The Nutcracker Ballet

I went to see The Nutcracker Ballet last night and even though I've seen it at least four or five times before, it was the most magical thing I'd ever seen. The music starts and I get a silly grin on my face. It's like the first time I saw it all over again. I still remember that day. I was five or six and we were in Colorado for Thanksgiving. My parents didn't tell my sister & I where we were going. All we knew that we had to be dressed up and wait for my newborn little brother to go to sleep so we could leave. It was snowing really bad that day and it was slow going to get down to Colorado Springs. We sat up in the first row of the upper balcony. I was completely transfixed by the music, the set and the dancers. I don't think I blinked the whole time. Last night when we were watching it, I still got chills when the Christmas tree grew. I know how's it's done, but still. 

Last night performance was a little rough, but maybe it's because I've seen it so many times by this same company that I noticed the problems. The Snow Queen almost slipped on the falling snow. I wonder if I saw it because I was waiting for some one to slip on that  stuff. Then during the Waltz of the Flowers, the cavalier almost dropped the principle. He had her up over his head with just one hand and he just wasn't strong enough to hold her up. But for all that stuff it was still the most amazing thing. 

The Capitol Theater in Salt Lake has a program where you can go an meet the artists up on stage either before or after the ballet. Up until last night I always wanted to do that. I wanted to meet the dancers that were in my favorite ballet. But while I was watching last night I realized that maybe I don't want to meet them. For me, the little girl that plays Clara is the cutest little girl. The guy who plays the Nutcracker is extremely good looking (side note: Last night the Nutcracker was played by the same person who played Clara's father. I think that should always be the case. The whole second half of the ballet is a dream and the Nutcracker is her hero and at that age, a girl's father is most likely her biggest hero. Ok now back to my real line of thought...) Then you get to my favorite part of the whole ballet, the Russian dance or Trepak. In my mind (cause I alway sit too far away to see their faces) the men who dance the Russian dance are the sexist men alive. Then you come to the Sugar Plum Fairy. I my mind she is the sweetest and most beautiful woman. He cavalier is extremely good looking and they are completely in love. Even though I know that these thoughts aren't always the case, I prefer to keep them. Sometimes you just need something that will transport you out of your real life for a few hours into a world that it perfect and dreamlike.

It is now officially the Christmas season.