{"product_id":"nutcracker-chronicles-a-fairytale-memoir","title":"Nutcracker Chronicles: A Fairytale Memoir","description":"\u003cb\u003ePerfect for \u003ci\u003eThe Nutcracker \u003c\/i\u003eholiday market and fans of work\/life balance books, this memoir of a ballet dancer-turned-literary curator shares the real-life journey of a dancer, wife, and mother.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Nutcracker Chronicles\u003c\/i\u003e, a modern twist on the beloved holiday ballet, intertwines the story of Clara and her nutcracker prince with the true-life stories that unfold backstage. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe curtain rises on Ballet El Paso's production of \u003ci\u003eThe Nutcracker\u003c\/i\u003e, where young Janine Kovac is cast as Fritz, the boy who breaks the nutcracker. Her director is Ingeborg Heuser, a German woman who once performed for Hitler and who peppers her teaching with insults like, \"Why can't you just dance like a pretty girl?\" At least it's better than \"You look like a cow on ice skates,\" which is what the other girls hear daily. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOnstage, Janine wins the battle and embarks on a voyage through a snowy forest to the Land of the Sweets, where she serves as spectator to a beautiful dance. She also travels offstage, leaving El Paso to study at San Francisco Ballet before landing a job in Iceland and returning to California, where she rises through the ranks from soldier to snowflake to candy soloist. Eventually, however, she is relegated to watching other people dance--her husband, her children, her students--and her claim to the spotlight is replaced by the quest to find joy in her new roles.","brand":"Janine Kovac","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46358692593900,"sku":"9781647427924","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/1791\/3068\/files\/9781647427924.jpg?v=1744418424","url":"https:\/\/allstora.com\/products\/nutcracker-chronicles-a-fairytale-memoir","provider":"Allstora","version":"1.0","type":"link"}