Every Christmas season, Marat Daukayev’s The Nutcracker Ballet is performed right here on the Luckman stage. What does it really take to produce this ballet each year? Getting to the Nutcracker, the now-classic documentary filmed right here at the Luckman, takes you inside the Herculean effort involved in gathering the production team, casting the dancers, rehearsing, and staging the performances of this holiday classic.
Los Angeles-based Marat Daukayev School of Ballet, led by the former Kirov Ballet star, takes you behind the curtain from auditions, the rigorous hours of rehearsals, the joy of landing a principal role to the pain of losing one. The dancers (boys and girls ages 3-18) are profiled; passionate young artist who, with their families, make incredible sacrifices so that they may dance at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA.
Getting to the Nutcracker
Directed by Serene Meshel-Dillman
United States, 2014
Running time: 1 hour and 38 minutes
Getting to the Nutcracker can be streamed directly on the Luckman website at no cost and on-demand from 6:00 pm until 12 midnight PST on December 17, 18, and 19.
