`THE NUTCRACKER' RULES AT THE WHITE HOUSE THIS CHRISTMAS.Byline: Marian Burros The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times Holly Hynes, director of costumes for the New York City Ballet New York City Ballet, one of the foremost American dance companies of the 20th cent. It was founded by Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine as the Ballet Society in 1946. , was plainly amazed. ``These are the smallest things I've ever made,'' she said, describing her latest creations. The costumes, she added, ``would fit Barbie.'' Actually, no. Unlike that buxom toy icon, the Sugar Plum A sugar plum is a piece of candy that is made of sugar and shaped in a small round or oval shape. Sugar plums are widely associated with Christmas, through cultural phenomena such as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker Fairy perched on the mantelpiece of the Green Room at the White House is, like most ballerinas, flat-chested. Pondering the outfit, Hynes added, ``Maybe Skipper could wear it,'' a reference to Barbie's little sister. On the other hand, the costume for the Sugar Plum's cavalier would fit Ken perfectly. Hynes was enlisted by Christopher Radko, who is famed for reviving the craft of making individually blown glass ornaments and was commissioned by the White House to decorate two holiday mantelpieces, Each year the White House invites various groups or individuals, from quilters to architectural students, to help decorate its public rooms around a theme. This year, the decorations are based on ``The Nutcracker'' ballet. The 18-1/2-foot blue spruce in the Blue Room is given over to 3,500 ornaments - from wood toys to petit point stockings to intricate puzzles - made by ballet companies across the country as well as woodcarvers and needlepoint needlepoint: see lace. needlepoint Type of embroidery in which the stitches are counted and worked with a needle over the threads, or mesh, of a canvas foundation. It was known as canvas work until the early 19th century. artisans. Among other touches are a gingerbread gingerbread In architecture and design, elaborately detailed embellishment, either lavish or superfluous. Though the term is occasionally applied to such highly detailed and decorative styles as the Rococo, it usually refers to the hand-carved and -sawn wood ornamentation of house displayed in the State Dining Room The State Dining Room is the larger of two dining rooms on the State Floor of the White House, the home of the president of the United States. It is used for receptions, luncheons, and larger formal dinners called State Dinners for visiting heads of state. The room seats 140 guests. . Radko's mantel in the Red Room was inspired by the opening act of the ballet: wooden soldiers attending a candy castle. The Green Room's mantel depicts the Sugar Plum Fairy in color-coordinated splendor: green and lavender glitter, flowers, icicles and snow. To make the seven dancers on the mantel, Hynes enlisted her husband, Jim Zulakis, who is head of the art department at the Day School in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . With Sculptee - a clay that is one step above Play-Doh and can be baked hard in a home oven - he fashioned the Barbie-size figures, one of which Hynes described as ``a caricature of Chelsea.'' The president's daughter has danced in ``Nutcracker'' productions since she was 3, and this winter she will perform four roles in a production at the Washington Ballet School. CAPTION(S): Photo: The mantel in the White House's Green Room is decorated witha scene from ``The Nutcracker'' depicting the Sugar Plum Fairy. |
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