Staging the Nutcracker is an extraordinary record of artist Mihail Chemiakin's commission from the legendary Kirov Ballet for a new staging of The Nutcracker ballet. His innovative new costumes, exquisite sketches, paintings, watercolors and maquettes reveal a powerful imagination at work. Fanciful and dainty characters from previous productions have been transformed into lively creatures, drawing you into Chemiakin's brilliant world of visual surprises where the ordinary unravels into the extraordinary. The simplest objects -- the grandfather's shoe, or the Christmas tree, bees and candies, hats and coats -- take on odd shapes and sizes, like out of control cartoon characters.Essays from leading figures in the world of Russian Ballet world explore the challenges Chemiakin faced working on one of the most important Commissions in the world of ballet.Whether you are an avid fan of the Nutcracker ballet, a student of theater and costume design, or an art lover, Staging the Nutcracker is a richly illustrated record and a treasured heirloom that will delight and inspire for years to come.Staging the Nutcracker is the companion to the International tour scheduled which launched in St. Petersburg in Nov 2000 and will tour to the NYC Metropolitan Opera, London's Covent Garden, and Milan's La Scala.