SF Ballet Nutcracker Storybook

Optimized for the Nexus 10.

The magic of Nutcracker, at your fingertips. Watch San Francisco Ballet’s production of this holiday classic unfold page-by-page in an illustrated storybook that incorporates interactive animations and fun behind-the-scenes videos.

Revisiting a Magical Dream
A storybook version of SF Ballet’s Nutcracker is accompanied by clips from Tchaikovsky’s beloved score. Interactive animation brings the characters to life—with a tap, make the Nutcracker raise his sword against the Mouse King and the Dew Drop Fairy begin her dance. Watch closely for hidden clues as you read the story yourself or listen to the narration. Tap the screen or tilt your iPad for delightful surprises along the way.

A Look Backstage
What does it take for snowflakes to swirl and flowers to waltz? Dancers and students from SF Ballet and SF Ballet School demonstrate their roles in the ballet and our technical crew provide a behind-the-scenes perspective on how they make the onstage magic happen.

Learn More
SF Ballet’s Nutcracker is set in San Francisco in 1915, the year the city hosted the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. The “discover” button provides access to educational videos, photographs, and fascinating facts about the ballet and its historical setting.

“It’s the sort of app that kids will love, and may inspire them to watch a ballet in the real world–whether in San Francisco or elsewhere.” –Apps Playground


Key Features:
- “Listen to Story” & “Read it Myself” modes
- Swipe to turn the page
- Playful animations
- Music clips accompany each scene
- Pop-up info pages, featuring photos and videos
- Tutorials teaching basic ballet positions and simple choreography

Your child will learn the following:
- Basic to intermediate reading skills
- Basic information about ballet, dance, and music
- Ballet and music appreciation
- What is was like to live in 1915 San Francisco
- The history of the Nutcracker ballet and of San Francisco Ballet—America’s oldest professional ballet company

Privacy:
San Francisco Ballet apps:
- Do not collect, retain, or share personally identifiable information
- Do not contain ads
- Do not contain integration with social networks
- Do not include links to other apps
- Do not use or collect your precise geographic location
- Do collect performance information (for registered users only)

If you have any question or concern about privacy within our apps, please send us an email at web@sfballet.org.

Nutcracker Interactive Storybook Credits:
Illustrations and story by Kate Garchinsky
Narration by Eileen Brady
Design and development by Night Kitchen Interactive
Based on San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker, with choreography by SF Ballet Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson and music by the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra under the direction of Music Director and Principal Conductor Martin West; soundtrack recording courtesy of Koch CDs.

Special thanks to the talented artists, musicians, students, and staff of SF Ballet for their participation in this project.

San Francisco Ballet’s current production of Nutcracker premiered on December 17, 2004 at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California.

Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Helgi Tomasson
Scenic Design: Michael Yeargan
Costume Design: Martin Pakledinaz
Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls
Projection Design: Wendall K. Harrington

San Francisco Ballet
As America’s oldest professional ballet company, San Francisco Ballet has enjoyed a long and rich tradition of artistic “firsts” since its founding in 1933, including performing the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as the first 20th-century American Coppélia. For more information, visit sfballet.org.

The Nutcracker Interactive Storybook was made possible by a grant from the James F. Irvine Foundation’s Arts Innovation Fund