The Nutcracker (Not Suite)

My first exposure to the Nutcracker, believe it or not, was the Care Bears Nutcracker Suite. I was eight.

When I discovered years later that it was actually a ballet, I was intrigued. I had these dreams of being a dancer, but alas, funds made it an impossible avenue to explore. Until college that is. I discovered I could take dance classes on the cheap, so I started with ballet. My dreams of being a ballerina (rrrrright) were shattered one day when, during bar exercises, my teacher started yelling at me from across the room: "Ms. Bradshaw, tuck your pelvis under, keep in alignment." I thought I was in alignment. I double-checked. Yep, all tucked. "Ms. Bradshaw, TUCK, TUCK!" Frustrated, I wanted to yell, "I AM tucked," but it was not a refined enough response for a ballet class, so I just looked at her helplessly and continued. She came marching over to me, placed one hand on my stomach and one on my butt, and tried to move my pelvis. She stopped short, "Oh, you are tucked." I wanted to say, "And that's what they call bootie, ma'am," but I simply sighed and crossed ballet off my list. If that wasn't evidence enough of my doomed career as a ballerina, the floor exercises would have done it. Me trying to pirouette was disgraceful. I discovered then that I had zero balance. It was embarrassing. But I digress...

Fast-forward many years later to when when Ch and I moved in together. She bought a Nutcracker piano duet book and we happily slaughtered Tchaikovsky all Christmas season. Then we decided to see the Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center. Despite my failure as a ballerina, I was pretty excited. I had never been to a ballet and I figured since I already knew the music and the basic storyline it would be a good introduction. And it was. Except... I honestly still had the story of the Care Bears Nutcracker Suite in my mind and I was pretty confused at parts. Also, I couldn't get over the fact that Dr. Drosselmeyer looked a bit sinister throughout (a little like the evil vizier in the Care Bears). Is he supposed to? Despite that, I did, however, fall in love with ballet.

Last night I went to see the Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center again. I had forgotten how much the story really doesn't make much sense, but remembered that it also doesn't really matter. Since I have now seen the ballet several times, I was able to pay attention to some other things, such as the people sitting around me and their reactions, as well as various parts of the ballet I had missed before. So, ladies and gentlemen, I present last night's highlights:

1. The little girls in their formal little Christmas dresses, some of them probably seeing a ballet for the first time. Their little eyes were wide with excitement going in, and even wider with wonder coming out.

2. The snow prince. He was dynamite.

3. When the snow queen did her very elegant blind twist and jump (I wish I knew the term for this because it was much more elegant than I'm making it sound), landing delicately on the snow king's shoulder with no hint of a bobble. Truly impressive.

4. The reaction of the septuagenarian sitting behind me when the Nutcracker Prince came on stage in the second act. (He merely said what we all were thinking) "Did you see his glutes, dear? Check out those glutes! I mean, that's impressive." It was hard for me not to giggle a little bit. It was impressive. With him clad in white tights, he looked like a piece of sculpted marble. (I probably should be blushing with that description, but I'm not.) One of the reasons I love ballet is the incredible athleticism mixed with delicate grace. It is absolutely mind-blowing what they do while looking so beautiful.

5. The Russian dance. Always the Russian dance.

6. The Grand Pas De Deux. For some reason last night it made me cry. It was beautiful. The music was incredibly moving and the dancing was lovely. I am always taken with the idea of the male lead doing everything he can to make the female lead look at beautiful as possible: their lines, the lifts, everything. They were a great pair.

7. The Nutcracker Prince's solo following the Pas De Deux. I couldn't help it: the thought came into my mind, "This is where he proves he's more than a pretty pair of glutes." Very impressive. He was super tall (which you didn't realize until Clara stood next to him and came up to his waist) and yet incredibly light on his feet.

8. All the little kid ballerinas. Adorable. I wanted to eat all of them.

Thanks, M, for organizing such a fun night!