The Nutty Nutcracker

I have mentioned this before but my family has a tradition of seeing The Nutcracker at Ballet West every Christmas. It is something we look forward to all year. I start playing the CD around July and by December the kids are excited and familiar with the music. If you have never been GO! Ballet West does an amazing job, and thanks to my father and brothers who have been or are sponsors, I have been able to meet many of the dancers over the years.

This year my awesome brother Ron invited us all to the Nutty Nutcracker. This is the third year Ballet West has done this and it was so hilarious! This years theme was the movies, so many of the dancers were dressed as movie characters. Fx: Clara was Dorothy, the Nutcracker was Luke Skywalker, the Mouse King was Darth Vadar, and the Sugar Plum fairy and her Cavalier were James Bond and a the ultimate Bond girl. It was so funny and clever. After seeing the ballet so many times, my brothers and sisters who were there totally enjoyed seeing the dancers be so funny. It kept all the children totally engaged and they laughed and laughed (sometimes really loudly) throughout.

Ray and boy cousins before! I think WE may have been Nuttier than the ballet!:)

Shannan and Shannan.

Ruby and girl cousins. I LOVE this picture!

Anyway, I think my brother had the right idea about this ballet...that we want our kids to grow up loving the ballet as much as we did. And performances like this definitely help get them excited about it. Thanks Ron!