U.S. Campus Life The other Nutcracker By Masako Yamada	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
もう一つの『くるみ割り人形』 公演の幕間に、記念品売りがで振り子を務める家族ぐるみのボランティア

Watching the Nutcracker is a winter tradition in many cities across the States. Boston is no exception. This is when ballet companies can make the most money off ticket sales. Ballet theaters are often half-empty, but they are usually packed for the Nutcracker. I find this sudden demand for tickets amusing, since the Nutcracker is not considered to be one of the masterpieces of ballet. I prefer to watch other ballets, and I haven't seen the Nutcracker in years.

This year, however, a friend of mine invited me to see the Nutcracker by the Ballet Theater of Boston. The Ballet Theater of Boston is the second largest ballet company in the area. My friend has been taking ballet classes for adults held by the company, and she told me that some of her friends were going to be performing in this production of the Nutcracker.

Boston Ballet is the largest ballet company in the area, and when people in New England talk about going to the Nutcracker, it is understood that they mean the performance by the Boston Ballet. There is a big difference between "largest" and "second largest." The Boston Ballet performs in a gorgeous hall with marble, magnificent statues and many-tiered balconies. The Ballet Theater of Boston performs in a church auditorium. The Boston Ballet has its own full orchestra. The Ballet Theater of Boston performs to recorded music. The Boston Ballet has a strict hierarchy of principals, soloists, corps members, apprentices and students. At the Ballet Theater of Boston these distinctions are not so clear.

The Ballet Theater of Boston is a small ballet company, but it has been able to survive for 16 years. The tickets are cheaper. The audience sits much closer to the stage, so one can see all of the subtle facial expressions and physical gestures. There is a wider range of body types among the dancers. The audience doesn't hesitate to show its appreciation by clapping and cheering. The company always puts on productions with original choreography, even when performing the classics.

The Ballet Theater of Boston is a professional company, and I found the performance very good. However, I will admit that I find the Boston Ballet dancers to have more artistic flair and refinement. My friend told me that she doesn't look for perfection in performances by small companies. She looks for life, and we saw a lot of life in this Nutcracker. The ever-so-slight imperfections made the facial expressions seem all the more human and vivid.

I also enjoyed little touches I saw off-stage: parents selling homemade cookies, a pianist playing Christmas carols during intermission, an enthusiastic fan clapping her hands high above her head after every scene, my neighbors in the audience pointing out to me their friends, wives and daughters in the show.

Not all people were cheering for this small company, however. In front of me was a woman who sat up rigidly and barely clapped. She fanned herself occasionally with the program. I overheard her talking to the man sitting next to me, who proudly pointed out his wife when she appeared on stage. The woman said she came to see her daughter perform, but there was a kind of bitterness in the way she spoke that indicated that there was a lot more going on.

She explained to the man that her daughter was "gaining experience" in this company while she auditioned for better companies. She didn't hesitate to mention that her daughter had trained at a top ballet school in New York City. I caught a mixture of pride and disappointment as she tried to explain why her talented daughter was performing in such a minor company. Her daughter is only 19, but her mother sounded resigned, not hopeful, about her future. In the dance world, the prima ballerinas have usually emerged by that age.

I felt sad for this mother, but this sadness was also very meaningful. I felt much closer to both the performers and the audience members than I do when I go to the Boston Ballet.

Shukan ST: Dec. 28, 2001

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