The anniversary of one of the holiday’s most heartbreaking and heartwarming events still chills me to this day.
I remember the headlines.
“Giant Mice Storm Holiday Party” and “Valiant Prince Nearly Dies in Dance of Death” and “Young Adventurer Lost in Land of Sweets Follows Snowflake Path Home.”
Yep.
It is that time of year again.
“The Nutcracker” returns.
And attending the Land of Sweets Tea & Tour at the Juneau Dance Theatre’s performance?
Can I say…whatttttttttt? Sign me up again and again please!
You are probably asking, “Klas, what does ‘Nutcracker’ have to do with sports?”
And I am probably answering, “Folks, ballet dancers are pretty, pretty, pretty athletic.”
Ballet dancers require a unique combination of strength, endurance, control, precision and mental focus that sets them apart from other athletes.
I am not going to list all the famous dancers, not do a top 10, not cite performances or companies.
Instead, I’m just going to challenge you.
Stand en pointe for a minute — ballerinas can go eight minutes on their toes while in serious dance mode. Jump so high your head touches a basketball rim. Soar the length of a long jump pit, but only higher — ballet dancers have stronger leg muscles and cores than professional football/basketball/baseball/track athletes. Leap and spin and prance repeatedly for an hour…with a smile on your face.
Yeah, thought so.
In this 2009 photo, December’s mid-day light shines through the Juneau Dance Unlimited studio as Misha Culver stretches in her Snow costume during a dress rehearsal for “The Nutcracker.” (Klas Stolpe)
In one professional company’s performance of “Swan Lake,” principal dancer Kathleen Martin did 64 fouettés — a quick-spinning movement of a raised leg usually accompanying a pirouette. A pirouette is a turn on one leg with the dancer starting on one or two legs in a plié and moving into a relevé (rising onto the ball of one’s foot for a man and en pointe for a woman) with a rotation. She did 64 fouettés without stopping.
Yes, I had to Google that, my Swedish explanation would have been: Katie spun around fast.
Dancers have explosive power and artistry, physical prowess and emotional expression.
We are not talking 3 a.m. at the local night boogie stop here.
So let me just bask in the glory of “The Nutcracker” season.
If you need a resolution in a month, watch a couple ballets and you will be vowing to exercise a bit more.
Okay! Missy Copeland, Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Olga Smirnova, Eleonora Sevenard, Laura Morton, Vincenzo Di Primo, Bianca Scudamore, Amanda Morgan, Kennedy Brown, Maria Coelho….
I name-dropped a couple for you.
Juneau’s own Genevieve Carson, Misha Culver, Máire New and Anouk Otsea are a few that impressed me years ago in coverage…just look at the guest faculty of the Juneau Dance Theatre and everyone there is more athletic than the average hiking Swede.
Would I choose a dancer first in a game of pickup basketball? I would not even care if they had no jump shot.
Sports, entertainment, business…the line is easily crossed when someone can do things so incredible that my muscles get sore just watching.
In Vegas gambling? Check out any Cirque du Soleil performance.
Here’s a fact:
It is easier to get onto a college basketball team than that same university’s performance dance team.
And while ballet is not considered a sport, dance has come into the Olympic games in various contests (breakdancing, figure skating, gymnastics).
So maybe “sport” is the wrong noun. “Athlete” is more fitting. “Super athlete” to be more specific.
Ballet is one of the most physically grueling endeavors a human can withstand.
And heck, if they have an orchestra that makes my heart swoon, it is even better.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stople@juneauempire.com.
