I remember vividly my first trip to see The Oakland Ballet’s Nutcracker. I was about seven years old and my mother dressed me in my new, red Christmas dress. We walked into the beautiful Paramount Theater and were greeted with the biggest Christmas tree I had ever seen covered in nutcracker ornaments and glittering lights. The low hum of eager children’s voices and their elegantly dressed parents filled the air. I floated up the grand staircase on a cloud of anticipation with my mother’s hand in mine. We found our seats, the lights lowered, and the magic began.
I watched the story unfold of a young girl named Clara, who lived in the past, but was not unlike myself. She too had a stinky younger brother who was always taking her toys and breaking them. Her family hosted holiday parties and her mysterious uncle brought the best toys; they could move and dance like humans. She too crept downstairs the night before Christmas only to fall asleep on the couch, but when she awoke she discovered that something magical had happened. The toys had become as big as she was and a battle was being fought just under the now towering Christmas tree between her beloved Nutcracker doll and the evil Rat King. So began an adventure to a far away land filled with excitement, culture, and candy. I was enthralled.
Cynthia Chin was the Snow Queen that year. I remember because my mother purchased a pair of her autographed point shoes that still hang on my wall to this day. Chin’s duet was absolutely mesmerizing. Her arms seemed to melt in the air like tiny wisps of silk as her delicate feet fluttered faster than the wings of a hummingbird. She spun and leaped through the air so beautifully. I held my breath as she danced and gentle snowflakes fell from the ceiling slowly covering the stage until a carpet of white lay beneath her feet.
In the second act, the Sugar Plum fairy welcomed Clara through the snowy white forest into the Land of the Sweets. In the her castle, beautiful dancers representing the many cultures and flavors of the world entertained Clara as she sat on a throne made of candy canes and gumdrops. There was Mother Ginger wearing a huge skirt filled with too many naughty children to count and Spanish chocolate carrying red fans that they sliced through the air with perfect precision. Russian toffee burst onto the stage kicking and flipping and the Sugar Plum Fairy led a slow waltz made up entirely of dancing pink flowers. The crowning glory was the dance of the Sugar Plum fairy with her cavalier.
I remember being so inspired by the ballet that I danced all the way to the car on dainty tippy toes. That night I dreamed of one day becoming as beautiful a dancer as the Snow Queen herself, a dream that still taunts me from time to time. From then on I was obsessed with building enough strength in my feet and legs to one day wear my own pair of point shoes. I know my students feel this same excitement when they go to see the Nutcracker for the first time and it brings me great joy. To think that they too are pulled into the magic and beauty of this timeless tale and that it will inspire them is awesome. The ability to teach them the dances and pass on the tradition is truly a gift. I know that in their hearts a beautiful flame is igniting that will burn for years and years, maybe even a lifetime.
Twenty years later and that same feeling fills my heart as I enter the theater to be welcomed once again into the magical world that Tchaikovsky and Petipa created almost 120 years ago. It is the comfort of nostalgia mixed with a passion and inspiration that are re-ignited with every visit. What I didn’t know at the time was that I would dance on that very stage not two years later myself, the first few years as a gingersnap, then as a soldier, and en pointe as a rat. I never did win the coveted Snow Queen role, but nonetheless, what began as a trip to the ballet grew into a passion for dance that lingers with me today, and who knows, maybe next year will be my year…
Written by Sarah Garske
