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42 Thoughts I Had While Watching Boston Ballet’s Cinderella

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Boston Ballet Cinderella

Fam I have just realized that I haven’t been to a Boston Ballet production since The Nutcracker which means 1) that’s five months too long and 2) I guess it’s about time I get the dress I spilled my mocktail on that night dry cleaned.

Anywho, last week I finally found myself back at the Opera House for Boston Ballet’s Cinderella, a production I haven’t seen since I played it on VHS during my dance bathroom duty student teaching days! If you’re new around here, welcome to my quarterly 2.5-hour stream of consciousness I so graciously offer through all Boston Ballet performances.

1. Wait is the one stepsister a man?
2. PROGRESSIVE!
3. I’ll never understand why the original illustrator/costume designer/Disney animator (don’t @ me) chose to give Cinderella such cute raggedy clothes if she was supposed to look bad like you aren’t fooling anyone I would 100p buy that dress from Free People.
4. Ok so Dad is alive in this variation got it.
5. Gosh the stepsisters really wear the pants here huh
6. And where is stepmother?
7. Wait she’s not listed in the cast you’re telling me she doesn’t exist and Daddio still lets these bratz dolls push him around?
8. Think I’ve seen that broom prop before. Major Nimbus 2000 vibes.
9. Is a Harry Potter ballet on anyone’s radar?
10. The beggar woman! Is this Beauty & the Beast?
11. Holy CALVES sweet delivery boys.
12. Lol someone flung a string of pearls and all I can think about is my college dance professor’s disgust at dropped props left on the stage and how the life lesson she instilled in me was “if it’s raised get it off.”
13. Honestly all I want in life is a healthy family, a home with ample natural light and a hydrangea bush, a vintage Nantucket basket, and my leg to go as high as Seo Hye Han’s.
14. Fairy godmother enters stage Aww baby is kicking I assume that’s a sign for something cute or maybe just means time for a snack.
15. Pageboys!!!
16. There are no cuter children on this earth than those of the Boston Ballet School.
17. Seasonal fairies…..Sleeping Beauty?
18. Is that the twist? Are all Disney stories actually just ripped off from Cinderella the ballet?
19. Fall is honestly just showing off now.
20. Ok ladies yes let’s get in formation.
21. Spice Girls vibez rn.
22. These fairies + fairy godmother remind me of sophomore year Halloween when all of my girlfriends wanted to go as woodsy fairies and I insisted on dressing as Tinkerbell.
23. The pumpkin! So some Disney magic in this after all!
24. Intermission Wait I’m sorry stepsisters what they were BOTH men?

Cinderella Ballet Boston

Photo by Gene Schiavone, courtesy of Boston Ballet

25. I thought it was just a good makeup job!
26. Lawrence Rines comin’ in hot.
27. He can jump higher than I am tall.
28. Oh no wig down wig down.
29. WHEW good recovery.
30. Oh wow here come all the king’s bros letsgo.
31. These fairies may or may not have the prettiest costumes I have ever seen.
32. Cindy is walking down the stairs en pointe I REPEAT walking down the stairs en pointe.
33. She is not giving him a second look.
34. Like literally, is not looking at him.
35. I still don’t understand why people have such a problem with schmucks falling in love in 8 weeks on The Bachelorette when these shenanigans are going down approximately 8 minutes after their first meeting.
36. Poor little cute baby pageboy is looking so nervous!!
37. Mini pumpkins…foreshadowing?
38. Oh. They’re oranges.
39. She’s not going to….yep yes she is going to waltz around with the broom.
40. Oh honey baby sweetie no you’re embarrassing yourself.
41. In what world, 1600’s France, Brother’s Grim, Disney, or the wide world of ballet does anyone actually think the glass slipper is going to fit on a stepsister?
42. Like ok children’s story but honestly you aren’t fooling them either.

Jeffrey Cirio Boston Ballet

Photo by Gene Schiavone, courtesy of Boston Ballet

Fin! As usual, I have nothing truly intelligent to say that will do this production justice, so you’ll just have to take my word that it is playful, entertaining, and beautifully costumed, designed, and danced as ever.

If you’re not convinced yet, why don’t you go ahead and take 40% off your ticket? Use code EMILY40 for 40% off all performances between now and show close on June 8. But hurry! Code expires at midnight.

 

Kidding, obv.

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50 Thoughts I Had While Watching Boston Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet

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periwinkle coat

A rose by any other name…yadda yadda yadda.

I spent a night at Boston Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet last week and, as usual, had a lot of thoughts. Are you getting tired of these yet?

I meant that as a rhetorical question. Now buckle up, here we go.

1. P2E, P2E, P2E. Don’t forget that our car is parked in P2E.
2. What is it about theaters that make you have to use the ladies’ room as soon as you sit down?
3. No just me?
4. May this first act please be worth the amount of discomfort I am in.
5. Shoot it’s been a while I probably should have pulled out the SparkNotes to freshen up on this.
6. Ah, Paulo Arrais. So glad he’s not the victim of typecasting post-Nutcracker.
Mom: I love this set. It looks like a painting. 
7. It is a painting.

LizaVollPhotography-1676

Photo by Liza Voll; courtesy of Boston Ballet

8. Gosh sometimes I’m just really, really routing for the males in ballets.
9. Does that make me a bad feminist?
10. Well sure of COURSE now we have to go ahead and give the boys swords and make the girls cat fight how original so progressive.
11. Right so Dumbledore the Duke thinks he can just swoop in here and talk these people out of generations of the most famous rivalry in history?
12. Anyone else getting major Rose/Ruth/Titanic vibes from this mother-daughter scene?
13. OMG was Titanic really Romeo & Juliet fan fiction?!
14. Shit why is everyone laughing what’d I miss.
15. Seeeerious Handmaid’s Tale vibes right now with those hoods.
16. When does that show come back anyway?
17. Ugh I’m struggling to keep up with all these characters and the masks are cute and all but not helping.
18. IT’S THE RUSSIANS!!
19. Right so there are men with this much poise and charm in the world and we have Arie Luyendyk Jr. as our Bachelor.
20. You know when there’s a song you know but you don’t know how you know it?
21. Ooook that ain’t Romeo sizing J up right now.
22. He’s on one knee.
23. IS HE PROPOSING?
24. Reminds me I have some Married at First Sight episodes waiting for me on my DVR.
25. J’s mom just swooped in like a middle school dance chaperone like ok kids have your fun but not too close NO TOUCHING.

LizaVollPhotography-1925

Photo by Liza Voll; courtesy of Boston Ballet

26. Is that Pastorale Man?
27. YES JAZZ HANDS YES.
28. He is soaking up this spotlight like me in a dance circle circa 2010.
29. Paris is like choose me! Choose me for a lifetime of tour jetés and chauvinism!
30. Gosh that back is flexible though.
31. I think I drooled a little during that pas de deux.
32. Mom’s crying successful Act I.
33. There is a MASS exodus of every woman in this theater to the ladies’ room so I guess that answers my first question.

Boston Ballet's Romeo & Juliet Dates

Photo by Liza Voll; courtesy of Boston Ballet

34. It’s like High School Musical up in this carnival!
35. Ok but why is a dancer wearing her hair down always code for “peasant”?
36. This girl was 100% prominently featured in her college’s hip hop crew.
37. Shit I hate clowns.
38. Wow so these teenagers get married after knowing each other one day and people are offended by The Bachelor ok.
39. I am on the edge of my seat DOES HE LIVE I CAN’T REMEMBER.
40. Do you think the dancers pillow talk while lying there every show?
41. LOL like the nurse doesn’t know her side boy just snuck out.
42. Do we feel bad for Paris or nah?
43. Sorry but how does a friar know how to make a coma-inducing potion anyway?
44. Juliet is me after three glasses of wine rn.
45. WHY DIDN’T HE GET THE MESSAGE THOUGH.
46. U mad bro?
47. If Romeo stopped and thought things through for longer than like 8 seconds then we really wouldn’t be having this discussion would we.
48. Wait so what happened to Rosalie?
49. Maybe I’ll reread SparkNotes the play.
50. Where did we park again?

Joking aside, this might just be my favorite Boston Ballet performance yet. Three hours went by in a blink! Boston Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet is at the Boston Opera House until April 8, and tickets {as always!} start at just $35. I spent more than that on my lunch delivery this week.

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ps. Here’s the hydrangea coat I’m wearing above!


The 10 Most Underrated Characters in The Nutcracker

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boston ballet nutcracker 2017

If you’ve come by looking for my annual stream of consciousness, I do apologize. While I continue to have many thoughts during all viewings of Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker, I figure there are only so many times you’re interested in hearing me question the hype over a wooden toy that cracks nuts and how lust-inducing the Russians are, despite all current political affairs.

This year I was sitting in on The Nutcracker’s dress rehearsal {such a treat!} and couldn’t help but think about all of the underrated characters that grace this stage every holiday season. Don’t get me wrong, Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy are bae, but what about the underdogs?

boston ballet nutcracker bear dancer

Photo by Liza Voll, courtesy Boston Ballet

10 // Bear
Despite being the face of this show, I fear Bear isn’t reeeally taken seriously as a dancer. Hey! You’ve got it easy – no pointe shoes! Just put on this 15-pound fur costume. Breathing and unobstructed vision are overrated anyway. Oh, and you have to pose for photos with crying children before and after every show.

9 // Fritz
Let’s be real, this kid is a turd, but he is adorable and funny as hell, made cuter by the fact that he seems to be completely unaware of such. His little nervous, sour face is irresistible, so we can temporarily forgive his desperate middle-child attention-demanding behavior.

8 // Russians # 2 and 3
True, this scene receives a standing ovation more times than not, but I can’t help but ache a little for the non-soloists in the back. They’re like Lance Bass and JC Chasez. Of course frontman Justin Timberlake is going to rock your world with his quintuple turn followed by 19 fouettes into 24 of whatever those jump things are, but I dare anyone else to attempt 3 seconds of their routine without breaking an ankle or inducing an asthma attack. These are not your average backup singers dancers.

boston ballet nutcracker russian dancers

Photo by Liza Voll, courtesy Boston Ballet

7 // The Conductor
Beatrice Affron holds it down in her pit every. darn. show. with little to no regard. There is no double casting here!! HelLO audience, the show quite literally cannot go on without her unless you’re into silent films. Sure everyone applauds for the orchestra when prompted, but is that the best you got?

6 // Pages
Not only are these tiny children delightful on their own, but they deserve a round of applause for being sub-8-year-olds who have to stand on stage in character, in period clothing, for a large duration of a very long show.

5 // Baby Black Sheep
On that note, from the urchins to the reindeer, there are a lot of freaking cute children in this show, but the Black Sheep takes the cake. Every year, no question. I want to shake this kid’s hand.

4 // Mother Ginger’s Hair
That hair is the size of aforementioned Baby Black Sheep. Everyone is looking at her 50-lb skirt, but I am beyond impressed with the perfectly secured foot-and-a-half tall wig balancing a SHIP headpiece, no less, on it.

11_BostonBallet_MikkoNissinen'sTheNutcracker_PhotobyLizaVollPhotography

Photo by Liza Voll, courtesy Boston Ballet

3 // Pastorale Man
WC Fields once warned, “never work with children or animals,” they’re scene stealing. Yet broseph here has to work with both, AS WELL AS juggle two women. I guarantee 97% of the audience’s attention is on the gals and sheep pals, but this guy always emerges as an A+ dancer who gets so little respect! Next time, give him a second look. I mean, he’s not sore on the eyes anyway.

2 // Ballerina Doll
I could watching this chick dance for far longer than the ~60 seconds or so she is given. Every year, no fail, I pout when her cute little robotic self is carried off stage. She must have a side hustle as a break dancer, no? It takes a certain rare skill set to pop and lock like that. Holler at me if you know anything.

1 // Grandmother & Grandfather
Do yourself a favor and tune out the entire party scene {sorry, everyone else} except Granny & Gramps next time you see this show. I don’t know if this is one of Mikko’s recent insertions of humor or what, but it took me until just last year to give them a second glance, and boy have I been missing out. They have DEF had one-too-many eggnogs and are getting all frisky and flirty to one another! The casting here really puts the wind in my sails.

Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker is running at The Boston Opera House through December 31, and tickets start at just $35. It has become my absolute favorite holiday tradition, and I couldn’t recommend this production and cast—ALL of them—more.

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50 Thoughts I Had While Watching Boston Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty

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boston ballet sleeping beauty 2017Photo by Liza Voll, courtesy Boston Ballet

As a self-proclaimed Disney princess in training and a former dancer, it’s slightly mortifying to admit that, on the way to my recent viewing of Boston Ballet Sleeping Beauty, I googled “which came first sleeping beauty ballet or story.”

Yeah it was the story. By about 200 years. 10 points from Gryffindor.

I’m here to talk ballet though. With the exception of some VHS viewings during the toddler ballet class I used to co-teach {read: I was on bathroom duty}, I, also embarrassingly, had never seen it. That {finally!} changed this month, and here’s how it went down…

Prologue

What’s thaa–FLOWER CROWNS!
Ohh Mom can I get one? Boston Ballet gift shop is so on TREND right now.
Or maybe she brought it herself in which this 6-year-old is so on trend right now.
How is it 2017 and we have not figured out a way to make holding a handbag, program, ticket, and champagne glass while trying to find one’s seat just slightly more feasible?
Spill number one. I think that lost sip alone cost about three dollars.
God I hope there are no political undertones in The Sleeping Beauty.

boston ballet sleeping beauty castPhoto by Liza Voll, courtesy Boston Ballet

Showtime

1. BUTTERFLIES
2. And I’m an 8-year-old me in Magic Kingdom.
3. I might cry actually?
4. Oh poms on the shoes, very in gentlemen, very in!
5. KIDS there are KIDS in this performance oh those little ballet boys are such a treat!!
6. Dancers’ effortlessly graceful hands are without question their most underrated feature.
7. No Newbury Street manicure and paraffin wrap ever gon’ make my hands looks that graceful.
8. This Cinderella looking one is stealing alllllll my attention right now and not just because I like her costume.
9. The sound of pointe shoes on a stage gives me all the feels.
10. {loud sigh next to me} Mom too.
11. This scene is 8-year-old Emily’s vision of what love is supposed to be.
12. Can I have some wine to go with that cheese?
13. Related: I am so committed to my husband but good god these male bodies.
14. Stop gaping Emily.
15. Flying monkeys?
16. Nope wrong show Wicked comes to town next month!
17. I swear I remembered my glasses this time but is that makeup or masks?!
18. Masks. Must get prescription checked.
19. I don’t know if this is Mikko’s doing or who deserves credit but Boston Ballet has been upping the sneaky additions of humor lately and it is CLUTCH.
20. I met Mikko Nissinen this month.
21. You could say we’re basically besties.
22. I have FOMO of not being in this ballet right now.
23. Ahhh. They think they defeated this behemoth but we know better.

boston ballet Misa Kuranaga Irlan SilvaPhoto by Liza Voll, courtesy Boston Ballet

24. This aesthetic is on point so ANTHRO.
25. Like I would have been very happy with this as my own wedding.
26. Minus the whole marrying a man I met once before bit.
27. I’m not going to name names ok I don’t actually know her name but I spy someone who is going to go preeetttyyy far in this company.
28. Speaking of principals! Aurora!
29. Aren’t these suitors a little old for her?
30. Oh who am I to judge.
31. Holy SHPLIT it just keeps going!!!
32. It’s going to break!!

Misa Kuranaga Boston BalletPhoto by Liza Voll, courtesy Boston Ballet

33. Why, just why, would you approach a shadowy hooded woman on your own account girl?
34. Well I mean I guess the Beast refused to and got sort of screwed so ok I see your point.
35. So impressive how people dressed then.
36. But honestly there must have been some version of the yoga pant in 1890, no?
37. These nymphs are sporting some J.Crew Holiday 2013 sequins and I’m o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d.
38. This sass is playing hard so hard to get you’d think Prince was just her side boo.
39. She’s all, you think I’m just a dream well how you like me now?
40. I’ve seen a lot of chaîné turns in my life but these chaîné turns really put the wind in my sail.
41. You could say they’re turnt.
42. QUESTION how did Aurora make it to a bed when everyone else froze in place?
43. People are offended by the idea of The Bachelor but girlfriend just woke up and decided she’s ok with marrying him after one walk around the forest and a 100-year break?
44. Lilac Fairy is all yeah, you all owe me.
45. PUSS IN BOOTS who let them in here?!
46. Blue Bird is like, oh, you want me to put my leg down now?
47. But, why did Little Red Riding Hood bring the wolf as her wedding date though?
48. I know it’s the biggest faux pas to even think the word Disney in relation to the ballet but THIS. IS. SO. MAGICAL.
49. I’m not crying you’re crying.
50. Oh good Mom is actually crying.

Because of the company performing it, and the esteem of the story, my expectations were subconsciously set high for Boston Ballet Sleeping Beauty. Unsurprisingly, they were met and exceeded with a cherry on top.

The Sleeping Beauty runs through May 27 at the Boston Opera House. It’s a true gem for all ages, and I can’t wait for you to scoop up some tickets for yourselves!

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Full disclosure:: I was provided with two complimentary tickets to The Sleeping Beauty for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed are my own

52 Thoughts I Had While Watching Boston Ballet’s Artifact

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boston ballet artifact cast list

Photo by Rosalie O’Connor, courtesy of Boston Ballet

Coming back from a vacation is always slightly easier to do when you have something to look forward to on the other end. For me, that was a hot date with the Boston Ballet at the dress rehearsal for William Forsythe’s Artifact.

The setting:: I’ve got a prime seat in a near-empty theater with two gems—Laura and Celina—a handful of photog/videographers, and Lillian, the darling Marketing Manager for the Boston Ballet. We’re chatting and waiting for the show to start when she casually tells me the choreographer has entered the building.

1. Forsythe is here?
2. FORSYTHE IS HERE.
3. What does he look like? Quick, I’ll Google image.
4. He’s an actor?
5. Definitely wrong Forsythe
6. Backspace backspace, “william forsythe choreographer”
7. GOT HIM ok. On the lookout.
8. Someone’s on the stage. Is it Dusty?
9. Why did I forget my glasses why did I forget my glasses
10. Better to focus on the movements than the faces anyway?
11. The lights are on.
12. There’s no music.
13. Is this because dress rehearsal or art?
14. QUIET DOWN PEOPLE IT’S PURPOSEFUL ARTISTIC SILENCE

boston ballet forsythe artifact review

Photo by Rosalie O’Connor, courtesy of Boston Ballet

15. Spooky setting reminds me of Into the Woods.
16. (In only the best of ways)
17. Spoken word?!
18. They never cease to surprise me here.
19. Trying not to forget you will hear you will see I think I’m being hypnotized? I think you’ve always been saying the same things down there
20. Their movements are so simple and clean they could almost trick you into thinking anyone could be up there performing.
21. Sorry suckers, harder than it looks.
22. Oh I LURVE the sound of bare feet on stage floors.
23. Takes me back to my younger days when I was taught that the most desirable thing in life is not a perfect dancer’s body or pristine balance or true love but rather perfectly calloused feet.
24. Wow there’s so much going on OH MY GOD I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO LOOK
25. Why you thought you think you saw you thought you think I’M GOING CRAZY AREN’T I
26. Their costumes looks so comfy!
27. I mean, relatively speaking.
28. Bodysuits can only be considered comfortable to a select part of the population.
…………
29. Oh sorry I just lost all thoughts during that section.
30. I am being hypnotized aren’t I?

boston ballet tickets; william forsythe artifact

Photo by Rosalie O’Connor, courtesy of Boston Ballet

31. I haven’t seen high jumps like this since the Nutcracker Russians!
32. If you don’t incorporate syncopated clapping is it really a contemporary dance?
33. This might be the biggest ensemble piece I’ve seen on this stage to date.
34. I’d love to be a fly on the wall when some of these dancers receive their costume assignments.
35. It’s a pas de deux x2!
36. Like a double date!
37. SCENE CHANGE these transitions are so seamless it’s creepy!
38. How did we get down to one couple?
39. Ok I’m picking up on some political undertones.
40. It’s Trump’s America and we’re so confused and can’t keep up and don’t know where to look.
41. Don’t quote me on that one.
42. Women versus men democrats versus republicans?
43. I guarantee this work is unlike anything else these ballerinas have ever been asked to do.
44. Must confirm after show, is “ballerina” a degrading and/or anti-feminist term?
45. I know I know you know I know this is like a high school gossip sesh.
46. This PIANO I’m feeling La La Land right now!
47. SASS is it just me or did this just take a turn for sultry?
48. It’s the three Russians from The Nutcracker!
49. Also don’t quote me on that note to self check program books to confirm.
50. Ok there is definitely a political theme going on here right?
51. I. Am. Mesmerized.
52. I just let out a deep breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.

Like a fleeting summer romance, Artifact had the quickest of runtimes and unfortunately wrapped up last week. But it’s not your last chance to see a Forsythe piece–Boston Ballet kicked off a five-year partnership with the choreographer, so there’s more of where this came from. The improv, the purposeful unfinished production, this was unlike anything I’ve ever seen from this company.

In the meantime, save the date for the premiere of Boston Ballet’s Kylián/Wings of Wax, which kicks off March 23! Assuming my ridiculous commentary hasn’t gotten me banned from The Opera House, you know I’ll be back.

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40 Thoughts I Had While Watching Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker, v. 2

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the nutcracker boston ballet 2016I’m about to celebrate my 28th Christmas. That means I’ve seen The Nutcracker, let’s say, give or take, 20 times.

…Not including all of the VHS tape showings I’ve sat through in years of teaching and taking dance lessons myself.

20-something times later, I still feel all the feels. It never gets old, and I never run out of ignorant and ridiculous reactions. So here you have it, forty thoughts that danced through my mind watching Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker 2016::

1. The chin-up bright-eyed the-world-is-my-oyster look of joy Delia Wada-Gill just offered the audience as she walked to center stage is the same look I get on my face when I walk into a doughnut shop and I hope she never forgets that feeling.
2. OOH chIIIIIlls at that first note GAME. ON.
3. EEEP the urchins are the cutest little munchkins e-v-e-r.
4. Just me or does Drosselmeier resemble Evan from The Bachelorette?
5. God I hope Evan and Carly are still together.
6. I am in literal tears over the fact that there is a biracial couple at this party SO BOSTON SO BEAUTIFUL.
7. The men all just took a shot together is that a new addition to the choreo or have I been missing this action all these years?
8. Grandmother is lookin’ DAMN good for her age.
9. The Ballerina Doll might be the most underrated character of this entire ballet.
10. Welp another year another failed attempt to get this audience up for the standing ovation that Bear solo deserved.
11. God a nutcracker is SUCH a weird gift I can’t get over it.
12. Must have been the Hatchimal of 1816?
13. Is the tree growing or are we shrinking? Asking for a friend.
14. I know the rats are not very likable but can we all take a moment to appreciate how hard their job is?
15. You do realize that’s the same level as playing like Captain Hook or Jafar in Disney World right?
16. You have to be an amazing performer while wearing a fake head four times the size of your own sweating buckets and maintaining composure all while being booed by the audience.
17. GINGERBREAD MAN!!!
18. You are my favorite and I feel the same sort of affection toward you as I know many feel about Li’l Sebastian.
19. Snow Queen SLAY she is f-l-a-w-l-e-s-s.
20. Not sure if I’m just more in tune to it now or if it’s a commentary on current events but this pas de deux is giving off a serious feminist vibe and I am digging IT #girlpower
21. I just want this to be my life.
22. Would I really want this life?
23. You’d, like, never be available for Christmas parties.
24. No it’d be worth it.
25. But like, spiked hot chocolate.
26. Worth it still want this life.

seo hye han; paul craig boston ballet27. My vote for the most impressive thing in this show really should be the number of pirouettes Misa Kuranaga can do or how flexible Lia Cirio is but I really cannot stop thinking about how flawlessly that crown goes onto Clara’s head and how it’s able to stay there for the next 45 minutes.
28. If I am so lucky as to have a son he will be forced into ballet for the sole purpose of becoming one of these adorable baby guards one day.
29. The Spanish set looks like the most fun double date ever.
30. Why do we never discuss the Arabian set’s precious baby snake charmers who sit so politely and patiently on the side?
31. I’m feeling slightly uncomfortable and I’m not sure if it’s because of the eerie music or looking at her abs while acknowledging the amount of pumpkin pie I just ate.
32. This is goals.
33. Starting a Change.org petition to lengthen the Chinese set.
34. TheRussiansaremyfavoritepartofthisentireshowI’msorrynotsorryIcan’tdenyityou’reallbeautiful.
35. BLACK SHEEP BLACK SHEEP I want to snuggle you!!!
36. Waltz of the Flowers SOGOOD right now is it always this good?
37. Ashley Ellis you are Hilary Duff in A Cinderella Story.
38. Forget the rats, pretty sure the most difficult role of this entire show is that of the soldier who has to stand guard for virtually half of this act and is played by what must be an 8-year-old boy aka the most impatient age and gender combination of all time.
39. The Grand Pas de Deux is a literal dance-off and how have I never noticed that before?
40. Misa def just mic-dropped.

mikko nissinen boston ballet nutcracker

Where can you too indulge in The Nutcracker Boston friends? Mikko Nissinen’s adaptation will be playing at the Boston Opera House through December 31st, and tickets start at just $35 {#stockingstuffer}. Forgive me for being blunt, but you will regret not making time for this production.

Photos by Liza Voll, courtesy of Boston Ballet

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[ follow along love! instagram | twitter | rss | bloglovin ]

Full disclosure:: I was provided with two complimentary tickets to The Nutcracker
for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed are my own, and I have
attended Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker in many years past, unsponsored.

40 Thoughts I Had While Watching Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker

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Boston Ballet Nutcracker
Since you all seemed to have a good laugh [or eye roll] at my starred “review” of their production of Mahler’s Third earlier this fall, I’m back to share my thoughts on Boston Ballet’s Nutcracker 2015. My favorite of all Christmas-in-Boston traditions [though the Santa Speedo Run isn’t far behind.]

Boston Ballet Nutcracker Review1. This Clara casting is on POINT(E).*
2. My dream is to one day be one of these Christmas Eve party guests.
3. Not, like, as a dancer. Like as an actual guest.
4. It’s a strange year if my family wears anything other than pajamas as we sit around on Christmas Eve.
5. May these boys please never realize that they are too cool for ballet.
6. Hey! Rachel Cossar!
7. Can you imagine a more dreamy job that half professional ballet dancer/half food blogger?

Boston Ballet Nutcracker Tickets8. Whoever said the character Clara doesn’t dance much was seriously disturbed.
9. She is nailing those doubles and then some.
10. This bear can dance better than I will ever be able to. Wearing a costume that probably weighs as much as he does.
11. And that bear did not receive the standing ovation it should have.
12. Has anyone ever thought about how a nutcracker is sort of a random gift for a child?
13. I mean yes, it is a BEAUTIFUL doll too.
14. But when I was a kid if my dolls had special features it was like they could actually wet their diapers or spit stickers out of their stomach, not crack nut shells.
15. There is probably some 1800s German cultural history behind this that I should look up for context.
16. Sometimes I trip while dancing after drinking too, nanny.

Boston Ballet Nutcracker Snow Queen
17. But HOW do they make that tree grow like that?!
18. Two decades of watching Nutcracker performances and I still don’t get it.
19. I hate when ten-year-olds’ grand jetes are better than mine.
20. The rats are hands down the funniest characters in this ballet.
21. Like, rivaling Mother Ginger funny.
22. Who do you think is cuter– the baby rats, reindeer, or Gingerbread Man?
23. Ugh definitely those reindeer and their shuffling.
24. Why doesn’t it snow glitter when I emerge from my apartment each day?
25. I think my mom is crying.
26. Just realized I’ve been holding my breath through the entire snow scene.

Boston Ballet Nutcracker Photography
27. Ok, I take that back, the little guards are now the cutest.
28. Can we get an encore on the Chinese performance?!?
29. Too short!
30. But ok, here comes my favorite part.

Nutcracker Russian Ballet
31. Those Russians though.
32. Not sore on the eyes either.
33. Is breakdancing customary in Russian dance?
34. I TAKE IT BACK AGAIN THE BABY SHEEP TRUMP ALL IN CUTENESS.
35. NO, THE BABY BLACK SHEEP!!!

Boston Ballet Nutcracker Costumes
36. The Waltz of the Flowers is so dreamy.
37. But I can’t help but stress thinking about that scene in The Little Rascals.
38. I never want this to end.
39. The Nutcracker ending is as sad as taking the Christmas tree down.
[trips out of seat while standing to applaud]
40. What a way to end an evening all about the grace of the human body.

Boston Ballet Principal Dancers
All photos courtesy of The Boston Ballet

The Nutcracker features the full company, plus 11 Boston Ballet II members and 217 students! It runs now through December 31st. and tickets start at just $35. A purchase you won’t regret. MJF took me to Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker for our first Christmas together, and you can bet that sealed the deal.

*This performance featured Delia Wada-Gill as Clara!

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Full disclosure:: I was provided with two complimentary tickets to The Nutcracker
for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed are my own, and I have
attended Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker in many years past, unsponsored.

40 Thoughts I Had While Watching Boston Ballet’s Mahler’s Third

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Boston Ballet Opera House
I had the pleasure of attending the dress rehearsal of Boston Ballet’s Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler, running through November 1st at the Boston Opera House.  Approximately 12 seconds in, I knew that a) I was never going to want it to end, and b) I was never going to be able to give it the review it deserves. So rather, I ask you to read Jeffrey Gantz’s praise in The Boston Globe for a proper synopsis and take this, possibly the most academic review of a professional ballet performance e-v-e-r, with a grain of salt.

Boston Ballet Mahler's Third
1. The theater is quite empty and I feel a bit like Hugh Grant in Notting Hill when he gets snuck into a press meeting per request of Julia Roberts.
2. Should I say shell chic’d or Horse & Hound if anyone asks?
3. I hate telling people “what publication I write for.” Like shell SHOCKED, ok?
4. Shoot I didn’t do my research ahead of time, what’s this ballet about?
5. Hi Smita!
6. You’d think that as someone who has danced for the last 22 years, I’d know a bit more about ballets beyond the realm of Sleeping Beauty-Swan Lake-Nutcracker.
7. Holy stage full of men.
8. Is it all men?
9. I’ve never seen men push up so gracefully.
10.Say men one more time.

mahler1

11. So this is what it means to be sitting on the edge of your seat.
12. I cannot comprehend the extent of this physical strength.
13. And people think ballet is just tutus and reindeer.
14. They’re standing on their heads.
15. THEY’RE STANDING ON THEIR HEADS.
16. I’m supposed to be photographing and studying critically but my jaw is down and I can’t think about anything other than the fact that there are four men holding four men holding four additional men and they have to do this every night for the next for the next 12 nights and are they even breaking a sweat?
17. Anyone who has ever made a joke about men in tights has never seen these men in tights.
18. You can see the sweat splat every time they hit their chests. That’s dedication.

Mahlers Third NightDusty Button Boston Ballet

19. A female! She lives!
20. IT’S DUSTY BUTTON. We go way back. She assisted in a master class I took when I was 15. I’ve stalked her via social media ever since. Like I tried to add her to my Top 8 on MySpace.
21. Yes, Dusty Button is her real name.
22. I mean, as far as I know.
23. I wonder if we’re neighbors?
24. Her leg is longer than my entire body.

Boston Ballet's Mahler's Third SymphonySeo Hye Han Boston Ballet

25. This “Summer” movement is a vision in pastels.
26. Seo Hye Han is an actual doll and I’d like her legs please.
27. They’re dancing in silence. Do you know how hard it is to dance in silence? I don’t mean around your bedroom in your underwear I mean in front of 2,500 people and you’re not even wearing underwear. Tights don’t count.

Boston Ballet's Mahlers ThirdBoston Ballet School

28. Where is that voice com–
29. Oh! A chorus!
30. And a soloist!
31. There’s something you don’t see in Swan Lake.
32. Have they been sitting there the whole time or…?

Boston Ballet Opera HouseBoston Ballet Mahlers Third

33. We’ve gone from sunflowers to death and back again.
34. I love simple but purposeful costuming.
35. Tutus are so overrated anyway.
36. “There will be no intermission during tonight’s performance” might be the 8 scariest words for a tired dancer to hear uttered.
37. Oh Lasha Khozashvili you exceptional man I do hope you get a good night’s sleep tonight.
38. I could see this performance 8 more times and always find something or someone new to watch.

Boston Ballet Principal Dancers

39. THAT.
40. That was not your sister’s dance recital.

Boston Opera House History

Boston Ballet’s Mahler’s Third Symphony is running until November 1st (coming up quickly!) at the Boston Opera House, and tickets can be purchased here! Do yourself a favor and don’t miss this– tickets start at just $35.

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Weekend Wear :: Ballerina Chic

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Stylish Petite Blog Tulle Skirt

Atlantic Pacific Blog Tulle Skirt

Merrick's Art Blog Tulle Skirt

Ballerina Chic | Walk in Wonderland Blog

 Am all about that ballerina chic as I head into another weekend of dance performances! Few things make me happier than a flirty tulle skirt paired with a casual top…

Tulle Skirt; Blush Coat

[ Blush Long Line Coat | Dancing Linen Tee | Ballerina Skirt | Frennzy Nude Pumps | Cedar Street Mini Maise ]

*images one | two | three | four

Happy Friday gals!

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A Day at the Ballet

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Boston Opera House Photography

Maybe my favorite of ALL Christmas traditions? Blame it on the dancer in me, but it’s one hundred percent going to see The Nutcracker in Boston. An indulgence that’s a bit difficult to do every year, which makes it even more of a treat when it does happen.

Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker 2014

Photo courtesy of Boston Ballet

This year was a Nutcracker year, and I was so, so grateful for the opportunity to see Boston Ballet’s rendition, under the creative direction of Mikko Nissinen. Set in the early 1800s, his production is based on Alexandre Dumas’s libretto The Tale of the Nutcracker, adapted from E.T.A. Hoffman’s classic tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The Boston Ballet changes it up just enough every year, to keep things fresh, while still perfectly sticking to the story and parts we fell in love with as children.

Boston Ballet Costumes

Photo courtesy of Boston Ballet

The Nutcracker Boston costumes

Photo courtesy of Boston Ballet

The COSTUMES though. Those are what really make this performance magical. Robert Perdziola redesigned all of the costumes that grace the production’s 300+ dancers in 2012 [costumes are only redone every 15-20 years!]. 182 completed costumes appear during each performance, but over 350 were created for multiple casts. This slays me: The Sugar Plums and Dew Drops, alone, have over 3,600 jewels on their tutus and bodices, and over 2,000 yards of net and tulle were used for all of the costumes. Can you say, dream closet?

Robert Perdziola Costume Designer

Photo courtesy of Boston Ballet

Boston Ballet Nutcracker Tutus

Photo courtesy of Boston Ballet

Best ballet costumes

Photo courtesy of Boston Ballet

Which brings me to my day-at-the-ballet look, obviously involving tulle and a bit of sparkle as well. This was the perfect excuse to don some of my girliest, most festive apparel, and to debut a darling LC Lauren Conrad skirt, and sweet new tassel charm bracelet from queen-bee-of-monograms, Marley Lilly.

Christmas outfits

Plaid Shirt, Ralph Lauren [similar] | Tulle Skirt, LC Lauren Conrad | Pearl Cluster Necklace c/o Francesca’s [similar 1; 2] | Monogrammed Tassel Bracelet c/o Marley Lilly | Green Leather Crossbody, Jesslyn Blake [similar 1; 2] | Patent Ballet Flats, Kimchi Blue [similar 1; 2]

Monogrammed Tassel Bracelet

The Nutcracker Outfit

Gold tassel bracelet; love script bracelet

Blue Green Plaid Shirt; Pearl Cluster Necklace

Kelly Green Leather Bag

What to wear to the ballet

The Nutrcracker is playing at the Boston Opera House and runs through December 31st this year, with performances Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30, Sundays at 5:30, and various 1pm matinees.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.bostonballet.org, or over the phone at 617.695.6955. They start at just $29, so give yourself a treat this holiday.

Seriously not convinced yet? Read this:: Top 10 reasons to see the Nutcracker this season!

Mikko Nissien The Nutcracker Review

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Full disclosure:: I was provided with two complimentary tickets to The Nutcracker for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed are my own, and I have attended Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker in many years past, unsponsored.