The Nutcracker

Another one of my favorite things about Christmas and art, is the Nutcracker. My goal is to make it to one of the live productions one year. It doesn't even have to be in the center front -- just somewhere that I have a good view.

I make my family suffer through the dollar DVD I purchased a couple of years ago, since I can never find the one with Baryshnikov. sigh. I figure he's the best there ever was...

Ballet is an art form in and of itself, though I find that the costumes are usually too...skin tight. So, I guess in that way I'm not a true fan of Ballet. Oh well...grin.

I think Ballet is amazing though -- I was going to learn it when I was a little girl. I remember asking my dad for ballet slippers. Everyone gave me that look...you know when you're a chubby kid and ask for something that a slim and graceful child would get? sigh. So, I got that look a lot. I didn't get the slippers either, but I did get a box for them...go figure.

Anyway, the Nutcracker is my favorite Ballet. It's probably the only ballet I've ever seen, but it's still my favorite. In looking up the information on it, I discovered that there are a couple of different versions. I was hoping I would find out the first or original one, but there isn't such a thing. Each version depended (apparently) on the king or ruler of the land at the time. I had no idea it was so politically involved.



All I can say is that if you love ballet, you'll love this. My favorite part is where the dramatics are all over and they're in the princes kingdom, and they are watching performances of different dances. I especially love the oriental dance (I don't know if it's Chinese or Japanese...)with the fans. That's amazing. I also love the Russian dance.

If you haven't had a chance to see it or watch it this year, go rent it and give it a try. There's a version with McCauley Caulkin in it, but I don't think it's very good. Baryshnikov's the best.

Hope you had a marvelous (and safe) Christmas!!

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