On December 15th, Madame Azer’s  French II class went to see the Nutcracker ballet at Count Basie Center for the Arts.

The ballet was written by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The ballet was commissioned by the Imperial Russian Ballet choreographer, Marius Petipa. The story was based on Alexandre Dumas’ adaption of E.T.A. Hoffman’s fantasy story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The original story was German, but the choreography, music, and costumes are French and Russian.

Despite the ballet coming from multiple nationalities (German, French, Russian), Madame Azer takes her students to this ballet because of the French history inside of the ballet. She claims, “I take my French students to the Nutcracker every school year because ballet is French.  There are French cultural costumes near the end of the performance too.”

One of her students, Alexis Fidelino, was asked what she was expecting from the ballet. She stated, “I was expecting a cultural experience where I could experience something new.”

Another student from Madame Azer’s class, Jaiden Brewer, was asked what their favorite part was. They stated, “My favorite part was being able to watch an amazing show with my friends and spending time with all the French classes as a whole. I would go on this trip again!”