Read the story of The Nutcracker and the Magic Carousel
Clara, her brother Fritz, and their family are on their way to the annual winter carnival. They are so excited because their dance class has been invited to perform on the main stage. Also, there is a rumor that a mysterious magician by the name of Drosselmeyer will perform at this year's carnival.
Clara and Fritz's Friends and all the Carnival Walkers arrive. They greet each other and then the usual happens! Fritz and friends start teasing Clara and friends. That Fritz can be a problem sometimes! All of the children run to the stage to watch the orchestra warming up. Seems like there is something strange going on with the Musicians. Could this be some magic at play?
The Dance Teacher calls the children to the stage for their big performance! As they finish performing all the kids suddenly freeze! The mysterious magician Drosselmeyer has arrived. Drosselmeyer is accompanied by an Assistant. Something strange and unexplainable is happening to the Assistant. Wonder what it is! Drosselmeyer signals the Assistant to bring out a magic act. Two huge boxes appear onstage. Drosselmeyer opens the boxes to reveal a beautiful dancing Ballerina Doll and Jack in the Box. These dolls come to life and perform lively dances for the children. Drosselmeyer’s Assistant is also quite the performer and showcases their new magical dancing skills!
Drosselmeyer has one more trick up their sleeve, but first asks the audience for two more special assistants. All of the children excitedly raise their hands! Who will Drosselmeyer choose? It’s Clara and Fritz! Drosselmeyer pulls out a bag showing the audience that the bag is empty. With a flick of the wrist, the bag appears to hold items inside. What could it be? Drosslemeyer has gifts for all the kids! But for the two lucky assistants they have a special gift. Drosselmeyer hands Fritz a beautiful carousel. Fritz scoffs at his gift. Fritz, being the misbehaving child, throws the carousel over his shoulder. Drosselmeyer then hands him a trumpet which he loves because he can now annoy Clara with the instrument. For Clara, Drosselmeyer has quite a special toy, a Nutcracker! The children have never seen a Nutcracker before and wonder what the Nutcracker can do. Drosselmeyer demonstrates to Clara and the children that the Nutcracker cracks walnuts. Fritz is overcome with jealousy because he wants the Nutcracker for himself. Fritz pulls the Nutcracker out of Clara’s hands and stomps on it, resulting in it breaking! Drosselmeyer comes to the rescue and repairs the Nutcracker with his magic.
It has gotten late, and the carnival is closing. All of the children say goodbye and head home. Oh no! Clara has accidentally left her Nutcracker at the carnival. She sneaks out of the house and returns to the carnival to find it. She finds the Nutcracker in a basket. Clara is overjoyed that she found her Nutcracker and starts to dance with him. As she is dancing, Mice appear looking for scraps of food dropped by carnival goers. She runs to hide from the mice. The mice start dancing and find Clara hiding. Clara opens her eyes and realizes that the carnival and mice have grown in size. She has entered into a different realm, and the carousel that was once a toy is life size as well! Could Drosselmeyer be behind this mysterious magic?
The mice surround Clara and make her squirm. In the knick of time, a lifesize Nutcracker, joined by a troop of toy soldiers, appears and saves Clara by scaring the mice away. The Rat King, who controls all of the mice, appears and is not happy with the Nutcracker. The night time is when the mice roam the carnival and the Nutcracker has interfered with their search for food. The Rat King and Nutcracker battle each other. Their troops join them in a battle, the Mice throw cheese at the Toy Soldiers and the Toy Soldiers throw carnival garbage. The battle is so close and Clara is afraid that her poor Nutcracker will lose so she decides to help him. Clara takes off her shoe and throws it at the Rat King's head. The Rat King slips and falls to the floor which leads to the Nutcracker's victory against the Rat King. The toy soldiers all cheer and mice leave, defeated. The Nutcracker then transforms into a Prince!
As everyone is leaving the battle, snow begins to fall. The Snowflakes turn into beautiful ballerinas. The Prince takes Clara's hand and they walk together towards the carousel to watch the snowflakes dance. The snowflakes greet Clara and the Prince and invite them to dance. The Snow Queen appears after the Snowflakes have finished dancing and welcomes Clara and the Prince to the Land of the Snow. She invites the Prince and Clara to stay and watch the Snow dance.
Clara and the Prince are mesmerized with the dancing Snow, and after their dance is finished, the Snow Queen leads the Prince and Clara onto the carousel. She informs them that the carousel will take them to the Land of the Sweets where they will be welcomed by the Sugar Plum Fairy. They wave goodbye to their snowy friends and set their sights on the Land of the Sweets. Lurking from above, Drosselmeyer uses his magic to turn the carousel and take Clara and the Prince to a different realm.
As the carousel slows to a stop, Clara and the Prince find themselves in The Land of the Sweets, a realm with delicious treats as far as the eye can see! The Fairies that decorated the carousel have come to life as beautiful dancing fairies. The Fairies perform a dance to welcome Clara and the Prince. They are joined by the Sugar Plum Fairy who calls for the other Sweets to welcome these special visitors. The Sugar Plum Fairy escorts Clara and the Prince to sit on a throne so they may enjoy some treats and be entertained.
The first sweet to perform is Hot Chocolate. A performer enters and dances, showcasing their beautiful turns. Clara and the Prince have never seen anyone turn so well without getting dizzy. Hot Chocolate is followed by Cotton Candy, Caramel Popcorn, Walnuts, Saltwater Taffy, Gummy Bears, Bataille de Fleurs and Rose, who all perform for their special guests!
The Sugar Plum Fairy alongside the Cavalier are the final performers. Together they take the stage and dazzle all with their refined grace and movement. Clara and the Prince have had so much fun in The Land of the Sweets, but the time has come for them to journey home. They thank everyone for such a warm welcome and say goodbye. As they board the carousel, it begins to spin. Suddenly, Clara finds herself back at the carnival. She is confused, was she dreaming or was it all real? The Prince is not with her! She searches everywhere for him! She finds him, transformed back into the Nutcracker doll in a basket next to her ballet slippers. She picks up the Nutcracker and puts on the ballet slippers. She tries to dance as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier did together, dreaming of one day, when she will perform just like the Sugar Plum Fairy.
The End
