The children who participated in the ballet were far fewer in number and somewhat older than the youngsters who appear in San Francisco Ballet’s current production. All the boys’ parts were danced by girls; there were no boys to play them. Drosselmeyer did not have a nephew, and the key children’s roles were performed by adults. Clara danced on pointe. Fritz was played by a woman who later turned up as the lead in the Chocolate variation.
Gisella Caccialanza, ballerina wife of Willam’s brother Lew, danced the Sugarplum Fairy. Willam was her Cavalier. “He used lots of poses and lifts in the adagio that the audience hadn’t seen before,” Caccialanza said.