The Sleeping Beauty (Bluebird pas de deux) Nutcracker (Sugar Plum pas de deux)
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This film appears to be (part of) a telecast from the late 1940s/early 1950s. It includes two pas de deux: "The Bluebird" from "The Sleeping Beauty" and "Sugarplum Fairy & Cavalier" from "The Nutcracker," both ballets composed by Tchaikovsky in the early 1890s. According to onscreen credits, the former is danced by Melissa Hayden and Michael Lland; the latter by Mary Ellen Moylan and Oleg Tupine. All were associated with either The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo or Ballet Theatre (later renamed American Ballet Theatre) at the time. The credits list the choreography as being "after Petipas [sic]" but fail to list the modifying choreographer(s). Each pas de deux occurs in front of a different set decoration; Bluebird's backdrop has a garden aesthetic whereas the Nutcracker excerpt has a more modernist/abstract set design.
Credits
Gregory Koreff (co-producer); Gordon W. Pollock (director); Norman Secon (music); Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (composer); Ernest Caparros (cinematographer); Mary Ellen Moylan (performer); Oleg Tupine (performer); Melissa Hayden (performer); Michael Lland (performer)
Complete catalog record
Cfa collection: Ruth Page Collection
Notes: The film opens with a series of onscreen credits written in white text, overlaid on top of a couple turning round and round to the tune of "The Garden Waltz" from Tchaikovsky's "The Sleeping Beauty." It then cuts to Melissa Hayden and Michael Lland dancing "The Blue Bird" pas de deux. After they complete their performance, an additional credit appears: it introduces Mary Ellen Moylan and Oleg Tupine, who then perform the "Sugarplum Fairy & Cavalier" pas de deux from "The Nutcracker." Both pieces appear to use the typical three-camera television setup, as evidenced by occasional cuts to different perspectives, but the primary perspective in both is the straight-on "audience" perspective, though the view of the dancers is much closer than it would be in ordinary stage circumstances. Occasionally limbs get 'cut off' due to this proximity to the camera. The film ends without further commentary or credits.
Subjects: Christmas; Ballet
Language: English
Cfa elements: Reversal Positives, 550 feet
Cfa records: https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/Detail/objects/8688
Notes: The film opens with a series of onscreen credits written in white text, overlaid on top of a couple turning round and round to the tune of "The Garden Waltz" from Tchaikovsky's "The Sleeping Beauty." It then cuts to Melissa Hayden and Michael Lland dancing "The Blue Bird" pas de deux. After they complete their performance, an additional credit appears: it introduces Mary Ellen Moylan and Oleg Tupine, who then perform the "Sugarplum Fairy & Cavalier" pas de deux from "The Nutcracker." Both pieces appear to use the typical three-camera television setup, as evidenced by occasional cuts to different perspectives, but the primary perspective in both is the straight-on "audience" perspective, though the view of the dancers is much closer than it would be in ordinary stage circumstances. Occasionally limbs get 'cut off' due to this proximity to the camera. The film ends without further commentary or credits.
Subjects: Christmas; Ballet
Language: English
Cfa elements: Reversal Positives, 550 feet
Cfa records: https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/Detail/objects/8688
Sources
- Chicago Film Archives · record ↗ — title, creator, length, format, color, sound, genre, description, credits, catalog record, video
Record added 2026-11-08 21:25:11