All girls, said Anna Van Cura, dream of being whisked away to a magical land.
“Every little girl,” she said, “wants to be Clara.”
Clara is the young heroine of “The Nutcracker,” the traditional Christmas story about a girl whose Christmas present — a nutcracker — turns into a prince, and who is swept off to a magical land of sweets, ruled by a kindly Sugar Plum Fairy and populated by delicacies from around the world.
“The Nutcracker,” with score by Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky, is a beloved winter ballet. It will be performed this weekend by Ballet Tennessee, of which VanCura, is artistic director.
It is the music, she said, that she believes inspires audiences to want to see “The Nutcracker” year after year.