Ring "Snowflake"

Sable clouds by tempest driven / Snowflakes whirling in the gales… Mihail Chemiakin was reminded of these lines by Pushkin when watching a snowy blizzard in the flickering light of a street lamp from the window of his home in Claverack. This is what inspired the legendary dance of the ‘black’ snowflakes in The Nutcracker. The shimmering black of the ballerinas’ tutus has become symbolic of The Nutcracker, where every snowflake is a whirl in the blizzard. The totality of Chemiakin’s genius can be observed in this simple, elegant piece. Miraculously, he was able to convey the uniqueness of each and every snowflake through the paradox of colour, thereby creating an image that is at once recognizable and original.