I gotta tell you, I thought this one was a lost cause. I took my oldest daughter to see The Nutcracker, the beloved Christmas ballet, when she was about 6. She and her father were so loud during the performance, I wanted to smack the two of them. The only reason I didn’t is because I thought they were quieter asleep than they would be awake. That’s right, they both fell asleep during the performance.
The Sugar Plum Fairy’s throne
Now, as if this wasn’t bad enough, this was not your local elementary school’s performance. We were sitting in amazing seats at the Southern Ballet Company’s performance. With a retired Sugar Plum Fairy, who had for many years performed with the Southern Ballet Company. Can you say mortified? I know I could.
I hesitated when Eilis’ girl scout troop leader came up with this particular trip, but it was a local ballet company, and each of the girls has a classmate in the ballet company. If nothing else, I thought they’d enjoy seeing kids they knew perform.
Well, they LOVED it! Granuaile sat mesmerized by every twirl and every costume. Eilis laughed and clapped, and not only enjoyed seeing her friend Alexandra perform as Fritz, but loved every minute of it.
My faith in this holiday tradition has been restored! The performance was fabulous, the girls had a wonderful time, and their dad, who was left home due to his prior unacceptable sleepy behavior, ended a wonderful day with good news of his own, and dinner out for everyone!
What a great day to help kick off the Christmas season!
Eilis and the Sugar Plum Fairy
Jordan signs their program from the afternoon
Granuaile meets the Sugar Plum Fairy
If you are in the South Jersey area, tickets can still be purchased to see the remaining performances of this wonderful production. Visit http://www.balletnj.org/ to get your tickets!
Oh – on a side note – this was a special girl scout event, and it was incredible! The Artistic Director, David Gallagher, took the girls backstage and told them the story of The Nutcracker. He showed them some of the incredible costumes, explaining that some of the fabrics used cost $50 a yard! After a demonstration by some of the ballerinas, he took the kids out to the theatre to see the dancers warm up, and he explained every step and every excercise. When it was all over, the girl scouts got to line up and have their photos taken on stage with the Sugar Plum Fairy herself! The kids LOVED it!
There is a sugar plum fairy in the Nutcracker?