The Holiday Tradition of the Nutcracker Ballet
After an invigorating morning with the Adirondack Runners, I donned a suit, red Santa hat, and a name tag to head to the Charles Wood Theater. I had signed up to volunteer as an usher for the Adirondack Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker Sunday performance. As I learned from talking with volunteers, the Adirondack Ballet Theatre is the non-profit offshoot of the Dance Center in Queensbury, helping to augment the cost of dance classes and orchestrate performances such as this one.
Passing by the box office, I chatted with Emily Murphy about a recent Taylor Swift film that premiered on Disney+, given that she was huge fan of the singer and songwriter. Afterward, I connected with the other volunteers and the house manager, Ron Smith, gathered a hand full of playbills, and stood near stage right. When the doors opened, I greeted hundreds of people heading to their seats, providing playbills for the show, and wished them enjoyment of the performance. One couple exuded that they had been to this show for twenty years, knowing that there were many more attendees that share the tradition. One of the attendees, Sandra Hutchinson the assistant publisher of the Chronicle newspaper, complimented me about my essay that was featured on the paper’s frontpage about my recent election journey. Her compliment was personally endearing and heartwarming. Within a few weeks, I will be sworn in as the first openly gay man as Ward 5 Councilperson.
Before the show began, a quartet from the show slowly marched toward the stage, singing holiday tunes to a captivated audience. The were dressed in their elegant costumes for the performance, creating a wonderful prologue to the show. As the singers exited the stage, the curtains unfurled and show began. The story of the Nutcracker was originally created by Ernst Hoffmann’s short story from 1816, titled The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, eventually being retold by the writer Alexander Dumas and adapted into a two-act ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1892.
Through a two-hour performance that featured gorgeously decorated sets, awe-inspiring ballet escapades, and an incredibly timeless score, the audience was whisked into an imaginary world filled with a fairies and sweets. As New York Times critic, Alastair Macaulay, wrote in 2010, “its amalgam of children, parents, toys, a Christmas tree, snow, sweets and Tchaikovsky's astounding score is integral to the season of good will that runs from Thanksgiving to New Year.”
Two of the guest artists in this production, Leonel Linares and Misa Mochizuki, delivered astronomical performances that showcased their impeccable talent and strength. Leonel is an award-winning dancer that currently serves as the Executive Director of Sol Dance Center in Astoria, New York, while Misa, originally from Japan, trained at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City and has performed with nearly a dozen companies throughout the region. The rest of the dancers were from the Dance Center of Queensbury, ranging in ages from toddlers to high schoolers. After the show, I spoke with a volunteer whose daughter performed in this production for nearly twelve years. Her daughter was now in college, but her mother still volunteers her time to ensure it continues for future generations.
Ballet performances of the Nutcracker, as Alastair Macaulay of the New York Times alluded, are a holiday tradition. According to a website directory for performances, there are several thousand shows in every state in the United States as well as the world. And the production in Glens Falls by the Adirondack Ballet Theatre and the Dance Center in Queensbury has become a holiday classic fully of astounding dancers and decades of history that will continue for years to come.
