[45/50] *This photo is of Merrill Ashley as Sugar Plum, but the story is about Dew Drop. [After recovering from a hip injury] My thoughts...

[46/50] “Little Miss Bethune, incidentally, gave up a good job in Broadway’s ‘The Most Happy Fella’ in order to appear as Clara. Her...

[43/50] We are nearing the finale of this Nutcracker season! Edward Villella and Patricia McBride in the finale. Martha Swope, 1968.

[44/50] Of Mimi Paul, Clive Barnes wrote: “Her musicality was precise and yet not so precise as to be ungracious, her manner was regal...

[42/50] Suzanne Farrell as Dew Drop. Photo by Martha Swope, 1966.

[40/50] “I named the Dew Drop myself—there was no Dew Drop in Leningrad.” —Balanchine in Repertory in Review: 40 Years of the New York...

[39/50] Robert Maiorano & Stephanie Saland (front) and Julie Hays (background) by Martha Swope, 1970

[38/50] "After one of The Nutcracker’s most recent performances, principal dancer Patricia McBride, who has danced the Sugar Plum Fairy...

[35/50] "The Dewdrop is different from the flowers. For one, the flowers don’t leave the stage. They are constantly swirling around,...

[36/60] "In the beginning, there was Tchaikovsky; maybe there still is. 'I always have an idea he is so happy because we do it right,'...

[33/50] A year ago today I was lucky enough to meet my favorite ballerina. I mean, I have a lot of favorites, but Allegra is at the top....

[32/50] Gelsey on the role of Dewdrop: “When I returned to Balanchine’s stage [following a foot injury], I had the facility to absorb...

[31/50] Richard Rapp as Candy Cane. Photo by Martha Swope.

[26/50] A journal entry from Jacques d'Amboise, December 11, 1954: "Karinska told me a friend asked her what she had put in the costumes...

[23/50] Jumping into week 4 of Nutcracker like... Patricia Neary as Dewdrop. Martha Swope, 1966. New York Public Library

[22/50] “Kay Mazzo uses space in a surprisingly large and generous way for such a delicate girl” — The Village Voice, 1969 Kay Mazzo in...

[19/50] "Balanchine’s pas de deux is one of the greatest of all time, so elegant, so fluid. Dance on this level is intellect without...

[17/50] Suzanne Farrell on the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy: “She has all the authority. She is an elegant lady, beautiful and kind; and...

[16/50] "Victor Castelli was most impressive leading the Candy Canes, his brilliant jumps through the hoop in the coda being particularly...

[15/50] Of a 17-year-old Gelsey Kirkland, Clive Barnes wrote: “It is a special pleasure to see Miss Kirkland right now in the springtime...