The history of The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker, a two-part ballet play that originated in the 1800s, was created by a Russian choreographer and scored by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It also has an international backstory with not-so-well-known roots to Russian imperialism and tsarism. Jennifer Fisher, professor of dance studies at UC Irvine and the author of Nutcracker Nation, joins The World’s host Marco Werman to give us more insight into the act’s history.