NUTCRACKER MEMORIES: Snowflakes in George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker,^“ 1954. (Photo by Frederick Melton. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.)

“Winter Wonderland: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” is the title of an exhibition currently on view via the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ website, nypl.org. The show, which is online only, tells the story of the 70-year-old holiday classic choreographed for the New York City Ballet by George Balanchine.

While The Nutcracker is today an annual event performed by ballet companies across the globe, it was not an immediate success when Balanchine debuted his version in 1954. But when a televised and narrated version brought the work into people’s homes across America in 1958, a classic was born.

“In 1964, the ballet saw some choreographic changes, and brand new costumes and sets were commissioned from the artists Barbara Karinska and Rouben Ter-Arutunian,” reads information from the exhibition. “The modifications brought iced perfection to an already sweet work, and George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker has remained untouched since this time, allowing multiple generations to bond over a shared experience year after year with the New York City Ballet.”

Divided into sections titled “The Beginnings,” The Children,” “Mice!,” “Original Interpreters,” “Set Concepts,” “Stage Magic,” and “Barbara Karinska,” the show charts the early years of the ballet’s life, from its premiere in February 1954 to the success of the remounted production in 1964. Items from the archives of the Library’s Jerome Robbins Dance Division that are in the show include photographs, set models, and costume designs.

Visit nypl.org to get the link for the exhibit.