Cracking the Nutcracker: Balancing Tradition with Progress by Kiki S

We’re Kriti and Sarina, and our podcast submission explores the beloved holiday ballet, The Nutcracker. Watching The Nutcracker is a family tradition for many. Everything from the popular storyline to Tchaikovsky's universally recognized music is known throughout pop culture and the dance world. However, many ballets like The Nutcracker are tied to racist stereotypes and clichés from when they were created, raising issues of cultural appropriation. In our podcast submission, we look into the complexity of The Nutcracker, a ballet that includes a showcase of culturally inspired dances. We talk about how this tradition looks in both the eyes of the dancer but also in the eyes of an audience member. In our podcast, we discuss some of the outdated aspects of classical ballet and also look at how a dance company in Chicago is modernizing its rendition of the Nutcracker. We hope our podcast can further the conversation of how to keep artwork true to tradition while also adapting to the times.