Wonder To Share

"Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
of love and dreams to share"
 - Christmastime Is Here, by Lee Mendelson and Vince Guaraldi 

During Christmastime, "The Nutcracker Suite" becomes my preferred background music. It plays while I work on spreadsheets, requisitions, PowerPoints, articles, and meeting minutes. Even though I select it as wordless instrumental music to play without distracting me, still I find that I can visualize the ballet in my head as the various pieces play. 

I was able to attend the ballet several times as child, and would love to watch recordings of it on TV. The beauty of the dances and the variety of the characters captured me. There's the mysterious godfather, whose entrance as magician and toymaker sparks the first true events in the story. There is young Clara, who is momentarily tragic when her brand-new and much beloved nutcracker is broken by her brother, before being pulled into an epic battle between toy soldiers and rats during midnight Christmas magic,  heroically throwing her slipper at the Rat King to save the nutcracker. Finally there is the nutcracker, who is actually a prince, and who takes Clara to a wondrous realm where they are entertained by dancers from around the globe. 

Wordless, it's a story told by music and movement. Orchestrally, there are the gentle flutes, the triumphant trumpets, the ethereal harp, other soaring strings, and the celesta (or piano), which was a newer instrument at the ballet's conception. Each piece of music is set for a specific scene, and as I listen, I can picture the dancers in my head. The white snowflake ballerinas, the ferocious rats and toy soldiers, the energetic Arabian dancers, and the graceful sugar plum fairies. 

I have so many memories of watching taped performances of The Nutcracker with my Mom and siblings, of going to live shows with my Grandma, and finally of going with a group of friends a few years ago. The ballet and music holds as much magic as ever, possibly because it's set at Christmas, and Christmas wonder has a way of shining bright throughout the years. 

The way in which humanity can create and share and pass them on through the generations is a beautiful thing. How a short story could become a ballet one Christmas in Russia, slowly spreading around the world to become a beloved tradition. It reflects some of the best parts of us: imagination taking flight and dedication working hard, creating a thing of wonder to live on and on, one Christmas to the next.