The Nutcracker

Happy December! It is the month of sweet treats - from those little advent calendars with chocolates to (of course) the Nutcracker ballet. I love the Nutcracker - it always makes it feel like Christmas to go and watch a performance. Even though I have seen the Nutcracker more times than I can count, I am still enchanted by the music, the costumes, and the story. I also participated for a few years as a dancer - as a mouse and as one of the turbaned young dancers under the giant skirt.

There is a great deal going for the SF Ballet - the Nutcracker Date Night performances where you can get cheap tickets, two for one champagne, and early admittance! If you have never seen it, you should definitely go - the War Memorial Opera House is a beautiful place.

photo from the SF Ballet's Nutcracker

For those of you that have seen the ballet too many times, I think that The Hard Nut ballet would be a lot of fun to watch. It is coming to Berkeley in December. It is a chance to laugh and see a classic ballet in a fresh way.