Everything is beautiful at the ballet...

  

Being a music teacher is FUN. It comes with a lot of exciting perks… getting to put on shows, singing and dancing every day at work, no parent teacher conferences (hehe), and of course, the FIELD TRIPS!

The students at my work are so lucky that they get to go on several music field trips during their time in the elementary school. My absolute favorite field trip I get to take my students on was this past Friday. We went to the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg to see Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet’s performance of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. This is actually my eighth time seeing the performance and it never gets old.

Surprisingly, I had never seen a live ballet until I started organizing this field trip. I had been to many concerts, plays, Broadway musicals, but never THE BALLET. How lucky these students are that at the ripe old age of nine or ten, they get to see such a professionally done ballet performance.

Props must be given to CPYB who provide these educational performances for students at such a low price that we are able to afford the trip. Otherwise, it certainly would not be possible.

Here are some of the things I particularly enjoy about seeing The Nutcracker each and every year...

Tchaikovsky’s music. It’s beautiful! Most people know the popular pieces from the show... The March, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Trepak… The more I see the show, the more I become familiar with the not so well known pieces, and I really enjoy them.

The athleticism of the dancers. I am amazed at what their bodies are capable of and the years of training it took to get them there. Oh, to be able to jump that high, have their flexibility, balance, and rhythm!

The discipline of the children. No, not the children I take on the trip (though they are fabulous audience members), but the children performing in the show. In Balanchine’s version of The Nutcracker, the parts of the children are played by actual children. Now, I’ve never been in a ballet, but I’ve been in countless musicals and choreographed many musicals, and I know how disciplined the children must be when performing in those. Multiply that by 100 and that’s probably the discipline it takes to perform in a ballet!

Men in tights. Not just any men. DANSEURS in tights!

All in all, it's a great trip! I'm so thankful we get to go each year and experience the magic that is The Nutcracker!

Have you ever been to the ballet?