Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and WTIU Public Television have partnered to produce a new rendition of “The Nutcracker,” which will be broadcast nationally throughout the holiday season. The production, titled “The Nutcracker at the Jacobs School of Music,” was filmed live in 4K at Indiana University’s Musical Arts Center and features both behind-the-scenes content and an immersive viewer experience.
This version showcases performances by IU faculty and students, with choreography led by Sasha Janes, professor of ballet at the Jacobs School. The classic Tchaikovsky score is performed live by the IU Symphony Orchestra. The program will air across 300 American Public Television markets, reaching approximately 90 percent of households in the United States.
To achieve this broadcast, crews from Jacobs and WTIU worked together during several filming sessions: a live performance before an audience, a dress rehearsal, and an additional show for close-up shots using Steadicam equipment. Modifications to the auditorium included removing front-row seats to accommodate cameras and cranes, as well as using a drone inside the venue. Seventy microphones were placed throughout the center to capture audio from both performers and audience members, resulting in a surround sound mix for viewers at home.
“It’s all a part of the mission that we have here of helping to get the good work and the talent of Indiana University beyond the walls of the campus, and who’s better suited to do that than the PBS television station that’s right here,” said Eric Bolstridge, director of content at WTIU.
Kevin Newbury from PBS’ “Great Performances” provided direction during filming days. Todd Gould from WTIU managed post-production tasks including editing vignettes and interviews that give audiences insight into backstage activities.
“The behind-the-scenes vignettes give viewers a chance to experience this in a greater depth and detail than you would if you were just sitting in the MAC watching the show,” Gould said. “This gives you that chance to have a full, immersive experience.”
Choreographer Sasha Janes described his vision for viewers: “I wanted our audience to feel like they’ve been taken on a magical ride.”
Stage design includes projected visuals and physical backdrops depicting settings such as a 19th-century embassy and later transforming into scenes like the Land of Sweets. Nearly 800 costumes were hand-sewn under Linda Pisano’s direction from IU Bloomington’s Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance.
Janes drew inspiration from both original stories—E.T.A Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and Mouse-King” (1816) and Alexandre Dumas’ adaptation (1845)—as well as previous ballets dating back to Tchaikovsky’s first production in Russia in 1892. He revised certain roles for cohesiveness between acts; every character appearing early on also appears later in different forms.
“There are lots of easter eggs in it, too,” Janes said. “I added a butler, who comes out in the first half and slices off a piece of cheese for the mice with this beautiful gold knife. Then in the second half, he becomes the Mouse King, and during the battle scene we see this big gold cheese knife appear. So there are all these connections everywhere, which are really lovely.”
The tradition of broadcasting “The Nutcracker” dates back decades; CBS first aired it nationally in America during the late 1950s after efforts by George Balanchine sought to make it accessible on television each holiday season.
