Battle Scene 🐭 Ballet DECONSTRUCTED | Balanchine Nutcracker | New York City Ballet | Kathryn Morgan

[@nixonstan628]

13:10 I went to SAB from 2011 to 2017 in the childrens division. at least then it was the opposite. Soldiers were Girls II or Girls III where as party children were Girls III mostly or sometimes Girls IV. Though height was a bigger factor, most party children and Marie's were on the shorter side while soldiers were on the taller side with the exception of the bunny (who was always played by a really short Girls II or maybe Girls III girl). Soldiers were kind of the opposite to angels in act 2 where they were usually both mostly girls ii girls but the angels were on the shorter side where as the soldiers casted were generally taller. obviously, this could be very different now as i know some casting changes have probably been made post-covid but that was at least my experience at SAB in those years

[@nixonstan628]

im pretty sure they stopped casting small mice as SAB kids when I was there, but I think they did it again in the 2021 production because it was 13+ but they also did a lot of nontraditional things (like a lot of kids having 2 parts bc the cast was quite smaller)

[@kathryn_morgan]

OMG THANK YOU. I’m going to pin this comment! This actually makes more sense ❤️

[@AmyBeeArtsy]

Thank you for mentioning the missed opportunities with the lack of choreography!! Honestly, I have always found this part of Balanchine's version very disappointing.

[@mojovr5003]

Santa Claus works hard but Kathryn Morgan works harder. I'm gonna consider these my Christmas presents. Thanks Katie!

[@kathryn_morgan]

Awww thank you!

[@SFranklin]

Love this comment! I consider your videos fantastic! Interesting perspectives and some “secrets” not known. Fascinating!

[@subtleworkings1164]

Knowing about the existence of Bed Boy is a pretty good consolation while watching the bed just noodle around during that gorgeous music...

[@VivPhotography]

Omgosh, the little bunny girl is adorable. What a cute accident when she fell. It made it look even more believable!

[@christinakaras6452]

I agree with you about the missed opportunity of that gorgeous portion of the score in the transition between the battle and snow scenes. Thank you for making these videos!

[@takeiteazz]

Thank you for shouting out the Sleeping Beauty Overture and how it echoes Christmas tree rising theme. I never danced but I play the violin and that music is my favorite part of the NYCB Nutcracker. I think musically it is one of the most heartbreaking and emotional themes Tchaikovsky ever wrote. It makes me cry every time.

[@user-el2nh5uo1w]

The two leads are amazing. I think On Pointe showed them backstage setting up the nephew’s quick change. Thanks for explaining the bed and her crown.

[@elliedickson776]

Yay another Nutcracker deconstruction!! Every version of battle scene is always filled with so many moving parts and I applaud anyone who stages it. In ours, both the soldiers and the mice are students and we also have tiny mice who are the first to come onstage

[@kathryn_morgan]

Yes I agree! So does our school now too - the baby mice come on first and they are the CUTEST.

[@nikki_at_disney]

I didn't know Clotilde passed away, I just saw her like two seasons ago. She was a wonderful conductor and you could tell all the dancers just adored her. That's very sad. I am so happy she was filmed for this production!

[@judithricca6915]

Dear Kathryn, My initial reason for writing this was the violin solo from Sleeping Beauty. In Rudolf Nureyev's production of The Sleeping Beauty for the National Ballet of Canada and other companies, the Prince dances a moving, questing solo, before the Vision scene to this music. I was fortunate to have scene Nureyev dance this many times at The Met. My second reason is when you mentioned that conductor Clotilde Otranto had recently died. I looked up her obituary and recent it was in October 2024. I, as a member of the NYCB audience, always looked forward to her conducting. You mentioned that she was petite. I will not forget the time I was walking to the theatre, and who was in front of me but Clotilde. I am 5'2" and I was quite a bit taller than she. Requiescat in Pace dear Clotilde, may you be conducting the heavenly Choir.

[@monongahelacats]

These deconstructions are wonderful! Please do as many ballets as you can.

[@TheMagdalenaBB]

I love that Droselmeyer is just a regular fun uncle.

[@CarinRuff]

"Justin Peck, of Justin Peck fame." Lolololol. Also, that seven-headed mouse king is terrifying.

[@janapetty882]

After seeing you as our Sugar Plum Fairy for two years in Topeka, it's extra special getting to watch your Nutcrcker videos ♥️

[@kathryn_morgan]

Awww thank you!

[@Blokewood3]

Balanchine stuck with a whole lot of details form Hoffmann's original story. In addition to the 7 heads of the mouse king, Hoffmann's story also includes a lot of other details like the clock looking like an owl, Drosselmeyer being on top of the clock, the girl being named Marie (for some reason, the name was changed to Klara in a translation, and a lot of adaptations follow that),the Nutcracker giving Marie the Mouse King's crowns, and the Nutcracker being Drosselmeyer's nephew.

[@abigailwilliams4526]

I watch the 1993 recorded version every year during the holidays. I grew up watching it on my VHS copy, now I stream it. My Christmas isn't complete without it. I have really really loved watching these videos! You're not ruining the magic for me, you're adding to it. This playlist of videos will likely now become part of my Christmas tradition because they're so fun and informative. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!

[@kathryn_morgan]

Thank you!!

[@llamalover02]

"This is my favorite thing! I'm _so_ ruining the magic!!" This is the energy I'm here for, Katie ❤😂

[@TheHappeningswithHAP]

The Sleeping Beauty music trivia was so cool to learn! And the bed boy took me out! 😂 I definitely thought it was remote controlled ala the boat in Phantom. But the way it has to spin and whip around so smoothly makes sense to go more low tech. The tree growing is always just as breathtaking even seeing it on screen! Loving this series so much! Thank you!

[@jayb7002]

18:45 the way you said that as he was nonchalantly twirling with the kid lmfaooo

[@LeanneRobinson-d1s]

Thank-you so much for doing ALL these Deconstructed videos for NYCB's Nutcracker. My home studio only puts on Nutcracker every other year and our next production will be 2025. I am unable to travel to see any other live productions this year so I am living for these lovely insightful videos.

[@SueEllenWestbrook]

I have loved these deconstruction videos! I al always impressed with the children in the Nutcracker and the complexity of their choreography. Also the incredible work of the stage crew!

[@kathryn_morgan]

Yes! Agreed!

[@butterflygroove]

I totally agree with you on the Snow Pas music. Love Snow Queen & King but true favorite is when Clara and the Prince are older and dance to this. Still love Balanchine’s version though.

[@jessaglenny]

The swelling brass in the music is also perfect for the burgeoning of child into young woman that is happening in this moment when Clara is older - as in the Royal Ballet production.

[@butterflygroove]

@ YES. Gives me chills every time.

[@christindicker1550]

I completely agree! It’s one of the main reasons New York City ballet isn’t my favorite version. Royal ballet is my favorite, again because of this part!

[@Julie2116-v6f]

Kathryn I don’t how you do it It takes so much time and you are doing it so great and so quick. Huge Thank you ❤

[@harriem2009]

You are totally right about opportunity lost to the bed choreography. Royal Ballet’s OSullivan and Sambe pas de deux during this music is one of my very favorite performances.

[@eslolin]

The piece of cheese😂that stubbornly stayed. I’m dead.

[@clairenovak11]

Katie, when you said that there is a person under that bed, my jaw literally dropped…I actually asked myself if somehow it was April Fools Day in December because I never in a million years would’ve thought that would actually be the way they do it! 😂 Hilarious!

[@killsa]

I cant unsee the cheese i rewatched snow and at 1 point one of the dancers kicked it off towards the wings as she was exiting but it was still chilling under a tree lol

[@subtleworkings1164]

Lol I was just about to go try to track down the Sneaky Snow Cheese, now I know where to look!

[@TresTaylor]

“The Mouse King is Justin Peck. Of Justin Peck fame.” You’re so right queen, he needs no other introduction lmao

[@lgarvey11]

The Snow Pas is my favorite music in the whole ballet and I felt the same way, but knowing about the guy under the bed does make up for the lack of a pas de deux 😅

[@catherinebhicks]

Thank you Katie for not choosing to walk though the older version of Chinese in these deconstructions. While it’s good to remember what it was it’s so much more culturally sensitive now. Hope it t gets recorded cause I’d love to hear you deconstruct it sometime.

[@kathryn_morgan]

Yes absolutely. ❤️

[@dancingprincessmj]

My favorite scene in The Nutcracker and my very first role as a mouse! I still remember being an absolute awe with the tree growing and still am as a dancer today. Thank you so much Katie🩷🎄

[@meaghan8740]

I have always loved Nutcracker and now because of these deconstructions I love it even more! Thank you!❤

[@bethanneblack]

Katie, I had no idea about the bed! I’ve seen Nutcracker “Live” approximately 23 times in my life, and I had no idea how the bed moved. You’re not ruining the magic, you’re making us better ballet watchers! ❤ 🩰

[@kathryn_morgan]

Haha I'm glad! Yes- you would think it's some grand secret thing. Nope, just a guy under there moving it around!

[@rebeccafitzhugh9401]

Loving this series, as a former Nutcracker-head when I danced as a kid. Thank you!

[@esstown]

In our nutcracker production we made the battle scene into a comedy .... and it was the best. At the end, the nutcracker and the mouse king were playing rock paper scissors to the beat of the crescendo and the audience was just roaring with laughter.

[@catherinebhicks]

Sounds so good.

[@samshouse123]

Just incredible. I watched it for the first time just the other night the Macauley version. I thought the whole thing was just amazing. Thanks for the breakdown

[@bp6h]

okay can we agree the bed boy is the GOAT 🤣 what a fun little secret!!

[@artboxfashion4042]

Tis Nutcracker Season again and I look forward each evening to watching these! It is similar to my Nutcracker, I reminisce fondly. They didn't allow adult students in any shows so i was backstage helping with costumes and makeup. Gingerbread and Spanish were quite heavy. I also helped with quick changes between scenes. I miss those days. 😊

[@ThatWeirdo04]

The kids playing Marie and the prince/nephew are adorable, and they both have such amazing stage presence for that age!

[@iligalvan]

Thank you so much for these deconstructed scenes

[@AndrewWhise]

4:11 Sometimes composers like to put in little riffs as a "signature" in their music. Shostakovich has his gesture that he puts in many of his works. Jason Robert Brown has one too, for a more modern example. I'm not sure if this was at all Tchaikovsky's intention, but it may be something like "Yep, that's me. That's my melody."

[@awiddy]

That music at the end of the battle scene is my favorite in the entire ballet and I share your disappointment that it isn't used to full effect! My favorite take on this is from a ballet called Nutcracker - The Story of Clara from the Australian Ballet. It isn't a traditional Nutcracker story, but it takes the score and applies it to a story of the beginnings of ballet in Australia. It's a gorgeous ballet and I hope you get a chance to watch it sometime. The pas de deux set to this piece of music is beautiful (starts around 37 minutes into the ballet) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqSQeHuNipJ0rposi=uhTxCXaw6rxgVmP-&t=2210

[@annasahlstrom6109]

My first role in our community ballet theatre Nutcracker was as a mouse when I was 6. I took my part very seriously. Then about 4 years later, my brother played the Mouse King. I was so proud of him. He wiggled his legs when the Nutcracker "killed" him.

[@cf8595]

The Christmas Tree is so gorgeous, but I wish it hit on the first two runs of that theme, and I really feel that music by the 3rd iteration with full horns warrants a grand entrance (Rat King, a lift, or the version I did, the Rat King waves in all the little mice ran on in lines to a huge audience applause). And lol to the bed roll. Ugh, yes! I love the way the Paris Opera Ballet (nureyev's choreo, 1989) filmed it with mood lighting, wind...

[@herooffire101hero2]

So i recently saw the Rochester City Ballet's Nutcracker, and how they show that it was a dream was inbetween certain scenes in Act One was that there was a special role called the Christmas Spirit and when Clara/Marie is asleep on the couch, Drosselmeyer sprinkles special dust onto Clara/Marie, signally the dream. It was realy cool.

[@NamiNaeko]

I bet the kids have so much fun with these scene! Like it's so ridiculous and over the top but that's why it's just a cool experience 😂

[@kathryn_morgan]

Yes!

[@JGreen-le8xx]

Katie ❤❤❤❤❤❤ 😊

[@Witfrenci]

In Rudolph Nureyev’s Sleeping Beauty version this piece of music is A beautiful variation of the Prince ❤

[@lvcarlton]

I would love to see a video discussing some of the differences in technique between Balanchine style and classical ballet style in general (and maybe if there are some others like Russian, etc.?). I know there are some marked differences but I can't totally put my finger on it and would love to see some specifics. Maybe also a little background into how some companies become Balanchine companies, etc would be great!

[@callabeth258]

If you finish the ballet can you put them in a playlist in the correct order for the actual story so if we want to rewatch in that order we can?

[@kathryn_morgan]

Yes! The playlist is already started- I called it “Nutcracker Deconstructed”

[@Chocobo0Scribe]

😂 finding out about the bed boy just makes the magic funnier if you ask me.

[@christyfrancis5524]

I appreciated watching Marie and the prince walk off stage, but now I really want to see the Bed Boy take the bed off! 😂

[@VanessaChats]

Watching these does NOT ruin the "magic" it makes me appreciate it all the more so when I do watch it in real life.

[@kathryn_morgan]

Thank you!

[@feministprincess]

I remember seeing the flying bed in the Macaulay Culken version that in the stage version is replaced by your pet peeve of the bed just moving around the stage, followed by the bed landing in the snow

[@ariandnesiosana9362]

I just watched the sugerplum video... we are so blessed! Also, how hectic is upstage when it 1) transforms to the giant tree and window? and 2) Tree to snow scene?

[@heatherlewis4477]

In the 1993 production, when the bed goes through the forest, the bed is on wires, to make it seem like it's flying through the air. What I still can't figure out is how the smaller bed got offstage in the battle scene.

[@kathryn_morgan]

I realize I didn’t address that! I think I remember them using a hook of some sort. It slides on when attention is elsewhere, the stage hand hooks it, and they pull it off! Pretty sure!

[@kathygao]

Also, I think that is Concertmaster Kurt Nikkanen! NYCB has a wonderful orchestra and I have so much respect for the musicians who perform the same piece over and over again with the same level of passion!

[@kathryn_morgan]

YES! One million percent!!!!

[@Blokewood3]

I used to watch the 93 recording of the Nutcracker as a kid, and when the cannon fires there's a closeup so the audience can see it's shooting cheese.

[@morganeby8291]

Do you know how the front screen/curtain works that shows the hallway but can also be translucent and show the stage? I’ve seen the Balanchine version at PNB and they have a similar set piece and was always curious how it worked.

[@loriannisbatty]

🙋🏻‍♀️Hi! BFA in design/ technical theatre in lighting. The material used is called scrim. When you light it from the front it's opaque. When you light it from the inside, it goes transparent. 💡

[@morganeby8291]

@@loriannisbattythanks so much! It really seems like magic, always cool to know the set design of things like that.

[@jessicahoehner6715]

Since you're doing nutcracker videos...do you ever plan to update your ballet inspired makeup tutorials with Soft Summers in mind? I love your Clara tutorial!

[@thehomeschoolinglibrarian]

I agree I don't like the bed and it just seems weird. In Ballet Arizona's version I think our Nutcracker just removes his head piece and they get into a swan carriage and that goes around the stage and then they go to intermission.

[@kathygao]

I couldn't agree more on the part where the most epic music paired with nothing but just the bed rolling on stage. It really feels very anti climatic. But when music is so good I'm okay with just watching a bed rolling around.

[@CarolineCrevierChabot]

These are so fun to watch, Thank you! I was looking to see if you had made a Nutcracker Themed Ballet Class and it looks like no? It might be too late for this year but that's one I'm sure people would love! Your videos brought me back to dancing ballet 25 years after I had stopped so Thank you so much!

[@Bananas904]

Is Clara rehearsed separately from the rest of the children akin to a principal dancer? She has so much to do.

[@kathryn_morgan]

Oh absolutely, they have a lot of private rehearsals!

[@artboxfashion4042]

A tree grows in Swan Lake 😅

[@brendamiller5785]

I thought the little girl's name was Clara?

[@kathryn_morgan]

It usually is, but in this production it’s Marie!

[@KatieL-o2r]

Kathryn I was watching your Nutcracker vlogs from two years ago and you never wore the white tutu 😢. You've worn the white and gold and "pinkie", but you've yet to wear the white tutu. 😢

[@corporalmaladict]

It looks to me like a mouse brings the crown on from off stage right after the king dies.

[@alexmeza6486]

If i was Santa Claus, you would be my Mrs. Claus Kathryn 🎅 🤶 😍😍😍, you would make a Hot Mrs. Claus like Elizabeth Mitchell on The Santa Clause Franchise

[@carolyncuesta774]

Mother gingerrrrrr

[@spookylilqueer]

Love!!! I know this playlist will be a new background go to for 2025!

[@eslolin]

The piece of cheese😂that stubbornly stayed. I’m dead.