The Nutcracker, Russian Shchelkunchik, made its world premiere in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1892 and is the last of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's three ballets. The story of The Nutcracker is loosely based on the E.T.A. Hoffmann fantasy story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, about a girl who befriends a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and wages a battle against the evil Mouse King. Hoffmann’s story is darker and more troubling than the version that reached the stage; the Imperial Russian Ballet choreographer Marius Petipa chose to follow a light adaptation of the story written by Alexandre Dumas père. The ballet’s big success still lay in the future–during the Cold War, when the Russian ballet, thanks to a Russian choreographer, became an American Christmas tradition. George Balanchine, helped make the ballet popular in North America. during his success in the early 20th century. Balanchine had been working in ballet in the United States for many years when his company, Ballet Society, performed a version of the Nutcracker in New York in 1955 that became the template and inspiration for all versions performed across North America in the decades since.