Memories | Heritage | Heirlooms
We don't have any heirloom type Christmas ornaments or decorations that have been passed down through the years, although I have a few bits and pieces from when my children were young.
Way back in July 1986 I started a dance school in a little CWA hall in Caravonica, a suburb of Cairns. The following year I decided to put on a dance performance at the Civic Theatre in Cairns, with my young students. To this day I cannot work out why I decided to do The Nutcracker, a full length ballet, with students ranging in age from 3 years to about 13 years, most of whom had only been dancing for less than 12 months. it was a challenge to choreograph, but we did it - lots of step and hop and step and point - but we did it. The students were wonderful, and I hope had an amazing experience dancing on a stage with lights, costumes, makeup and an audience. Those young children had only the afternoon of the performance to adjust from dancing in a small hall to a much larger stage and did so amazingly!
The father of one of my older students, and the girl who danced Clara, had previously worked in set design and I asked if he could make me a Nutcracker to use in the production. This is it. I do remember that it was quite heavy for Clyta to dance with. I've carried this Nutcracker to many places and somewhere along the way it lost the bottom part of the bit that cracks the nuts - which was the part that was designed to come out when Franz 'broke' it.
This Nutcracker carries such wonderful memories of that time in my life, and the very special young people I had the pleasure of teaching dance to for a number of years.
Just a little information on nutcrackers ...
"According to German folklore, nutcrackers were given as keepsakes to bring good luck to your family and protect your home. The legend says that a nutcracker represents power and strength and serves like a trusty watch dog guarding your family from evil spirits and danger. A fierce protector, the nutcracker bares its teeth to the evil spirits and serves as the traditional messenger of good luck and goodwill ...
Writers, composers and artists sang and danced the praises of the legend of the Nutcracker beginning with the novel “The Nutcracker and the King of Mice,” written sometime between 1776 and 1822, by E.T. Amadeus Hoffman. This novel became the basis for Tchaikovsky’s magnificent “Nutcracker Suite”, which debuted as a ballet in St. Petersburg in 1892 and lives on as a holiday tradition throughout the world".