Great American Dance -The New York City Ballet

Lincoln Center did something extraordinary this year and made it possible for thousands of people across the US to see several classic ballets including “The Nutcracker” LIVE in movie theaters across the country.

Set to Tchaikovsky’s score, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (which achieved it’s 2000th performance in 2007) features New York City Ballet’s dancers and the New York City Ballet Orchestra, as well as 50 children from the School of American Ballet. The work also features choreography by Balanchine, scenery by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, costumes by Karinska and lighting by Mark Stanley, after the original design by Ronald Bates.

Balanchine’s production premiered on Feb. 2, 1954, at the City Center of Music and Drama in New York.

I was privileged enough to catch this fantabulous event which featured the following dancers (don’t hold your breath as this could take awhile)…

Megan Fairchild (The Sugar Plum Fairy)

Joaquin de Luz (Her Cavalier)

Tiler Peck (Marzapan Shepherdess)

Antonio Carmena (Tea)

Brittany Pollack (Hot Chocolate)

Adrian Danclug Waring (Hot Chocolate)

Adam Hendrikson (Herr Drosselmeir)

Colby Clark (The Nutcracker)

Ask LaCoun (Dr. Stahlbaum)

Gwyneth Muller (Frau Stahlbaum)

Fionna Brennan (The Little Princess)

Maximillian Brooking Landegger (Fritz)

Ashley Bouder (Dewdrop Fairy)

Teresa Reichle (Coffee)

Daniel Ulbricht ( Candy Cane)

Andrew Scordato (Mother Ginger)

Mary Eliabeth Sell ( Harlequin)

Laureen Lovette (Columbine)

Troy Schumacher (Soldier)

Justin Peck (Mouse King)

and last but not least… The Children from the School of American Ballet

As a former dancer, it was hard to believe that I had never seen “The Nutcracker”. The closest I ever came was Debbie Allen’s “Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” a few years back.

So, knowing my Mom had aspirations to be a dancer with Katherine Dunham back in the day, I thought what a treat it would be for us to sit down and watch it together. Having Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan host with an extra special intermission piece taking us behind the scenes was an extra special bonus.

It was like having a front row seat that extended to the orchestra pit and beyond onto the stage. You know how when you watch a production live onstage, it is nearly impossible to focus on all the people and activities happening all at once? Well, the New York City Ballet and the cameras solve that problem for us with closeups at precisely the exact moment in time. It was fantabulous!!!

Bravo to every last single dancer! All of their performances were breathtaking! For my NYC buddies…”The Nutcracker” is playing in NYC NOW through January 3rd. For more info go to… http://bit.ly/1kD5PCw