. The Nutcracker retells the story of the terrible battle and how Clara saves his life. The Sugar Plum Fairy invites Clara and the Prince to be her guest of Honor. The Court Attendants lead the Sugar Plum Fairy away as Clara and the Prince take the throne to watch the lively entertainment by her court
First we see Spanish Chocolate, followed by Arabian Coffee and Chinese Tea. Then the Marzipan dance, followed by the Russian Ribbon Candy. Mother Ginger appears with her many Gingersnaps followed by the beautiful Waltz of the Flowers, led by the enchanting Rose Queen. The Sugar Plum Fairy returns and performs an enchanting and most beautiful dance. All the dancers then return to bid farewell to Clara.
Clara must return home for this has all been just a wonderful dream and the prince is once again her favorite toy underneath the Christmas tree.