My 'Nutcracker' tradition won't die after all
Andrea Cillo of the New York Dance Theatre and Don DeVon of the Dance Theatre of Harlem play the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier in Frank Ohman's 2013 production of the George Balanchine version of "The Nutcracker" at Hofstra University's John Cranford Adams Playhouse. Credit: New York Dance Theatre
'The Nutcracker" ballet never gets old, no matter how many times I see it or which company performs it.
Long Island offers some of the best performances of this holiday classic, a fairy tale set to the enchanting music of Tchaikovsky.
"The Nutcracker" is the official start of the holiday season. I have seen versions at Hofstra University's Adams Playhouse, LIU Post's Tilles Center, Stony Brook University's Staller Center and Islip's Old Town Hall. There is no need to travel to New York's Lincoln Center when we have such talent right in our own backyard. This year, I'm getting ready to buy my tickets for the Ovations Dance Repertory Company, which performs with a full orchestra in mid-December at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts.
When the curtain rises and I hear the first notes of Tchaikovsky's overture, I am transfixed by the ballroom dancers and a glittering tree. In a later scene, the snowflakes gently fall onto the shoulders of the Snow Queen and her court.
If the holidays are about magic, then dancing dolls, wooden soldiers and mischievous mice fill the bill nicely. The appearance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Land of Sweets in Act 2 is a scene that sparks a happy holiday, all-over-warm feeling.
When my two boys, Steven and Sean, now in their 20s, were young and I could drag them where I wanted, they attended "The Nutcracker." Their favorite part, of course, was the fight scene between the mice, Mouse King and Prince. By ages 7 or 8, they wanted no part of my holiday ballet tradition. I enlisted my husband, Keith, for a time, and he came reluctantly, once to New York City and sometimes on Long Island. He begged off once our two daughters reached about 5 years old.
With two little girls, Sarah and Sophia, just 16 months apart in age, the ritual became even more sacred to me. I found myself anticipating the event several days ahead, and attending in style was a big part of it. I selected the frilliest party dresses I could find and afford for my the girls. One year they even wore faux fur coats and carried hand muffs out of respect for the classical elegance of the ballet.
The girls are now 15 and 16. They still attend with me, although their enthusiasm has waned. Two years ago, I considered skipping the performance. No one in the family was lining up for tickets, and I did not want to go alone. But to my surprise, when I mentioned to my youngest daughter that perhaps we would skip "The Nutcracker," she turned to me aghast and said, "Mom, we can't miss it. It is our tradition."
Looks like I will attend "The Nutcracker" for many years to come, and I could not be happier. My thanks to all those professional and amateur performers who allow this bit of holiday magic to live on in my heart, in my children's hearts, and on Long Island.
Reader Janine Logan lives in Babylon.
