December 20, 2007
The Nutcracker mystique
Every year, in every major city and a bunch of smaller towns and cities in America, December is the time of The Nutcracker. Ballet companies stage lavish performances, schoolchildren are taken to matinees of the full version or, if they are lucky, abbreviated "kid-friendly" versions, and I believe that San Francisco even has a "Dance Your Own Nutcracker" in the same vein as the popular "Sing Your Own Messiah" at Easter. I was hoping that The Paramount in Austin would show some movies around Christmas this year, but apart from a weekend of White Christmas, the theater got turned over to The Nutcracker for the month.
What I keep wondering is, why is The Nutcracker such a popular choice? Are there no other winter-themed ballets, perhaps with a little more plot and storyline?
The first part of The Nutcracker sounds interesting when summarized: A young girl receives a strange soldier-shaped nutcracker for Christmas from her spooky uncle, and at night when everyone leaves, the nutcracker leaps into life and fights the evil rats and eventually carries the child away for a short trip to Fairyland, where she meets all manner of fantastic creatures. Wow. Doesn't that sound like fun?
But it is like those weak comedy films with the great high-concept setup for Act One, and then Act Two is represented by "Hilarity ensues." Beginning screenwriters who have tried to write one of these can tell you that trying to fill up the long, long Act Two (45-60 pages of script) with the requisite hilarity can cause you to become bogged down in no time, until you realize that you actually have to supply subplots and content and well-formed characters.
The Nutcracker, however, is a ballet and not a movie, so its second half can consist of nothing but specialty dances. There is no plot. There is no continuation of the story. Clara, the little girl, just sits on the sideline and watches a series of dances: one that's supposed to resemble ribbon candy, and one with Russian guys, and dances of various fairies and flowers, and that one moment where Mother Ginger (usually played by a special guest celebrity) shows up and all the kids in the audience wake up briefly for a quick laugh. At least, this is how I remember it. I don't even recall the ending to The Nutcracker, and this may be because I have never actually lasted until the end of the ballet. I do remember spending a lot of time staring at the program, trying to figure out how many more dances were on the agenda until the ending.
Admittedly I have not sat through The Nutcracker in years. I believe the last time I saw it performed live was when my little sister was in a production and played one of the little girls who receive dolls when Clara gets her nutcracker. (We called the dance she did the "Doll Sacrifice." My family is not very cultural.) We left after the first act, and I think my dad was napping even through that. I was probably in high school or maybe college.
My brother was in a production of Cinderella last year -- he played a wicked stepsister, and was absolutely perfect as comic relief. The middle of the ballet, the ballroom scenes, had a similar interlude of dances from various fairies, the four seasons, and I can't remember what else. This was the ballet school/company's big production and they were thus able to let every schoolchild and company member perform in at least one number. It went on for awhile -- my husband may have napped a bit -- but at least it was surrounded by the story of Cinderella, which has a plot and an ending.
And yet every single year, The Nutcracker gets dragged out again, and I assume the same people go to see it, and I also have to assume that it is a moneymaker and crowd-pleaser, otherwise it would not be so popular. Snce I am not a balletomane, I don't quite understand. Does Austin contain that many hundreds of people who love to sit through the same dances, perhaps choreographed in the same way, every single year? Are there no other winter-themed ballets to choose from?
Perhaps it's simply a matter of holiday tradition. There are people who watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and The Year without a Santa Claus every year without fail, people who like to reread A Christmas Carol or A Visit from St. Nick (or Cajun Night Before Christmas) every Christmas. If you love to watch good dancing, why not watch the same ballet every year as a way to celebrate the holidays?
(It also occurs to me that it might be a practical decision on the part of the ballet companies: you can reuse the sets and some costumes every year.)
The problem here is mine, then: Not being a ballet lover, it is hard for me to understand the desire to repeatedly watch something plotless (especially if it tricks you into thinking there might be a plot) and lengthy ... and then bring a bunch of small children along to watch it too. That may be the real issue for many of us: We were exposed to The Nutcracker as children, and were bored or disappointed or fell asleep (or all three), and we've never quite recovered from that initial exposure. So the question is not why The Nutcracker is a perennial ballet favorite -- it's why we think eight-year-olds will want to sit through three hours of dancing. After all, you might think I am crazy for wanting to sit through a 24-hour movie marathon every December (and I wouldn't argue), but at least I wouldn't assume kids -- or much of anyone else -- would want to join me.
Yet somehow, some kids do make it past this barrier as they grow up, and learn to love The Nutcracker as adults, or else it would still not be so popular. I wonder what happens to them to effect this change? If you're a fan of The Nutcracker, tell us some of the things you like about it. Perhaps you'll tempt me to give the ballet another chance.
Oh! Oh! Call on me! I have SO many answers for you about the usurping of the Paramount for Christmas 2007 for "The Nutcracker." First, I used to think about this ballet as you do. Boring. Except that I liked the music. Except that they trotted the music out for all these tasteless commercials. Anyway. I'm a season ticket holder and supporter of the ballet. So I'm prejudiced. But since the ticket is there every year, I go. And now I enjoy it! It puts me in a Christmas frame of mind. I can't wait for the mechanical dolls. I enjoy Russian and Arabian. I look for nuances in the Snow Queen's performance and the party kids. Other adults feel the same way.
And...it is in the Paramount because Bass closed after what I consider a contentious relationship with the community(I think UT should pay taxes on that building!) and Long Center is almost but not quite ready. In order to serve the demand we had to put on many more performances than in the Bass. And...had to add another after all were SOLD OUT. Big success. They couldn't fit Mother Ginger in the Paramount which gave FFP a year off from recruiting people like the mayor and Lance Armstrong to 'ride the skirt.' But they had snow fall on the audience and we all liked that.
I have seen many children who fidget and are more interested in the Nutcracker grandma bought for them in the lobby from the guild than the dance. But I have seen kids who BEG to be brought each year. And one year, right next to me was an eight-year-old or so boy. I thought "Okay, this won't be pretty." The child sat on the edge of his seat, rapt from beginning to end.
I missed the orchestra which had to be replaced with recorded music this year for space. But next year it will be back. I'll be waiting for the mechanical dolls, listening to the overture with pleasure and laughing at the famous politician/singer/public figure FFP has recruited to be Mother Ginger.
And, finally, yes, the Ballet is a money maker that helps let the non profit providing a professional dance company in our midst survive.
Well, no, not finally you should check out the film one of the Ballet Austin dancers made about guys consigned to the party scene at: http://www.myspace.com/Bloodygoodpictures
Hilarious and well done. Because imagine the dancers: doing umpteen performances every year.