#TheNutcracker

[666candies]

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies from The Nutcracker Suite, in Fantasia (1938)

[withlovelunette]

Matryoshka Doll & Wooden Soldiers (WIP title)

— A Nutcracker Retelling

Genre: Fairytale retelling, adult fiction, speculative fiction.

Setting: Wintery, early 19th century Germany, Russia & other culturally-inspired fantasy settings with a touch of steampunk.

Summary: Clara Stahlbaum is forced to prematurely shelf her ballet career after a severe injury. Feeling lost and alone, the former ballerina leaves the comfort of her home in the countryside to visit the city and help her godfather run his toy shop while she recovers from her mental strife. After encountering a peculiar stranger with wooden hands who speaks of a fairy that can undo all injuries and ailments, Clara is pulled into a plot of curses, tragedy and lost personhood.

Themes: Identity & self worth, loss of humanity, defying fate, vengeance and repressed emotions, hints of unhinged womanhood if you squint.

Introduction & Context

Matryoshka Doll & Wooden Soldiers is a retelling and slight reconstruction of the beloved story The Nutcracker & the Mouse King, taking partial inspiration from the ballet, but is otherwise mostly based on Hoffmann’s original 1816 novel! I’ve been deeply infatuated with this story ever since I watched the animated movie by GoodTimes Entertainment (please tell me someone else watched this as a kid) and the Barbie version when I was little. I’ve since read the original book and been wanting to reconstruct the story into something new! Everything in this post is very much a WIP and subject to change as I develop the story, as it’s still in its first draft!

Inspirations & Vibes

Tchaikovsky’s music and the ballet (naturally), powdered snow, sweet Turkish delight, hot steam from the locomotive swirling in the crisp winter air, scent of gingerbread and mulled wine with cinnamon, winter wonderlands and peppermint candy canes, pastel baroque & rococo aesthetics, white marble with specks of blood, loss of humanity and sense of self, tragic romance, whimsical inventions, old fashioned toy shops filled with wonder, out of tune music box and other antique trinkets, freshly baked Berliner buns, the gritty and dark hiding beneath the prim and proper, prickling fingers on thorns while picking berries.

Main Characters

Clara Stahlbaum (23) she/her

Burnt out gifted kid filled with longing and passions she can no longer pursue, a romantic posing as a cynic to protect her feelings, loves messing with little trinkets and antiques and is kinda a nerd.

Hans Peter (25) he/him

Stoic, intellectualises his feelings, detached yet slightly vain, charming until you realise he’s not aloof for allure’s sake he’s just kinda socially awkward, but hey maybe that’s charming to some.

Godfather Drosselmeyer (52) he/him

Eccentric, mischievous, a bit sketchy but people brush him off as just a quirky old man, secretive, knows a lot and yet literally no one in the city knows anything about him he just showed up one day.

I might make a deep dive post about these characters to go into their psychology and development if that’s something people would be interested in! Deconstructing a character’s psyche is one of my favourite aspects of writing and I’d love to be able to share it. Also I know this seems very heteronormative as a story but I promise there are queer themes brewing beneath the surface here I would die otherwise.

✦ If you’d like to be added to a tag list for future writing updates/excerpts, please let me know! 

Story Tag; #md&ws

[theroguequeenaniki]

December Day 21: Book(s) 📚

#KimickaPhotoADay

Last Christmas I went a little overboard on buying Christmas books lol

#books #book #christmasbooks #charliebrown #howthegrinchstolechristmas #thenutcracker #olivetheotherreindeer #thepolarexpress #thenightmarebeforechristmas #rudolph #frostythesnowman #achristmascarol #thenightbeforechristmas #eloiseatchristmastime #christmas #countdowntochristmas #day21 #december #december2023 #photo #photoaday #photoadaychallenge

[lupita13fan]

🎄Silvisper - The Nutcracker🩰

Les deseo felices fiestas y prospero año nuevo, gracias por su apoyo😊

[shibible]

Sorry I havent been able to participate in Nutcracker season, I love seeing everyones stories they are all so cool!

Finals were seriously amping up right when it started so I haven't been able to participate :( hopefully when everything dies down I can choose a couple of prompts and draw em if thats allowed

But I DID finish my pitch for a hypothetical show as a final in my character design class so heres all the artwork! Tumblr gets to see it before my class so you're special

[hobbies-miscellaneous]

What they looking at?

I haven’t drawn these two in ages lol

Pinterest references are so helpful omg - the ideas that they give me

[natalie-andrewson]

I’m at Once Upon A Time Bookstore today with several other authors promoting the store for small business Saturday!! Catch me from noon-1pm with books, prints and special bookplates for The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, published by @01firstsecond! #onceuponatimebookstore #montrose #firstsecondbooks #smallbusinesssaturday #thenutcracker #thenutcrackerandthemouseking (at Once Upon A Time Bookstore) https://www.instagram.com/p/Clb6yE4ShKX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wolffoflamancha]

How suite it is! 🥜 . . . #digitalart #drawing #art #illustration #digitalartist #procreate #makecomics #comicart #indiecomics #artistsoninstagram #sketchbook #ipadpro #thenutcracker #characterdesign #nutcracker#merrychristmas #xmas https://www.instagram.com/p/CmkFyLEPtyG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[pastelunicornprincess]

-`ღ´-𝒩𝒾𝑒𝒸𝑒'𝓈 𝒩𝓊𝓉𝒸𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓀𝑒𝓇 𝐵𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝒫𝑒𝓇𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒-`ღ´-

12/10/2022

-`ღ´-𝒩𝒾𝑒𝒸𝑒'𝓈 𝒩𝓊𝓉𝒸𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓀𝑒𝓇 𝐵𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝒫𝑒𝓇𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒-`ღ´-

My niece invited me to her ballet class’s production of the nutcracker; she has been in the ballet studio’s cast for years. I can’t believe how well she has come; I believe she could really become a professional ballet dancer. I decided to go with my parents since we are all going to the same place and gas is expensive lol. (¬_¬”)

I bought a dress off of Unique Vintage! It’s my favorite dress brand; I didn’t buy it specific for this event- but because I love having a designated seasonal dress! I don’t really want a lot of specific clothes for just Christmas, but a good quality dress to last me this year’s events? Of course! I didn’t want this dress, actually, I actually wanted the gingerbread green dress, but it sold out like immediately. (╥_╥)

But this one is gorgeous! I love how I look in this dress; I wear fat-like fine satin.

 I purchased my niece a bouquet; you should always gift performers flowers after a performance. (✿◕‿◕) 

I found this on Aliexpress and it came in time!! I was so happy I got super concerned it wouldn't make it in time, it didn't come with the box but with a super noisy plastic that literally made it slide and rustle around the entire performance, I was so embarrassed.

So my hair is actually based on the style Asuna Yuuki wears, yeah say what you want about Sword Art Online but it tickles my brain in the right places. I want to try and do a hairstyle similar to Tohru Honda next.

The costume design was beautiful; it was so vivid and glittery, I could see the detail on the stage from the back of the back row. My niece was some sort of clown child? She was very adorable and loved her expressions and how she dances on stage. She’s always been into imagination play. 

Her siblings were there, and of course, her brother was so happy to see me. I got the tightest hug from the little man. I love him so much. Her older sister was happy to see me, but she's in middle school now and feels she can't be so affectionate. I literally had to beckon her over and wrap my arm around her shoulder, she tried to stand with enough room for Jesus, lol.

No matter what, I love them all so much.

After the long drive and the hour-long performance, it was time to go home. But she was happy, and told me a few days later all the Hello Kitties had sticks up their butts to keep them up and she had to remove them. I think that was the fun part for her.  

I love her and I can't wait to be apart of more memories with her.  

              Song that’s on my head

[bignazo]

Adjustments made to match toy prop to full sized head. Photo #4 by @iantravisbarnard @festivalballetprovidence #nutcracker #thenutcracker #nutcrackerballet #foamfabrication #puppetfabrication #theatreprop #maskmaking #masktheatre #bignazo #bignazolab https://www.instagram.com/p/CmLKzzgMAGK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[awesomededersse]

Une fin de semaine occupée avec le #partydenoel de mon travail (Photos avec @_sadieblack__ et @lightning_linda!) à @hotelnelligan et spectacle #CasseNoisette le lendemain à @placedesarts. J'y ai porté mes nouveaux souliers! A busy weekend with my workplace's #ChristmasParty at #hotelnelligan and #TheNutcracker show the next day at #placedesarts #sallewilfridpelletier. (à Montreal, Quebec) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmE18bJLIrJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cakeniron]

Showtime! . #seattlecenter #pnwballet #martinis #olives #ballet #culture #thenutcracker #bewell #livewell #Seattle #christmas #spaceneedle (at Pacific Northwest Ballet) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl5BtKKrpB8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[universalzone]

[montgomeryballet]

🎉✨ Special Collaboration Alert! Wetumpka Titans Join The Nutcracker in Montgomery! ✨🎉

Montgomery Ballet is delighted to announce that the Wetumpka Titans will be joining us for our Nutcracker performance in Montgomery! With this unique blend of ballet and local talent, the holiday classic will be even more magical! 🎄🩰

📅 Montgomery Performance Date:

December 15, 2024

LEAP Show: December 16, 2024, 10:00 AM for schools, seniors, and homeschool families

🎟️ Grab tickets now at www.MontgomeryBallet.org and celebrate the season with us!

📅 Nutcracker Performances:

Selma, AL: November 17, 2024 Pike Road, AL: November 27, 2024 Greenville, AL: December 8, 2024 Montgomery, AL: December 15, 2024 Montgomery (LEAP Show for schools, senior centers, and homeschool families): December 16, 2024, 10:00 AM

[kimmccreight]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kimberly McCreight (@kimberlymccreight)

Wishing everyone a holiday guided by light, and filled with magic. ❤️💫❤️💫

[shibible]

I am alive

I really wanna post more here and tell my story through art and stuff, but college has been so draining that I haven't been able to draw for fun in literal months

I hope to get my act together and find more inspiration later on, but I thought I would throw these doodles out here to try and stay consistent