Not Your Normal Nutcracker

On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Clara falls asleep after a party at her home and dreams herself (or does she?) into a fantastic world where candy become larger than life. 

Her beloved Nutcracker comes to life and defends her from the Mouse Queen in a battle between soldiers and mouses. The Nutcracker wins and suddenly turns into a Prince, who looks just like her brother Fritz. Hand in hand, the two walk off into the forest.

The falling snowflakes now assume human form and come to life. They dance the "Snowflake Waltz”. Clara and the Prince appear and walk hand in hand toward a star which resembles the Christmas star, as Act I of the ballet ends.

In Act II, Clara and the Prince arrive at the Kingdom of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy. A Waltz of flowers welcome Clara and the Prince. The Prince explains to her what has happened in pantomime. In honor of Clara's bravery, a series of dances is performed by living candies - the Hot Chocolate Dance, the Tea Dance, the Arabian Dance, the Candy Cane, Marzipan, the Dance of the Ginger Bread and Elf.

Then the Sugar Plum Fairy dazzled us with a beautiful variation. As the festivities end, the Sugar Plum Fairy kisses Clara goodbye, the Snow Queen bows to the Clara, and Clara return home in sleigh as everyone waves goodbye. It is never explained in this version whether the fantasy events were a dream or not, but we may presume they were real.