Dress for the Nutcracker Ballet
The Nutcracker ballet is a Christmas favorite that follows a young girl's journey through a dream world of toy soldiers, fairies, princes, vicious mice, and of course, a very charming Nutcracker. The ballet is adapted from the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E.T.A. Hoffman; legendary composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky was commissioned to write the music for the ballet in 1891. The costumes for "The Nutcracker" cater to the whimsy of children--their love for toys and belief and magic.
Instructions
1. Dress the main character, Clara, in an assortment of nightgowns and tutus. She should wear tutus especially for dance sequences. Clara's tutus and dance costumes should resemble the rest of the dancers in her troop, but also stand out from them. Ideally, Clara and the ballerinas would wear pointe shoes and dance "en pointe--a style of ballet that takes years to master. Ballet shoes will be fine if cast members lack pointe training.
2. Outfit the Nutcracker and other toy soldiers in a costume of white tights and a classic cropped military jacket. Cast members' makeup should resemble a doll's face.
3. Make drab clothing for the rat army; simple robes with weapon belts should work well. They Rat King should be more regally dressed. Dress him in luxurious robes or even a tuxedo. Another great costuming idea for the rat king is to dress him in a military officer's uniform because as king, he would be head of the military.
4. Incorporate shades of purple into the costumes of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her court. Give her a pair of wings and a wand to add to her fairy persona.
5. Dress the Prince and the men of the Sugar Plum court in tights, white gloves, and a formal jacket or some variation that would still represent their noble status.
6. Make costumes for the various cultures represented in the celebration of dances that occurs in Act II of the ballet. After the Prince tells the Sugar Plum Fairy about the battle with the army of mice, she rewards them with a celebration of dances: the Spanish Dance, the Arabian Dance, the Russian Dance, the Chinese Dance, the Mirilton Dance, and the Waltz of Flowers. For the Waltz of Flowers you'll want to dress dancers as different types of flowers.
7. Add various toy costumes for non-starring ensemble cast members. Harlequin dolls, jacks-in-the-boxes, clowns, rag dolls, nutcrackers, and soldiers are examples of great dream world costumes.
