White House ‘Nutcracker’ Christmas Video Panned for ‘Hunger Games Vibe’

An interpretation of ‘The Nutcracker Suite’ performed at the White House by a New York dance group that promotes leftist ideology garnered mostly bad reviews.
White House ‘Nutcracker’ Christmas Video Panned for ‘Hunger Games Vibe’
First Lady Jill Biden speaks during the annual U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Dec. 6, 2023. Nathan Howard/Getty Images
Caden Pearson
Updated:
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A New York dance troupe that promotes radical left-wing causes performed an interpretation of “The Nutcracker Suite” at the White House, garnering mostly negative reviews.

First Lady Jill Biden shared a video of the routine on Thursday, writing on X, formerly Twitter, “A bit of magic, wonder, and joy brought to you by the talented tappers of Dorrance Dance, performing their playful interpretation of The Nutcracker Suite.”

The video features Dorrance Dancer performers tap dancing throughout the White House’s halls, decorated for Christmas, dressed in modernized versions of the classic festive holiday costumes associated with “The Nutcracker” ballet.

Responding on the platform, prominent right-wing and conservative influencers and media personalities panned the performance as “woke” and dystopic, with some questioning its apparent “Hunger Games aesthetic.”

“This is a crime against Christmas,” wrote former President Donald Trump’s former adviser, Stephen Miller, founder of the America First legal organization.

“I miss Melania’s red trees,” wrote Megyn Kelly, host of “The Megyn Kelly Show” podcast, who recently moderated the fourth Republican presidential debate. She was referring to Melania Trump, the former first lady and wife of President Trump.

The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh said it was “the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” while the outlet’s founding editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro said DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) “makes everything crappier,” an apparent reference to the group’s support of radical left-wing social causes, such as Black Lives Matter, “anti-racism,” and movements to “defund the police.”

“This should’ve come with a sensitivity label. This is horrendous,” wrote Libs of TikTok on X, the account owned by Chaya Raichik, who exposes leftist and LGBT ideologies in schools and society on her popular account.

Benny Johnson, host of “The Benny Show” podcast, quipped that the performance was a “war crime.”

Jeremy Carl, a senior fellow at the California-based conservative think tank Claremont Institute who was also an Interior Department official during the Trump administration, asserted that the group was likely not chosen by chance, and pointed out the company’s promotion of leftist causes and Communist Party figures in a post on X.

“The dance company that produced the Hunger Games vibe video that Jill Biden shared with the world: Did you think, sweet summer child, that this group was featured by chance?” he wrote.

Founded in 2011 by Michelle Dorrance, a white woman, Dorrance Dance strongly advocates for “antiracism” and embraces leftist political principles.

Ms. Dorrance penned a note on the website titled “Why Antiracism Work is Important to Me,” in which she said it is her generation’s “job to tell the history of tap dance as a celebration of Black culture and also the never-ending struggle against systemic racism and white supremacy in this country.”

The company’s website goes beyond dance, actively endorsing radical left ideologies.

The website’s “Educate Yourself” section introduces concepts like white privilege, systemic racism, and anti-racism for beginners, recommending visitors access an “antiracism for beginners” website as a resource.

A section called “Take Action,” targeted at white people, advocates the abolition of prison and police and is framed as an introduction to such left-wing principles.

Mr. Carl noted that the dance company also features petitions on their website for defunding the police, stopping Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and “a variety of other far-left causes.”

A quote from Angela Davis, a revolutionary Marxist who was the Communist Party USA’s nomination for vice president twice in the 1980s, is also featured on the dance group’s website.

“So keep in mind, for the left, there are no coincidences,” Mr. Carl wrote. “It’s always about how they can ‘radically transform the world.’

“That’s how the Biden regime celebrates Christmas,” he added.

Caden Pearson
Caden Pearson
Reporter
Caden Pearson is a reporter covering U.S. and world news.
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