The Nutcracker

One of my resolutions this year was to stop rotting my brain and attempt to find ways to "be smarter" or at least be able to engage in a conversation with normal adults without sounding like Beavis and/or Butthead.  I read at one point, that reading, listening, seeing, or experiencing an event is not necessarily enough to engage your brain and really create "learning" or "smartitude" (yup, made that up so you could see the effects of semi-isolation on my brain).  I believe the statistic is something like you remember 10% of what you read.  However, after learning or experiencing something, if you critique, analyze, write about, or teach someone else about what you just learned, the chances of remembering is much higher.  It also flexes your critical reasoning abilities which is really important in just about everything in life.  

So, while I enjoyed watching The Nutcracker with my daughter, I thought perhaps it would be smart of me to reflect upon my experience.  

Now please remember: I am not a professional dancer, nor a professional critic, nor do I purport to be.  So instead of a critique, I will simply recall some of my observations.

1. Ballerinas have calves like bowling balls.

Holy crap, I just kept saying "Oh my goodness!  Look at her calves!"  The muscle definition in the legs of a ballerina is absolutely phenomenal.  No wonder people take barre classes for a workout.  I'm sure it's nothing compared to these women who train en pointe for who knows how many hours a day, but if I could have just a little bit of that sign me up!

2. Story telling through dance can be wonderfully abstract or very straightforward and mix them together beautifully and still make sense.

I loved how the story was told in such an abstract manor and pieces of the dance had to be interpreted in order to create the story, however there were parts in which the boys were mad and, in order to illustrate that, they all fell to the floor and began pounding their fists and kicking their legs.  Hmmmmm, I wonder where I've seen that before?  I had to laugh because the interpretation was all of the sudden so literal.  These pieces were woven together so well that they created a beautiful unique whole.

3. The Asian dolls, once again, struck me as a racist interpretation when they came out.

Maybe it's just me, maybe it's that I was raised in a generation where everything had to be super, extra PC and if there is just one smattering or inkling of something that may not be quite kosher, it is wrong.  Because when I think about it, they can't very well change the music and if they didn't have the dolls, that would just be way more racist.  If the dolls were dressed any other way would it change the ballet?  Were these actual tradition costumes from something I just an ignorant to?  I didn't seem to have a problem with the other dolls.  Oh well, if after all of this time others didn't have an issue with it, why should I?  They are just dolls after all.

4. The balcony has to be the best place to be because you can not only see the entire stage but also the pit.

It was really, really cool to be up on the first balcony.  We got a great view of the entire stage with no one's head in our way.  The angle and point of view was great.  But, maybe even cooler than that, was that we could see directly down into the pit.  So when there was an interesting sound or instrument we couldn't identify, all we had to do was look.  My daughter wanted to know how there was a sound that sounded just like horses, "check out those doohickeys the percussion guy has, that's where the sound is coming from."  Yes, I use only technical terminology.  

5. People can disagree on their interpretations but still adore the story and the dancing.

I know, The Nutcracker, what is there to disagree upon?  But we did.  Partially on purpose.  I would ask things like "do you think everything is getting bigger or is she getting smaller?"  "How do you think those rats got so big?"  "How do you think the nutcracker came to life?"  "Why do you think she had to go to sleep before all of this started?" "How did the uncle end up on top of the clock?"  And then, I would try to play devil's advocate just to make my daughter think just a little bit more.  Turns out her view of the nutcracker is very similar to mine when I was little - What do you mean a DREAM?  HELLO, THE NUTCRACKER IS JUST MAGICAL!  I love the way kid's see things.

I really enjoyed attending the ballet and cannot wait to go back again, hopefully before the next Nutcracker showing!  

Do you go to The Nutcracker or other ballets?  What are your thoughts and observations?  (Remember like I said, I'm not trying to pretend I am a real critic with real opinions so please be nice.)