Tchaikovsky was then asked to provide a dance 'in the Chinese taste' representing tea, thereby going deeper into the Asian continent. For the 'European' Russians of St. Petersburg, the far reaches of that enormous landmass on which they were perched provided a strange 'other' in an already exotic culture. This is a humorous movement, with all the chinoiserie you could expect - pentatonic scales and filigree decoration. But having already written two triple-time dances, Tchaikovsky ignored Petipa's instructions for a third and cut his 48-bar count down to 32. The dance is like a whistling kettle, with a bassoon bass pattern and trilling flute solo. Pizzicato strings add to the 'too hot to handle' tone before the flute plays its theme again, now in inversion. Throughout the dance, Tchaikovsky keeps to equal two bar phrases, providing a solid basis for Ivanov's slapstick choreography.Today's Track on Spotify.
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Iohna Loots as Clara and Artists of The Royal Ballet in the Chinese Dance in The Nutcracker
Photograph © ROH/Johan Persson
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