For many people, The Nutcracker is one of their annual holiday traditions. You may not be able to view it in person this year, but we invite you to check out our book and DVD materials relating to The Nutcracker here in the Jerome Robbins Dance Division. These recommendations feature timeless classics that touch the child in all of us, since we think nothing is more festive than the story of The Nutcracker as told through dance. The Dance Division staff has compiled this list with the hopes of filling your holiday season with joy, and we hope you'll continue the conversation with us on social media using #readdancebooks.  

Another treat for Nutcracker fans—visit our online exhibition Winter Wonderland: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®  which highlights some treasures from the archives of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, including photographs, set models, and costume designs.

DVDs

George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (2015)

Call number: DVD 793.3 G

Experience the wonder of New York City Ballet's iconic holiday classic on the big screen. Balanchine's stunning choreography shines amidst awe-inspiring set pieces, ornate costumes, and grand one-of-a-kind visual effects.

 

The Nutcracker: Ballet in Two Acts (2014)

Call number: DVD 793.3 N

The Wiener Staatsballett is one of the great companies of the world. Yet never before had Rudolf Nureyev's world-famous choreography of The Nutcracker been performed in Vienna. The present production remedies this omission by presenting Nureyev's final, 1985 Paris version with two magnificent young soloists and splendid Vienna corps de ballet. 

Dancing for Mr. B: Six Balanchine Ballerinas (2008)

Call number: DVD 927.93 D

Mary Ellen Moylan, Maria Tallchief, Melissa Hayden, Allegra Kent, Merrill Ashley, and Darci Kistler keep alive Balanchine's ballets and the inspiration they learned from him.

 

Books

The Nutcracker Backstage: The Story and the Magic by Angela Whitehill and William Noble

Call number: Performing Arts Circulating Non-Fiction 793.34 W

This inside look at the The Nutcracker combines both the story and insights into the performance, creating a rich complement to the classic ballet.

 

Baryshnikov’s Nutcracker by Norma Klein

Call number: Performing Arts Circulating Non-Fiction 793.34 K

With the help of a young girl, a nutcracker becomes a handsome prince. Illustrated with photos from a performance by the American Ballet Theatre.

 

The Harlem Nutcracker: Based on the Ballet by Donald Byrd by Susan Kuklin

Call number: Performing Arts Circulating Non-Fiction 793.34 K

A retelling of the classic story of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet, featuring an African American grandmother and her family and set in Harlem.

I Was a Dancer: A Memoir by Jacques d’Amboise

Call number: (B D’Amboise D)

A former principal dancer for the New York City ballet traces the story of a life in dance that honors the contributions of George Balanchine, Lincoln Kirstein, and Jerome Robbins while discussing his work at the side of famous dancers, teachers, and choreographers.

Wilde Times: Patricia Wilde, George Balanchine, and the Rise of New York City Ballet by Joel Lobenthal

Call number: (B Wilde L)

With unfettered access to Patricia Wilde and her family, friends and colleagues, the author takes the reader backstage to some of the greatest ballet triumphs of the modern era—and some of the greatest tragedies.

Costumes by Karinska by Toni Bentley

Call number: (B Karinska B)  

Costumer Barbara Karinska was one of countless emigrees flung westward from czarist Russia by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s. Costumes by Karinska chronicles the life and work of this remarkably talented woman, a consummate perfectionist who brought unprecedented quality, innovation, and beauty to costumes designed and executed for film, theater, opera, and dance.

“Nutcracker” Nation: How an Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World by Jennifer Fisher

Call number: Performing Arts Circulating Non-Fiction 793.34 F  

The Nutcracker is the most popular ballet in the world, adopted and adapted by hundreds of communities across the United States and Canada every Christmas season. In this entertainingly informative book, Jennifer Fisher offers new insights into the Nutcracker phenomenon, examining it as a dance scholar and critic, a former participant, an observer of popular culture, and an interviewer of those who dance, present, and watch the beloved ballet.

101 Stories of the Great Ballets by George Balanchine and Francis Mason

Call number: Performing Arts Circulating Non-Fiction 793.34B  

Authored by one of the ballet's most respected experts, this volume includes scene-by-scene retellings of the most popular classic and contemporary ballets, as performed by the world's leading dance companies.

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Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!

Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.