Taking Small Kids to the San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker

I had always wanted to go to the Nutcracker. It wasn't even that I loved the televised Nutcracker performances -- I actually found them extremely boring, but I thought that live ballet would be different (and I was right). During our seven years in San Francisco we would see the giant nutcrackers outside of the ballet and I'd imagine someday taking my kids. But how old is old enough?

This year we decided to try it out and take the boys to the San Francisco Ballet's matinee performance of the Nutcracker. Xander is 5 and a half, and Caleb is 4. I guessed that Xander would be a dream at the performance, and Caleb was probably a little on the young side.  I was sort of wrong.

Caleb loved the ballet. He watched everything intently and clapped at the conclusion of each performance. Xander loved the first act, but got a little antsy toward the end of the second act when it dragged a little. However, he did get the storyline, and his favorite character was the magician and toymaker Drosselmeyer.

At the matinee, about 25 percent of the attendees were children under the age of eight. And little girls out numbered boys five to one. When I was getting the boys ready in the morning I realized that they don't have any dress-up clothes. And we were decidedly under dressed compared to the hundreds of little girls in velvet and silk Holiday dresses. But we weren't alone in our casual faux pas.

Thinking back on what I disliked about the televised performances ... the colors seemed dingy, and the storyline was hard to follow. The San Francisco Ballet performance was vibrant and beautiful, and they integrated actors into the earlier scenes to help establish a storyline. Drosselmeyer appeared from the start of the overture and through the entire performance to lead the audience and Clara in the adventure.

The arrangement and orchestra were excellent ... and on TV, even with surround sound, you don't get the same effect of a live orchestra.

Overall the experience was wonderful. Although the ballet didn't have the giant nutcrackers out front this year. Special props to the San Francisco Ballet website which was easy to navigate.  We were able to select our tickets in the front row of the Balcony Circle for December 23 visually and that made a huge difference.

I see this as becoming an annual tradition. Now I need to find a nutcracker for Xander.