#TBT: Gelsey Kirkland and Mikhail Baryshnikov in “The Nutcracker” (1977)

December 20, 2017

Gelsey Kirkland and Mikhail Baryshnikov in The Nutcracker are simply iconic—two of the world’s most celebrated dancers in the world’s best-loved ballet. Starring as Clara and the Prince in American Ballet Theater’s 1977 made-for-television film, these two superb talents bring both technical and dramatic brilliance to the ballet’s culminating scene.

In this version, which Baryshnikov himself choreographed, Clara and the Prince dance the grand pas de deux. He also mixes up the order so that the variations and coda precede the adagio. The clip begins with the tail end of Kirkland’s variation, followed by a flawlessly danced coda. Baryshnikov, looking debonair in all white, flies in his jumps, rebounding off the floor like a spring, and Kirkland’s impressive diagonal at 0:43 boasts triple fouetté turns.

The mood changes when Drosselmeyer, played by Alexander Minz, arrives in the first chords of the adagio to usher Clara away from her dreamland. In a pas de trois, Clara is torn between her beloved godfather and her prince, reluctant to choose between childhood and the promise of her dreams. In her gauzy nightgown, the delicate Kirkland is ethereal and waif-like as she is promenaded and passed in the air between her partners. She and Baryshnikov make a tender couple and in the end, as she chaînes into his arms, it is clear that she longs to stay with her prince. Happy #ThrowbackThursday!