the nutcracker.

the sunday before i left for christmas (the 20th), kyle and i went to see the nutcracker! we'd been talking about it for months and both of us love that ballet and tradition. so we decided we were going to dress up, wear her mom's fur coats, and go see the nutcracker by chicago's joffrey ballet.

i grew up with houston's version. every year starting when i was super young, my mom and i would go to the ballet. i loved the music, i love the dancers, i really loved the toe shoes, and everything about the tradition of going with my mom. every year, at intermission mom and i would pick out a new nutcracker to add to our collection as well. i'm not sure how many i have, but there are at least 15 nutcrackers representing that many years of attendance! at one point, my mom asked if we had to go since she was rather tired of going and i agreed... so it had been quite a few years since i'd been to see the nutcracker.

my nutcracker collection: there are two older ones that joined in from things my dad grew up with, but the majority were ones that mom and i collected over the years!



chicago's version was very good and i thoroughly enjoyed every single minute, it was no where near as good as houston's production. now, i may be totally biased, but...

in the lobby of the theater... our full length fur coats. the guy taking the pic asked if we wanted one without the coats on... ummmm, no!! that's the whole point is the coats! duhhhh...


in houston, clara receives toe shoes as her first present and a nutcracker doll from dosselmeyer. in chicago, she still receives the nutcracker doll, but she already has her toe shoes on at the beginning and she gets another doll who soon becomes forgotten. i notice the toe shoes, b/c i begged... begged... begged...my mother for years for toe shoes. you can even ask her. she'll probably roll her eyes. but, she made me wait. i had to go to ballet class and actually pass their levels before i could get my first pair. i swear, that's probably the only reason i did ballet for so long!

at our seats in front of the stage. the theater is beautiful!


more differences:

chicago: the introduction of little mini versions of the dances in the second half. dosselmeyer had a much bigger role, there was no cannon shot!, clara is carted off to dream land on a bed, the dances were named something different and since every ballet does their choreography differently so did chicago - but their arabian dance, chinese and russian dance was a little disappointing, and they didn't have bakers flying across the stage, and it ended with clara getting in to a hot air balloon... um, when did i enter oz??

in houston: there is a cannon that they shoot during the rat king and nutcracker king's fight. it makes a huge boom and it always made me jump out of my seat! clara was always carted off by a beautiful carriage in to the second act. the second act always had the best arabian dance - a couple and a teapot, and russian dancers - sometimes one, sometimes two or three and they did amazing dancing, and the chinese dance was awesome - they used swords and 'fought' and did acrobatics with the swords in hand. i can see it now! and at one point they have flying bakers/angels flying across the stage. and i must say houston has better costumes... and less male dancers, i think. and the ending: clara always gets back on the sleigh/carriage and they go back to the house scene and she is asleep by the tree and the tree goes back to normal size and so does her nutcracker doll.

and yes, i did buy myself a handsome nutcracker doll that is now lovingly placed on my fireplace mantel!

see, told you i might be slightly biased! did you ladies see the nutcracker when you were little?? what was your ballet like?