STAFF WRITER – AMELY LOGAN
ORIGINALLY PRINTED ON NOV 28, 2022
From Dec. 2-Dec.11, The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts will continue what many consider a vital holiday tradition. The Ballet San Antonio Company will perform their rendition of the classic holiday ballet —The Nutcracker. To add to the excitement, Ballet San Antonio’s The Nutcracker features local dancers and over 100 children from the surrounding community.
The performance of the Nutcracker is a tradition beloved by both dancers and spectators. The excitement of colorful costumes and backdrops, fake snow and beautiful ballet dancers bring people to continue taking part in the Holiday tradition of the Nutcracker ballet. The Nutcracker ballet follows the story of a young girl named Clara who finds herself in a magical world after she is gifted a nutcracker at her family’s Christmas party. This magical world and all these characters allow viewers to escape the reality of sitting in a theatre and become fully immersed in the storytelling carried out by the dancers.
For dancers, this season is specifically exciting because of the possibility of being featured as one of the leading ballet dancers in the show. The main characters of this whimsical play would be the heroine Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy, the antagonistic Mouse King and, of course, the brave little Nutcracker. Many other roles are equally as
crucial to the show, but those are the most are worthy of a spectator’s eye. For dancers, well-known. Nutcracker season involves a series of rigorous auditions and pain-sticking nerves that, while painful during the process, pay off when these dancers can show off their arduous work to an audience on stage. Once the choreographers for this year, Easton and Haley Smith, determine their cast, dancers rehearse for months to ensure they are performance ready by the time the Holiday Season rolls around. They are measured and fit for costumes, shoes and headpieces. Many work with props or partners to ensure their routines are worthy of a spectator’s eye. For dancers, Nutcracker season is demanding work, but often that demanding work is overpowered by the Euphoria of putting on a show to an audience. The feeling of a beautiful costume, makeup, fake snow, bright lights, claps and gleeful cheers from the audience makes Nutcracker season “the most wonderful time of the year.”
First-year St. Mary’s student, Anakaren Garcia said, “I love watching them dance. it always feels like such a magical experience!” Many spectators go to the ballet for that feeling of euphoria when watching eautiful dancing and storytelling on stage. Families often make it a tradition to see the Nutcracker ballet, especially the families of dancers who know how much work must go into the full Nutcracker ballet experience. It is rare to find a person who exits a ballet performance with nothing less than a gleeful look on their face.
Aside from the excitement of the Nutcracker ballet, the holiday season is always joyful. Still, it is this tradition of the Nutcracker ballet in the holiday season that makes it so unique. The Nutcracker ballet has become an essential part of our culture, a tradition in many families across the country. Thinking of the Christmas season includes the ballet, simply because of the tradition of the Nutcracker and the ballet music that is often a part of Christmas playlists; it is an iconic part of the Holiday spirit.
The Nutcracker ballet and the holiday season will always be related. The sheer joy it brings proves just how beloved this ballet is. Entering a magical world through performance and visual art is an unforgettable experience and one that many choose to re-live year after year each holiday season.
The Nutcracker 2022 will be held at the Tobin Center for The Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Cir, San Antonio, TX 78205. Tickets are available on the Ballet San Antonio’s website at balletsanantonio.org, with prices starting at $36.00.