From Act 2 of Nutcracker by the Ballet Company of the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg…

The world-renowned Mariinsky Theater, known during Soviet times as the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater, reverted to its original name in 1992. The present building, which dates back to 1859, originally housed another theater but was remodeled and taken over by the Mariinsky company. During pre-revolutionary times the theater enjoyed royal patronage and has played host to some of Russia’s most celebrated classical performers; Fiodor Shaliapin sang there, and the dancers Vatslav Nizhinsky, Matilda Kshesinskaya, Anna Pavlova also graced its stage and as you can see the Nutcracker was performed there also…

Nutcracker: Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the mid-20th century and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in the U.S. Tchaikovsky’s score has become one of his most famous compositions, in particular the pieces featured in the suite…

So much fun to watch…

Russian Video From Russia!