All Things GRRRL Nutcracker - A Film Remix of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet

Background info on GRRRL Nutcracker

 

Punk Rock Nutcracker

BIRKLIE MEYER AS CLARA AND ANTONIA FRANCESCHI AS AUNT DROSSELMEIER IN GRRRL NUTCRACKER. PHOTO BY KAROLE ARMITAGE, COURTESY ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE. 

For her next IAmADancer film, the superbly creative Karole Armitage envisions a new 90-minute retelling of The Nutcracker. Imagine an energetic, hip Aunt Drosselmeier—the stunning Antonia Franceschi dancing Armitage’s unique contemporary style—encouraging Clara to be her own person. Enter a mysterious young student of bharatanatyam dance, portrayed by Shashwat Chaurasia, who introduces Clara to the richness of her rural Kansas community through world dances from Africa, Asia, and the Americas performed by local ensembles. Top it off with Eunhye Marcel dancing a Sugar Plum variation like no other when Bikini Kill’s punk anthem “Rebel Girl” interrupts Tchaikovsky’s sumptuous score for a little in-your-face female agency. New York City dancers join with artists from Kansas City and the rural Wabaunsee County to form the multigenerational cast of GRRRL Nutcracker, filming this fall for release in December 2026. armitagegonedance.org.

—Michele Brangwen

 

 

GRRRL Nutcracker is a femme forward, punk inspired film remix of Tchaikovsky’s beloved Nutcracker. Act 2 features traditional dance, music and costume from Africa, Asia and the Americas. Sugar Plum steps into new territory.

@grrrl.ntcrkr