The Brandywine Ballet’s Nutcracker performance was absolutely outstanding.
After managing to score two tickets for the Saturday morning performance, and I was so excited. As a former dancer of eight years, I was very familiar with this holiday recital. On the other hand, Devin (my boyfriend) has never seen it. This was his first ballet experience, so he wasn’t exactly jumping out of his seat.
When we first reached our seats, I noticed a little girl who was sitting next to me with her mom. Her name was Ilana, and she was four years old. Ilana had announced to her mother that she wanted to be a ballerina someday, so she was was very quiet, but a bit restless for the show to begin. Watching her reminded me how I as well, saw the The Nutcracker myself for the first time when I was only three-years-old. Sure enough, a few weeks after seeing the performance, my mom ended up putting me in my first ballet class.
The performance started out with a lot of people on stage at the same time, with a variety of age groups. I found myself thinking about how tricky it must have been for the director to figure out spacing, and choreography. This however, was not a struggle for the Brandywine Ballet. The dance combinations were smooth, and the transitions were efficient. Not to mention, every line the dancers transitioned into was perfectly straight and equally spaced out. I peaked out the corner of my eye, to see how Ilana was liking it. Her eyes were glued to the stage. She was as happy, and fascinated as I was.
We were allowed to break off for 20 minutes after the first half of the show. This gave us more than enough time to stretch our legs, use the restroom. They also had really unique nutcrackers you could buy. Before the show started, Devin mentioned how difficult it must have been for Iria Jackson, who played Clara. She was the main character, and had to remember many different dance combinations. “She was in every single scene of the recital,” he said.
The second act is my favorite part, so when the lights flickered I hurried back to my seat. Through the fog, there were the cutest little ballerinas that appeared, wearing sparkling halos. It looked like a dream.
The scenery in the second half did not change much. However, the lighting in every new performance, gave the effect of feeling somewhere different.
When the Sugar Plum Fairy had her chance to shine, you could hear a gasp of amazement echo throughout the audience. A little girl behind me shouted that cinderella was on stage, and I couldn’t help but laugh. The Sugar Plum Fairy’s costume was mesmerizing, full of sparkle and elegance.
As the show came to an end, the dancers took their bows. Everyone in the audience was on their feet. I didn’t know any of the dancers personally, but I was proud of the company for doing such a spectacular job. It was as magical as I remembered and hoped it to be. We thank the Brandywine Ballet for providing us with the tickets and for having such a fantastic experience.