The Nutcracker

Today was a great day for our little ballerina. Last week, we purchased some tickets to a nearby production of "The Nutcracker" (in Gwinnett County). It was very good, and our seats were excellent - in the front row on the balcony. During the entire presentation, there was a live orchestra in the pit, playing the all-too-familiar music that even Madison could recognize. We'd been playing it this week in preparation, but she needed no help in identifying it when she heard the music: after all, she'd seen "Barbie: the Nutcracker," and "Angelina Ballerina's Nutcracker," and probably more. As for the live presentation that she finally got to see, Madison adored it, her eyes focused on the dancers and their movements. When she saw him enter, she called out, "Nutcracker!" She'd been waiting ever so anxiously to see this. Even last night before bed, she was saying, "Nutcracker!"

It was a nice performance - all the children were dressed up, including Madison, who got a lot of comments from complete strangers.

How much did she enjoy it? As soon as we got home, she put on her tutu and ballerina outfit! As a bonus, Daddy handed her one of these, which brought a big smile:

She was so grateful when she was handed a nutcracker - she looked at it with such reverence and looked to Mommy and Daddy and said quietly, "thank you!" It was so cute! She stood there with her nutcracker and started to do a little twirl right there - just as she saw Clara do earlier. She had a very memorable day, and got somewhat tired at the end of it too. Still, she was quite awake when Daddy started pulling out all the nutcrackers we've been collecting over the past few years or so. Some came from the Bombay Company during a big sale, and one set in particular came from when Mommy and Daddy attended "The Nutcracker" at the Fox Theater in Atlanta.

Above you can see her surprise at some of the nutcrackers in our collection. She's holding on to Clara, as Drosselmeyer and the Rat King look on. In the front of the crowd is her favorite. To the right here, you can see her dancing with him, twirling around and smiling sweeter than a sugar plum fairy. She's adopted this one in particular from the collection as her own. Some day, we'll take her to the Atlanta Ballet version, which was a great adaptation. But until then, the version we saw today was perfect for Madison - and all of us, actually. Ba-Ba and Nana enjoyed it very much as well. It was a nice time together to get into that Christmas spirit, and throw a little culture into Madison's life. She just loves dressing up and going to the theater - she was dragging all of us along because we were going too slow. "This way," she'd call out, and put us in our seats. And then, she'd sit neatly in her chair with her arms folded in her lap again. Daddy bought some popcorn to munch on, and there she sat, quietly taking it all in.

And just as Clara dreamed a fantastic fantasy that night, perhaps our little girl Madison tonight is taking flight upon a sleigh bed, being swept off to a snow-covered realm filled with graceful dancers, festive celebrations and music that warms the soul. Sweet dreams, Madison!