The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet

Bedtime History: Inspirational Stories for Kids and Families

Bedtime History

Education For Kids, Stories For Kids, Kids & Family, Education

4.4 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Nutcracker is one of the most famous ballets in the world, and its unforgettable music was written by Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. First performed in 1892, the ballet tells the magical story of Clara, her Nutcracker toy, and their journey to the Land of Sweets. While the ballet wasn’t very popular at first, it later became a holiday tradition, especially in the United States. Today, millions of people watch The Nutcracker every December. This episode explores Tchaikovsky’s life, how he wrote the music, and why the ballet has become a beloved holiday classic. Try Cocomelon Sing & Play for Free on your smart TV Volley App 📖 We published our first book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explorer Society: World's Fair Conspiracy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎉 Check out our new show, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bedtime Safari⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 📢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate via Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a shout-out! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠📺⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠500+ YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Videos⁠

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's a cold December evening. You're sitting in a grand theater surrounded by excited children and their families.
0:06.0	The lights dim. The orchestra starts playing beautiful, magical music.
0:11.0	On stage you see a Christmas party come to life with dancing children, a mysterious godfather bringing gifts,
0:17.0	and a wooden nutcracker doll.
0:19.0	Suddenly the nutcracker transforms into a prince, and you're
0:22.8	swept away to the land of sweets, where everything is magical. This is the Nutcracker Ballet, and it's one of
0:30.2	the most beloved Christmas traditions in the world. But did you know that when it first premiered more than
0:35.8	130 years ago, people didn't like it?
0:39.2	Let's discover the amazing story of the Nutcracker and the brilliant composer who created it.
0:45.0	Piotr Ilyich Chikovsky.
0:47.8	Piotr Ilyich Chikovsky was born on May 7, 1840, in a small town in Russia.
0:56.4	From the time he was very young, Chikovsky loved music. When he was just five years old, he started taking piano lessons.
1:02.7	He could pick out songs on the piano almost instantly after hearing them. Music came
1:07.8	naturally to him, but Chikovsky's parents wanted him to have a more practical job.
1:13.6	In Russia at that time, being a musician wasn't seen as a good career.
1:17.6	So when Chikovsky was 10 years old, his parents sent him to boarding school to study law.
1:23.6	After graduating, he worked for the government for four years. But he was miserable.
1:29.3	He couldn't stop thinking about music.
1:31.3	When Chikovsky was 21 years old, he made a brave decision.
1:35.3	He quit his government job and enrolled in music school to study composition.
1:40.3	His family thought he was making a huge mistake.
1:43.3	But Chikovsky knew what he wanted.
	...

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