Clara
Country of Origin: Germany

rawing from E. T. A. Hoffman’s story The Nutcracker and The King of Mice, The music of Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, tells to story of young Clara Stahlbaum anxiously awaiting the arrival of her eccentric godfather, Drosselmeyer, at her families’ Christmas Eve party.

Upon his arrival, he presents her with a wooden doll nutcracker dressed as a soldier, which she immediately falls in love with. That night, she falls asleep under the Christmas tree with her new toy, and is magically reduced to his size at the stroke of midnight.

A fight ensues with an army of mice and toy soldiers and Clara is able to fight off the most vicious Mouse King with her slipper to save the Nutcracker’s life. Her new Prince then takes her on a colorful dancing adventure to The Land of Snow and The Land of Sweets.

For many families, going to see The Nutcracker is an annual holiday tradition, and often it is a child’s first exposure to ballet. Tchaikovsky’s music and Clara’s beautiful story leads us to believe that if we dream of Christmas toys, we might wake-up in a magical world of snowflakes, Sugar Plum Fairies and Nutcracker Princes.