I’m not sure why I love The Nutcracker so much. I have no specific version from childhood memories to be attached to, though I’m sure I must have seen some version (I bet that one with Macaulay Culkin was on TV sometimes) and the music is everywhere around Christmastime. It just became a thing I liked, I guess along with my sudden affection for Christmastime I developed when I was 20 and living on my own and bought myself a 3ft white tree (which I still have but now I also have a 7ft white tree). So in my early twenties, I had this romantic attachment to The Nutcracker, daydreaming of someday getting dressed up fancy (winter fancy, which is never very fancy since you have to wear boots and much outerwear) and a handsome man would whisk me off to a fancy theatre where we’d watch The Nutcracker ballet. Oh, how romantic and festive! Then, one year, I was like “Why am I sitting around waiting for someone to take me to see The Nutcracker? I’ll take myself to see The Nutcracker!” #feminism So, I asked my group of friends who wanted to go see The Nutcracker at the National Arts Centre and only two wanted to go (it was not cheap). So, Juliana, Kim, and I went to see The Nutcracker at the NAC. We dressed nice (although no one else seemed to- what happened to dressing up for the thea-tah?!) and had a lovely time. The next year, I wanted to go again, but didn’t want to pay upwards of $100 for a seat in the NAC, and I found that Cineplex was showing a live stream of the Royal Ballet (London) for only $20. I asked all my friends again (wow, remember when I had a whole group of friends to do things with? I’m down to one, and not just because of the pandemic) but only Juliana was interested. We loved it, probably even more than seeing it live because we could really see the costume details and dancer’s faces on camera. And so began our annual Nutcracker tradition.
The third year, we did the Cineplex again (Bolshoi Ballet) but decided to make a day of it and go out for hot chocolate after. That day we learned some things about Russian ballet. They did not just one but multiple bows at the intermission, to the point that we were confused if it was over. The story was slightly different. The music was the same, of course, but it was based on the original story, not the version of the story that the ballet was originally based on? But similar enough that it was still The Nutcracker. We also learned that Russians clap in unison. It starts as scattered applause but then everyone starts to sync up and, to us, it starts to sound menacing as a room of a thousand Russians *clap* *clap* *clap* in unison as the dancers bow over and over. After it was over, we decided that it was good to see something a little different, but we would not like to see Bolshoi again. Well, the joke was on us because Cineplex had made a deal with Bolshoi, and that was the only company they were showing for their live ballet events, all year round, so we were stuck with them again the next year. We thought it would at least be a new stream/recording but it was the same show as last year. But we tried a different place for hot chocolate and enjoyed our crepes. Last year, Cineplex was still showing that same damn Bolshoi performance, so I had to expand our search. The NAC was still too much, even for nosebleed seats, so I tried to find a smaller, local ballet. We ended up seeing a local youth ballet performance and we loved it! The sets are less impressive, sure, but it was great to see more diversity among these kids than you usually see in the professional companies, which are just full of very thin white women.
This year, there are no live performances, of course, and we have no desire to risk our health to go sit in a cinema, breathing moistly into our masks, to see a Nutcracker recording when we can stay home and have our pick of Nutcrackers. I downloaded 🏴☠️ every Nutcracker ballet I could find and we skimmed through them to decide which we will watch. Juliana’s in charge of the hot chocolate. I’m making my raspberry apple crisp. And we’re ordering in two Swiss Chalet Festive Specials. Oh, and to add more Nutcracker, but not just watch two in a row, we’re also going to watch the documentary about Debbie Allen’s Hot Chocolate Nutcracker. We love to see different interpretations of The Nutcracker. Our favourite dance is the Arabian. It stands out amongst the rest of the suite and the dance has the most variety. Sometimes, it’s one woman being carried around by two men. Or just one woman. Or several women. My friend showed me an Arabian dance where the dancer was a snake being charmed out of a basket. (I also saw a version where it was a “sultan” type guy abusing Clara’s little brother, who had been taken prisoner, and was crawling around in chains… Did not enjoy.)
I think why I like The Nutcracker, and like to watch many versions of it, is also why I like fairy tales. An old, traditional story that is told over and over. I love to see interpretations of old stories, I guess. I also, speaking of Christmas traditions, love to see interpretations of Santa Claus and learn about the Santa versions/traditions from around the world. Frankly- not enough fresh takes on Santa Claus out there, and as far as I’ve seen, the role has never been filled by a woman or a non-white man (in a movie- think there’s a Black Santa children’s book. Or maybe it’s Santa’s husband that is Black.)
So, this year, our sixth Nutcracker and Hot Chocolate Day, Juliana and I will dress nice (but comfy) and watch The Nutcracker in the comfort of my very Christmassy apartment with our hot chocolate. And hopefully next year there will be another local Nutcracker ballet to go see. But, we all say “hopefully next year” about a lot of things these days...
Sharing is Caring: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is not as bad as you’ve heard! The story feels lacking, sure, but it is beautiful and the performances are great and it’s fun and festive, so go for it! You can skip The Nutcracker 3D: The Untold Story, though. That shit is just a damn mess. Definitely watch Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey for a musical, beautiful, wholesome, heart-warming festive time.