Video by Tom Tsai.

This excerpt is from a 2021 performance of The Nutcracker (from memory). Special thanks to Twinkle Toes Dance Company (Los Angeles, CA) for hosting the event. Click here to read an interview with dance writer Siobhan Burke about the performance.
 

In The Nutcracker (from memory), Ajani Brannum sings the entirety of Tchaikovsky's eponymous ballet score, without the support of musical notation or accompaniment. They augment the performance with a running commentary on the ballet, its personal resonances, and critical reflections on its legacy. A private joke turned online performance in December 2020 -  in a moment when live performance felt virtually impossible - The Nutcracker (from memory) vividly portrays concert dance as an oral tradition.

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created and performed by Ajani Brannum (after P.I. Tchaikovsky)