The melody for the Sugar Plum Fairy is almost a Christmas hymn, used in different musical styles during festive times. I already mentioned a few years ago about Piotr Illyitch Tchaikovsky‘s creative process for composing the variation, following Marius Petipa‘s instructions and finding a new instrument to capture the idea of drops that he wanted to achieve. In any case, it is one of the most popular songs of all time, even beyond the classical scope.

In the ballet, The Nutcracker, the Sugar Plum Fairy’s solo is sometimes given to Clara/Marie when we choose to place the ballet as a romantic awakening of the girl who, I know, dreams of marrying the Nutcracker, in true, a prince. In any case, it is a generally technical solo that demands total musicality from the dancer. Let’s review 5 greats who achieved the challenge with flying colors?

Marianela Nuñez

The Royal Ballet’s prima ballerina dances an updated version of Marius Petipa’s original steps.

Maria Kowroski

The New York City Ballet dancer dances George Balanchine‘s version, one of the most respected and created in 1954.

Rina Kanehara

The English National Ballet’s production maintains Petipa’s original idea, perhaps the most musical.

Nina Kaptsova

The Bolshoi Ballet star showcases Yuri Grigorovich‘s creativity in this 1975 version, which is still the company’s official version.

Natascha Mair

Rudolph Nureyev‘s version has been the official version of the Paris Opéra Ballet for 50 years. His vision of ballet is very different from that of the others and marks Nureyev as a beginner and a creator. Brilliant, of course. Here is the version by the Vienna Ballet, which has been producing this version since 2015.

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