Nutcracker might be one of the most popular ballets, but when it was first presented, it didn’t fare well. “The reviews that stuck to it are the really bad reviews. That’s because the really bad reviews say, “This is not even a ballet,” and “If the Imperial theater keeps doing shows like this it will go downhill.” We will all go to hell in a handcart, in other words. And also that Tchaikovsky’s music was not danceable – they said that about it.”