In 1997, when I was asked to present The Nutcracker, I thought it would be tricky to show this work with 12 dancers, when it had been conceived for a much larger nomber of dancers. Then I thought that since everything became possible in that tale for children, after the clock struck twelve, why should that time not also help the dream of older children ? So, I accepted, but I needed more to approach that project. A little before that, I had discovered the « rebirthing », a respiratory method which ensures your well-being after a great number of contradictory feelings. In the course of that « renaissance », from anguish to paradisiac visions, anything may happen as is the case in tales. The Nutcracker was staged as a result of that experience. It gives meaning to Drosselmeyer’s acts. They guide Marie’s spirit through his inspiration towards the land of dreams at the same time as her body is shaken by strange convulsions.

Thierry Malandain