Still Nuts For The Nutcracker

When I was a four-year-old NYC beginner ballet student my mother took me to see New York City Ballet’s version of The Nutcracker. And I fell in love. Twenty years later, I finally went back and fell for it all over again.

The moment the lights came on and I heard those familiar Christmas tunes, my eyes welled with tears. I remembered being a little girl and wanting nothing more than to be Clara in a pair of pointe shoes of my own.

A few years later, I danced in my slippers for the “Waltz of the Flowers” at my ballet studio’s recital. And finally, as a teen, I performed that same song, but in pointe shoes. It was one of my happiest ballet memories ever.

Seeing The Nutcracker in the 2008 season brought me back to why I wanted to dance in the first place—simply because ballet is beautiful. In Candace Bushnell’s new book One Fifth Avenue, the character Enid Merle comments that seeing the ballet is so wonderful that it’s almost meditative. I totally agree. The costumes, music, sets and flawless technique of NYCB’s dancers were absolutely mesmerizing. I also sat behind Kelly Rippa, who was taking her kids to see the show. I can’t wait to continue the tradition and one day bring my children to see this timeless ballet.

Do you remember the first time you saw The Nutcracker, or what inspired you to want to be a ballerina? Let us know on the DS message board!