Visions of Sugar Plums...

Our interest in the Nutcracker began last Christmas when we stumbled on a Battle of the Nutcrackers Marathon on TV.  Watching about 5 different world-class ballet companies and their interpretation of this story made us real experts.  And then we got the book.  The Nutcracker and its characters are household names around here and a regular thing that gets played/acted out in the girls' rotation of imagination.

We knew this was the year to take the girls to see their very first ballet...

We have a local and beautiful performing arts center where The Nutcracker is performed each Christmas.  We bought the tickets months ago and have been counting down excitedly since.  We ladies spent the morning painting our nails, curling our hair and picking out our best dresses for the show.

Our seats were up in the balcony, but we actually thought we may have had the best view looking down on the whole stage.  When the lights went out and the familiar music started playing, Delia was actually trembling with anticipation besides me!  It was so fun to experience this with the girls.  

I always love the scene that shows Clara her first glimpse of the fantasy world-- where the ballerinas are posed in a foggy winter world and snow actually falls!

Each part was colorful and fun to see-- the high-energy Russian dancers, the Chinese ribbon twirlers, the Sugar Plum Fairy, etc.  Delia was most looking forward to seeing this character (above).  She was called "Mother Ginger" in our show.  She's a lady who floats out wearing a huge dress, from which her dozen children emerge to dance.  Ella said her favorite part was the end where the whole cast comes out to bow over and over.

  

Going for a Saturday matinee offered us a special opportunity to attend the "Sugar Plum Fairy's Party" on stage after the performance.  All the principal dancers were lined up to meet and greet their little fans.  The ballerinas complimented the girls' fancy dresses and chatted with them about their favorite parts.  They answered questions and showed Delia how their ballet slippers work.  They signed Ella's program and posed for pictures.  The men who played the princes in the show told Ella and Delia they looked like princesses, which made the girls just beam.

We even got to meet the REAL Sugar Plum Fairy, her prince and Clara!  It was impressive to me that the dancers would so generously give their time to kindly and genuinely interact with the kids.  This made such an impression on these girls, I do wonder what will be remembered more from this experience - watching the show or meeting the cast!