Ever since my sister-in-law Susannah started working at Richmond Ballet last year, I have fallen completely back in love with the ballet.  From their studio series’, to the epic 35th Anniversary celebration that Catherine and I attended in September, I have loved reconnecting with RB.   When we started collaborating with Richmond Ballet this year, I was overjoyed at the opportunity to help spread the love for Richmond’s ballet company and programs through our channels on The Crystal Press.  I am especially excited to write a little bit about what The Nutcracker means to me!

Growing up as a student at Richmond Ballet, the Nutcracker was what every little girl and boy in the school wanted to be a part of! I started out in third grade as a mouse and advanced the next year as the little pink party girl (with my alternate being my ballet bff Catherine).  My “party-brother” grew up to be one of my brother-in-laws best friends – Richmond, amiright? I continued on to be one of the mother ginger children and a confectioner and it is safe to say that when I think back at the Christmas season, I think of the Nutcracker. Rehearsals started in the fall and the dedication was REAL.  I remember one year my mom had to drive me hours up and back to rehearsal from our Thanksgiving vacation in the mountains of North Carolina.  As a child, it often seemed inconvenient, but looking back now, I wouldn’t trade those memories for the world! *follow us on stories to see all the old photos of me that may or may not be super cute and / embarassing*

I was in awe of the company members and the older girls in the ballet (Valerie, our RB guru included), watching them dance for hours at rehearsal, in between my own classes and rehearsals. It was so fascinating to me to experience the back stage and rehearsal moments, knowing they would be enacted with such magic on the stage at the Carpenter Theater in December.  I remember when I was the pink party girl, I had my mom take a photo of me with the company member who played the Toy Soldier that I interacted with on stage. I vividly remember our interactions to this day!

The ballet has been re-imagined by Artistic Director Stoner Winslet since “my day,” with new costumes, new characters and new choreography, but when I went last year, it still felt as magical as I remembered. It still has all of my favorite moments: the snake + snake charmer, Clara’s solo scene with the tree growing and of course the grand finale. I may or may not be tearing up just writing this 🙂

All of that being said, Richmond, I hope you all have your tickets to catch The Nutcracker this year! Catherine and I are taking our husbands out on a holiday night on the town to see the performance on the 22nd and we are so looking forward to it! Get your tickets here, if you haven’t already, and experience the magic that is the Richmond Ballet’s The Nutcracker.   A little preview for you below:

We won’t have time to get our Nutcracker looks up on the blog before you get a chance to see it, but for now, here is some holiday outing inspo for you!

PS – anyone interested in taking Adult Ballet classes with me? I have been meaning to do it, but need someone to keep me accountable.