Originally a (mostly) gay event, it has over the years become the annual holiday gift of the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band to the larger Bay Area community.
Getting into the act is simple: You can rent a chiffon tutu or a blinking tiara inside the door (or come dressed in that bridesmaid dress that has always looked as though it escaped from "Swan Lake"); fortify yourself with a libation from the substantially stocked lobby bar; and dance along to Tchaikovsky's holiday classic.
During the performance, the Freedom Band plays its way through the ballet, removing the more dirge-like passages and replacing them with livelier tunes, including "Good King Wenceslas" and "Tiny Bubbles." Whenever the sign reading "It's time to dance along" flashes above the stage, everybody takes to the aisles to boogie, ballroom, hip-hop and samba, as well as perform those flashy pirouettes perfected in front of the bedroom mirror.
- Los Angeles Times
Photo credit: Billy Green
The Dance-Along Nutcracker is rooted in traditions that go back much further than 1985, blending together several strands of local history. The San Francisco Ballet is the oldest professional ballet company in the United States - and its Nutcracker, first performed on Christmas Eve of 1944, was the first complete production of that ballet in America.
Furthermore, the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band is itself the oldest gay musical organization in the world. Add to the mix The City's reputation since, well, forever of being a haven for oddball self-expression, and voilà!
I like this summing up of the Dance-Along Nutcracker, by the event's artistic director, Jadine Louie:
"'Dance-Along Nutcracker' sounds like a one-liner, so it's hard to imagine how it can be a whole show, much less one that has lasted for 25 years," she said. "You have to experience it to understand why. It's funny, it's topical, it's harmlessly ridiculous, but most of all, it's a place where everyone else's glee - from the middle-aged couple dancing like they're still in love to the bearded daddies wearing tutus with their kids - is infectious. A community where the fun is at no one else's expense is worth keeping, don't you think?"
Do you have any "harmlessly ridiculous" holiday traditions - whether personal, in your family, or in your community? (Another one I like is Kung Pao Kosher Comedy!)
Photo credit: Jane Philomen-Cleland
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