Nutcracker 2025

Last year, as you may remember, we got home from Quebec just in time (literally…they raced in after intermission) for the girls to go watch their friends in the Nutcracker, but of course they didn't get to participate themselves. And Junie's teacher had told her Junie would have been Clara if we hadn't been in Quebec. So that was a little sad. But, now all the girls are beyond the "Clara" stage, they get to dance the harder Second Act roles…including, sometimes, with partners! And that has been very fun for them!

It was also weird this year because Nutcracker was after Christmas! The performance was at a new theater they haven't used before and somehow they couldn't get on the schedule early enough, or something. So it was weird to have rehearsals leading up to Christmas and then a break and then suddenly the performances on the 26th and 27th when we are usually getting to, finally, take a break from everything! I didn't like it. But I think it will be back to normal next year.

Teddy helped out with Party Boys again this year, and Ziggy, under duress, joined him. (That's Ziggy next to Teddy, both in turquoise coats, in the picture above.) Ziggy protested SO much when he found out we'd volunteered him. He complained and complained about how he HATED dancing, and he HATED performing, and everyone would clap for him, which he would hate, and everyone would come up and tell him "good job" afterwards, which he would also hate. I knew he'd be fine once he went to a rehearsal, but it was still hard not to outright laugh at all his manufactured complaints. (I told him, "Actually, no one might tell you 'good job' at all. They might not even notice you. Everyone is just mostly there to watch their own kids." Ha!) He went glumly to the first rehearsal and came back saying that he loved dancing and wanted to do it again next year. And when the girls' friend Cora came over the next day, literally the first words he said to her were, "Cora, guess what? I do ballet." Oh Ziggy. No matter how many times I am right about something, he still never believes me the next time.

Not only did Ziggy NOT mind the clapping and the being on stage, he positively fished for "good jobs" by saying "Did you see me? Did you like my dancing?" to everyone he met after the first act. So that's…good? I guess? Ha. 

I took pictures during the dress rehearsal as I usually do, but I warn you, they aren't very good. Something about the lighting really threw my camera settings off and I couldn't quite adjust. So everyone looks either pale and sickly, or purple, or blown-out and bright…oh well.

Ziggy looking for me in the audience

None of my girls are small enough to be Party Girls anymore, but it was fun because they did all get to be in that first act in other parts, so they could go to rehearsal with the little boys. Daisy and Junie were the Doll and Wolf, respectively (the mechanical wind-up toys Herr Drosselmeyer brings to impress the party guests), and Goldie was a maid.

They got to be wheeled out in these life-size gift boxes, which has always seemed to me like it would be fun.

I remember watching the Doll dance when my girls were little and thinking the girl who danced it was SO grown-up and impressive! And now that's Daisy!

Here's a tiny bit of the doll dance so you can see her.

Junie was a very scary wolf. The wolf costume was too small for her, and the head is heavy and hot, so she hated dancing in it. She couldn't spread her legs all the way to leap, and she couldn't even see very well. Ha! But she was fun to watch anyway. I liked the part where she chases the doll.

(This is in the other cast, so it's still Junie as wolf, but a different girl dancing the doll.)

Daisy blowing mechanical kisses

Goldie was such a cute maid!

Headed onstage

Telling the children a very interesting story (I could tell because she was moving the Nutcracker up and down and having him eat the cake and so forth)

Goldie was not entirely thrilled with her parts this year. She didn't have anything she felt truly excited about. They picked younger Claras this year, girls not en pointe yet, and that left the girls who have been dancing pointe for about a year, like Goldie, in a sort of weird in-between place. But I think she ended up having fun in her parts anyway. She got to be the Solo Jester in two of the casts. And she was in the Waltz of the Flowers corps. Plus the maid and the Chinese dance. She was great as the Jester! So graceful!

https://youtu.be/ZJQ4c69PdcI

And I like the new Chinese costumes (with parasols!)

(Here she is not in costume for some reason. There are always people in various states of undress, or wrong-dress, during the dress rehearsal!)

Do you see this funny dog-man? (They call it a "gremlin," actually.) It is Daisy! We thought she was SO funny in this dance. She disliked the gremlin costume almost as much as Junie disliked the wolf. It's hot and hard to dance in. And of course, it's hardly a beautiful and graceful part! But she gave it her best. I kept trying to imagine how the actual person in the costume looked. (Daisy head is in the gremlin's hat.) But the placement of the costume head and eyes were just too powerful and I never could see this as Daisy. Only gremlin.

Here she is out of the costume for a minute.

Daisy and Junie's best and favorite roles were in Dance of Mirlitons (it means reed flutes, if that means anything to you—which does not appear to have anything to do with the dance itself, but whatever—we've already established that a coherent story is not the Nutcracker's forte). They got to do partnering with their friend Andrew (he was Fritz when Daisy was Clara a few years ago), who is a very good dancer, and they liked it SO much! It is hard work even though it often looks so effortless on stage, like the boy just lifts the girl up—but the girl has to do a lot to get into the right position and making the lifting even possible! So there were some tears and frustration during rehearsals as they tried to get it right. It's hard because when you are dancing with a partner and you make a mistake, there's no hiding it or just hoping no one noticed. And you don't want your partner to be annoyed with you! But it's also extra fun because you have the ability to do such impressive things, and that excitement of getting it right with another person. Plus, it was fun for Junie and Daisy to do this dance with each other! I think overall, they like partnering even more than dancing alone!

This dance is such a fun one because their movements are synched together so well. You can't tell that well from the picture, but it's fun to watch in the video:

https://youtu.be/bl0MU2uHVk8

(Note that Andrew is just marking through his part in some of that…everyone was pretty tired at this point in the rehearsal. My favorite is watching Junie walk offstage at the end; she looks SO floppy and tired)

A few more Mirliton pictures:

(Andrew still has his Nutcracker Prince costume on here)

Daisy's "shoulder sit" (this one took many rehearsals to get right, but they finally got so they could do it reliably every time!)

This lift is called the "Fish." I don't think it looks at all like a fish! Ha!

Daisy and Junie were also in the Snow Corps (as they have been several times before; apparently this neon glowing scene is the only picture I got)…

…and they were "Roses" in the Waltz of the Flowers, which is a demi-solo role (meaning they have special extra parts the ensemble doesn't do). I loved their rose costumes! I love all the Flower costumes, really. And it seems right my flower-girls should dance in it, doesn't it? (I count Junipers as flowers too. They're just as pretty.)

Junie sees me :)

The girls don't like this part—they have to go across the whole stage really fast in a circle like this, en pointe, and it's really hard to keep their balance!

Ah, there's Flower-Goldie

Goldie again

The Mirliton Section of Finale, minus Andrew who had to be Nutcracker Prince in it 

And the last finale! Such a good show!

And finally…a few more pictures in semi-improved light so we can actually see how pretty all the costumes are! This theater was nice because they had actual dressing rooms (rather than the hall and locker rooms they made do with at the old Junior High!).

Snowflakes

Doll

Flower and Rose

Chinese

Mirliton

And that, finally, is the end!…Except for Teddy, changed out of his costume and ready to go get in the car and enjoy a well-deserved late-night hamburger!