It's That Time of Year Again!

I love Christmas....it's a time when you can pull out all the stops and "glitterize" everything, everything sparkles and shines. It's also time for my favorite ballet...the Nutcracker. I love the ballet. I danced for 18 years and had my sights set for a professional career until a ridiculous accident decided my fate would take me in another direction. But once you've had a sip of the dance punch it's in you always. Of all ballets, the Nutcracker is such a visual feast- it's a ballet that defines the word "imagination." Over the top stage sets, the most colorful costumes...absolute yumminess!

Where else do you experience a kaleidoscope of colors and seasons?  Waltz of the Flowers....Waltz of the Snowflakes...the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy... 113 years ago this was made possible.

The story was adapted from E.T.A. Hoffman’s 1816 play,  “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”...  “a tale of an unhappy girl named Marie whose only love is a nutcracker doll.”  French novelist Alexandre Dumas rewrote the German play, making it sweeter. With this version of the tale, Petitpa got to work, commissioning a less than enthusiastic Tchaikovsky to write the music.

No matter how overdone, it remains my favorite! Somebody wake up the Sugar Plum Fairy...it's that time of year again!

Until next time...

Kathleen