The Nutcracker -- New York City Ballet

Thursday, December 5th, Kris (my mother-in-law) and I went to see the New York City Ballet perform George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. She got us tickets to go as a birthday present for me. It was the perfect event to go to for a girl's night out. We had a lot of fun, and the performance was wonderful. I think it's safe to say we both loved it!

Before heading into the David H. Koch theater at Lincoln Center we stopped at Starbucks to grab a hot chocolate and a caramel apple spice cider along with a couple treats. It was all delicious, especially the caramel apple spice cider. Oh my word that stuff is like heaven in your mouth! It's bad that I now know how delicious it is, because there is a Starbucks on every other corner in NY. It will be hard to resist.

Our seats were on the front row of fourth level and slightly to the right of the stage. They were really great seats. Kris brought a small pair of binoculars so we could really see the dancers and their costume's up close.

Here is the brief narrative of the ballet from the NYCB's website if you aren't familiar with the story:

ACT I -- It’s a snowy Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum home, and Dr. and Frau Stahlbaum and their children, Marie and Fritz, are welcoming their guests to a holiday party. There are games and gifts for the children, and dancing for everyone. Marie’s beloved godfather, Herr Drosselmeier, introduces her to his young nephew and gives her a wonderful present: a handsome wooden Nutcracker.

After the party, Marie falls asleep on the sofa with her Nutcracker. Suddenly, she sits up — something is not right. Out of nowhere, giant mice scurry into the room, and the Christmas tree begins to grow, higher and higher, until it towers over Marie. Everything in the room disappears except for Fritz’s toy soldiers and the Nutcracker — all now as big as Marie. The Nutcracker leads the toy soldiers into battle with the mice, and Marie helps him by throwing her slipper at the fierce Mouse King, who the Nutcracker then slays. Now that the Mouse King is dead, an ancient spell has been broken, and the Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome prince. As he presents Marie with the Mouse King’s crown, she recognizes him as Herr Drosselmeier’s nephew. The children enter a beautiful forest, where the snowflakes dance a lovely waltz and guide Marie and the Prince toward the Christmas Star.

ACT II -- Marie and the Prince arrive in the Land of Sweets and are greeted by the beautiful Sugarplum Fairy and all the other inhabitants of her realm. The Prince tells the story of the battle with the mice, describing how Marie helped him defeat the Mouse King. Everyone is delighted that the Prince and Marie are safe, and the Sugarplum Fairy leads them to a glittering throne, where they can enjoy cakes and candies. Everyone dances for the two children: Hot Chocolate from Spain, Chinese Tea, Coffee from Arabia, the Candy Canes, the Marzipan Shepherdesses, and Mother Ginger, with her eight little polichinelles. Then comes the Waltz of the Flowers, with a shimmering Dewdrop dancing among the lovely blooms, and finally, the Sugarplum Fairy returns with her Cavalier to perform a majestic dance. It’s time for Marie and the Prince to say goodbye. Everyone returns to bid them farewell, and they soar off in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer.

The dancers were amazing, the costumes fun and the sets beautiful. It's hard to decide which dance was my favorite! I loved the snowflakes dancing in the falling snow during the Snowflake Waltz, the dewdrop and roses dancing during the Waltz of the Flowers and both of the Sugar Plum Fairy's dances.

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It was really fun to watch the 50 children dancers from the School of American Ballet. They did an excellent job and made me smile more than once.

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Right before the mice appear, the Christmas tree grows from 12 feet to 40 feet high by rising up through the stage.

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The mice made me laugh as they scurried around the stage and the little soldiers were cute.

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The dancer that played Mother Ginger was actually a man. The frame for the dress weighs 40 pounds and the eight little dancers hide inside the skirt until they come out to dance.

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The final scene depicts all the characters waving the Nutcracker Prince and Marie off as they fly away in a sleigh pulled by reindeer.

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After the performace, we wandered around the foyer of the theater a bit to look at the costumes they had on display. We saw the Sugar Plum Fairy's final costume along with that of her Cavalier.

The other costumes they had on display were that of the dewdrop that dances with the flowers and one of the male chocolate character's costumes.

We wandered out on the theater's balcony to get a better view of the center square at Lincoln Center. The Metropolitan Opera building was decorated with a Christmas tree above their door. 

When we got back to the apartment we found Layne (my father-in-law) and Brian waiting for us. They had gone to see the movie "Gravity" (which they said was really good) and had picked up some raspberries and vanilla ice cream for us all to enjoy. I would say that it was a successful evening for everyone.