''The Steadfast Tin Soldier'' is a ballet choreographed by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

to Bizet's ''

Jeux d'enfants ' ("Children's Games") Op. 22, is a suite of twelve miniatures composed by Georges Bizet for piano four hands in 1871.Curtiss, Mina. ''Bizet and His World.'' Vienna House, New York, 1958, p. 311. The entire piece has a duration of about 20 to 23 ...

'', based on

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

's 1838 fairytale of the same name of the love between a tin soldier and a paper-doll ballerina. The ballet premiered on July 30, 1975, at the

Saratoga Performing Arts Center Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) is a large amphitheatre located in Saratoga Springs, New York, on the grounds of Saratoga Spa State Park. It presents summer performances of classical music, jazz, pop and rock, country, comedy, and dance. I ...

, with

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

Patricia McBride Patricia McBride (born August 23, 1942) is a ballerina who spent nearly 30 years dancing with the New York City Ballet. McBride joined the New York City Ballet in 1959. She became a principal in 1961, becoming the company's youngest principal. ...

and

Peter Schaufuss Peter Schaufuss (born 1949 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish ballet dancer, director and choreographer. Biography He is the son of ballet dancers Frank Schaufuss (1921–1997) and Mona Vangsaae (1920–1983). Schaufuss trained at the Royal D ...

Production

first used Bizet's ''Jeux d'enfants'' for a 1955 project, in collaboration with choreographers Barbara Milberg and

Francisco Moncion Francisco Moncion (July 6, 1918 – April 1, 1995) was a Dominican-born American ballet dancer and choreographer who was a charter member of the New York City Ballet. Over the course of his long career, spanning some forty years, he created roles ...

, danced by Melissa Hayden and Roy Tobias. It was revived four years later, with the choreography only credited to Balanchine. The 1975 version, a

pas de deux In ballet, a ( French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The ''pas de deux'' is characteristic of classical ballet and can be found in many well-known ...

, was commissioned by the

, where the

performs annually, and premiered on Bizet's centennial year, performed by

and

. The ballet uses sets and costumes designed by David Mitchell. After he made ''The Steadfast Tin Soldier'', Balanchine, who had adapted Andersen fairytales before, said what attracted him to fairytales by Andersen was the "underlying Christian substructure". The 1975 ballet premiered in New York City the following year. In 2020, in response to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the performing arts, the New York City Ballet released a 2014 video recording of ''The Steadfast Tin Soldier'', featuring Erica Pereira and

Daniel Ulbricht This is a list of New York City Ballet dancers. Principal dancers Soloists This is a list of New York City Ballet soloists. Corps de ballet The following is a list of the current members of the corps de ballet. * Victor Abreu * Dominika ...

References

External links

Episode 33: Hear the Dance: The Steadfast Tin Soldier
on City Ballet The Podcast {{DEFAULTSORT:Steadfast Tin Soldier, The 1975 ballets Ballets by George Balanchine Works based on The Steadfast Tin Soldier Ballets to the music of Georges Bizet New York City Ballet repertory Ballets about sentient toys Fictional amputees Ballets based on works by Hans Christian Andersen