AllMovie

The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale is a Canadian animated television film, which aired on CBC Television in 2015. Based on the autobiographical short story "The Curse of Clara, or My Big Fat Disappointment" by Vickie Fagan, the film centres on her experience as a young girl studying ballet at Canada's National Ballet School who is cast in the role of Clara in the school's annual production of The Nutcracker, only to learn of the longstanding legend that the role is cursed because nobody who played Clara as a student has ever gone on to play the starring role of the Sugar Plum Fairy as a professional adult dancer. Her only guide through her fears and worries is her crush on hockey star Phil Esposito, whom she regularly imagines coaching and guiding her dancing.