Certain Chicago holiday traditions are sacrosanct in this household: Buying a fluffy tree at Home Depot (don’t judge), collecting miniature glass animals at the Christkindlmarket, drinking out of boots at samesuch market during daylight hours (don’t judge), dashing between the gorgeous international Christmas trees at the MSI, and absolutely- absolutely– sighing our way through the Joffrey Ballet’s magical The Nutcracker.
It’s also one of the few family traditions which is Gals Only. (For reasons that have nothing to do with gender, and instead have more to do with the age of one family member and the imminent tantrum of a certain mother if she had to remain home with said napping family member.)
This was Nora’s third year seeing the The Nutcracker and, since her four year-old viewing, has become a walking wiki of this particular production. (“Okay, okay, this is the part when Clara hides under the blanket from the dancing rats- wasn’t the couch closer to the tree last year?” “Mom! Mom! You think that gingerbread boy is adorable- he’s coming on soon, just wait!”) And I was downright stoked to bring Susannah this year who, for her part, has dutifully studied Nora’s notes, Nora’s hummed renditions, and Nora’s in-chair ballet-along moves. I’m so glad she came with us this year for another reason, too: this is the very last year of the current Nutcracker incarnation, the one with Robert Joffrey’s original choreography. (I have no doubt that we’ll adore next year’s Nutcracker ballet as well, but this one is just so, so special.)
We spent the entire show snugged up together (with a fair bit of lap-sitting), enjoying Tchaikovsky’s score (performed live by the Chicago Philharmonic), and I wrapped the coziness of the production and my girls around me like a blanket. Full disclosure: it turns out that Susannah was coming down with a fairly awful stomach bug and her snuggling and quietude was a direct precursor to that. (Is it still wrong to have enjoyed it nonetheless?)
Even with an imminent illness, we applauded along for the vibrant Russian dancers, ooh-ed and aah-ed at the glittering snow, and thoroughly enjoyed the antics of Mother Ginger’s errant children. It was a joy to share my favorite dances with Susannah for the very first time- among them the Coffee and Tea dancers and the famed Grand pas de deux of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker Prince. But the girls’ absolute favorite part was the actual dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. My favorite part? Watching them come to rapt attention, lean forward, and quietly sing along with doot-doot-doots of their own (earning tolerant smiles from patrons around us).
(photo credit: Cheryl Mann)
The Joffrey Ballet’s The Nutcracker runs around two hours, but what a dreamlike, hypnotic way to spend those two hours- and what a spectacular tradition I’m lucky enough to pass on to my own sugar plum fairies.
If you go:
- Through December 27th, 2015
- at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy, Chicago
- www.joffrey.org/nutcracker
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