Behind The Scenes

Ballet Forum: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®

You’re invited to learn about the strange origins of this beloved Christmas classic. Panelists Jehnna Lewis, PhD candidate at University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Laura Katz, Professor of Dance at Temple University, will speak on the original Nutcracker story and the history of its adaption from literature to ballet. Ballet Master Charles Askegard will also be reading from E.T.A Hoffmann’s original Nutracker!

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Panelists

LAURA KATZ RIZZO

Laura Katz Rizzo is Assistant Professor of Dance at Temple University, where she teaches ballet technique and dance history.

JEHNNA LEWIS

Jehnna Lewis is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research centers on German literature around the year 1800, with a special focus on the works of E. T. A. Hoffmann and the ‘acoustic’ character of his fictional prose.

This program is offered as a partnership with the John and Rashanda Rhoden Arts Center at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, located at 128 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102. Please visit PAFA’s website to learn about additional opportunities when you visit, including viewing museum galleries, dining in Tableau, and shopping in Portfolio, the museum gift shop. Visit www.pafa.org.

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