🩰 Nutcracker ballet bingo

How to play nutcracker ballet bingo

The Nutcracker is the ballet many children see first, and a bingo card makes it easier to follow. Tchaikovsky wrote the music, and the ballet premiered in St. Petersburg in 1892. The 38 squares cover the story (the Christmas party, Drosselmeyer's magic, the tree that grows, the battle with the mice, the thrown slipper), the characters (Clara, Fritz, the Nutcracker Prince, the Mouse King, the Snow Queen, Mother Ginger), the famous dances of Act II in the Land of Sweets, and ballet and orchestra words such as pas de deux, pointe shoes, overture and celesta, the bell-like instrument behind the Sugar Plum Fairy. Productions differ, and some call the girl Marie, so a few squares may not appear in yours.

1. Before the show: play a called game in music class or at home so the names are familiar.
2. At the show: give each child a card and a pencil and let them mark squares quietly as they see them.
3. At home with a recording: play the suite and mark each piece when you recognize it.

Tips for a better game

• Music class idea: call only the dances, play 30 seconds of each, and let students name it before they mark.
• Watching a local production? Check the program and edit the word box to match its characters.
• For dance studios, add your students' roles ("Angel", "Soldier", "Snowflake") to the word box.