Nutcracker!

From the time I knew I was going to have a girl, I dreamed of taking my daughter to The Nutcracker, just like Mom took me when I was little to American Ballet Theatre's production in NYC. I still remember how the crystal lights rose when it was time for the ballet to begin, and the tree that got bigger during Clara's dream, and the place that Mom, Daniella and I ate before the show -- the Footlights Cafe, and they had an awesome triple-layer chocolate cake -- and the fact that it was an all-women's event in our house. In other words, I've wanted to replicate that since I was old enough to be out on my own.

Today I got my wish. The day started with Rachel's class at the Classical Ballet Academy performing in The Nutcracker Sweet Suite, a 45-minute abbreviated version of the classic tale. It was at the Lincoln Hall auditorium at Portland State, and I volunteered to be an usher. Rachel was part of a dragon that danced during the Chinese dancer part of the ballet and she looked beyond adorable in a little pink kimono-like outfit with her hair pulled back into a tiny knot at the top of her head, just like a real ballerina. She looked a little confused onstage and at one point it seemed as if she was trying to figure out where I was. She also concentrated really hard. Altogether it was beyond adorable, and I had to hold myself back from rushing onstage to cover her in hugs and kisses. ("No shouting 'I WANT RACHEL! I WANT RACHEL!'" she instructed me sternly on the way to dress rehearsal. "Ushers don't DO that.").

Drew was waiting for her with a pink rose (all the dancers got a single red rose, and Rachel's teacher, Miss Lauren, gave her a lovely pink box with a mirror inside -- Rachel said her teacher had told her she was the best of all the other dragon parts, and that Rachel was the only one who Miss Lauren gave a present to, although I don't believe that) and then we all went to a place across the street and ate a quick lunch before the REAL Nutcracker began, the one that I had planned to attend with my friend Melissa, her 12-year-old daughter Natalie, who Rachel worships, and Melissa's friend Marian and Marian's 5-year-old son, Grant. Rachel was absolutely delighted with it; she behaved very well, refused a booster seat when I offered her one (she insisted she could see just fine) and hugged Natalie during the scary parts (when the Mouse King attacks the nutcracker and Clara). At one point she said to me, "There's Drosselmeyer!"

"How did you KNOW that?" I asked, astonished.

"Because of his patch," she said. (She meant his eye patch). I finally realized that all her rehearsals, plus the Nutcracker book we read together at night sometimes, has given her a really good idea of the plot so that she could follow along easily. At the end of the matinee, as we were leaving, some of the dancers stationed themselves at the doors to hand out candy.

We all trooped to Starbucks after it was over and had hot chocolate, gingerbread cookies and cake pops. Rachel refused to hold my hand on the way and said to Natalie, "I wish YOU were my mom," and I had to tell her that I wished Natalie were my daughter. Melissa and I got caught up on each other's lives before I noticed it was 5:30 as we had to rush home to get to the monthly social evening with our chavurah (in this case it was a last night of Hanukkah celebration). More on that tomorrow, since I'm beat.