Nutcracker

WOW.

Seriously....about all I can manage is WOW.

I have wanted to see The Nutcracker for so many years and it finally happened!!!!

I was a bit worried because the news was claiming we'd have 6" of snow that day here in the valley (yikes!) with at least a foot more in the mountains. Well, I am not sure how much the mountains ended up receiving but I think we had about an inch and it melted off the roads in no time flat.

I was so excited that I was all but jumping up and down by the time I arrived at the Covey Center and luckily found Cynthia and the girls just pulling into a spot so I was able to park next to them. Once inside it was a bit of a madhouse with little girls all dressed up and a long table of bling that had quite the crowd around it. There were nutcrackers for sale, mini tiaras, dolls, costume jewelry, roses and poinsettias....trust me, they were making money over there. I ended up getting a tiny ballerina doll (I have a thing for ballerinas) but before anyone has a cow she was under $10. Its a lovely little souvenier that doesn't take up much space and through it I was supporting the arts!

Anyway....we found our seats and I held my breath as the prelude music began. Cynthia's daughter Kat was not so impressed as the prelude went on and on and the curtain failed to rise! However rise it eventually did and the performance flew by all too soon. My friend's son Cortney had several dances in the program and the girls had me whisper to them each time he came on the stage so they could be sure to watch him. I'd never seen him dance before, though his mom had assured me that he was a fantastic dancer...and she wasn't wrong. For the Arabian dance he kept lifting his partner up onto his shoulders and around the stage and managed to make it look effortless (he afterwards admitted to me that he was exhausted but he definitly did not look it on stage!)

Cynthia had purchased my ticket along with hers so we could all sit together and when I asked her what I owed her she asked if I would be disappointed if that was my Christmas present. Disappointed?!?!? But then she had no idea just what it meant for me to be able to see that ballet...I know she knew I was excited and really wanted to go but, in a really weird way, it was the best present she could have possibly given me. Seriously, how do you put a price on fulfilling childhood wishes?

We all attended a "tea party" afterwards where girls could get their pictures taken with Clara and the Sugar Plum fairy. Other cast members were on hand as well but were pretty much off to one side and being ignored. I handed Cynthia my camera and had her snap a shot of Cortney, his partner and I. Honestly, as good as the entire performance was his really was my favorite (and no its not because I know the guy!) the Arabian dance is my favorite piece from the ballet and I was just thrilled that an excellent performance was attached to it. Of course after this shot was taken the girls had to tease me because Cortney had glitter all over himself and when I hugged him I guess I got a little sparkly myself!



I pretty much had the music from Nutcracker in my head for the rest of the weekend. In fact I am kind of kicking myself that I didn't grab the CD and bring it to work with me since I'm pretty much spending today and tomorrow in the warehouse doing inventory.

All-in-all I had a wonderful time and am looking forward to seeing it again next year. All of the fun Saturday made up for the fact that I spent all of Sunday feeling like crap with a bad headache....no matter how poopy I felt I was still on a cloud with snippets of Tchaikovsky running through my head....