The Nutcracker’s Prince & Princess Warrior
December 20, 2021
There are many substories and messages in the famous fable of the Nutcracker.
The doll given to young Clara on Christmas Eve by her mysterious uncle transforms into a Prince who fights the dark forces of the mouse kingdom showing true warriorship with skills of strength and courage, protecting what matters most, in this case the young Clara.
Clara in her own right possesses the character of a Princess Warrior, displaying fearlessness in the face of great danger and grace under fire, saving her beloved Nutcracker Prince from a fatal finale by the Mouse King.
This year we attended the Long Beach Ballet’s celebrated version of this holiday spectacle.
Apparently it takes an entire year for production members to pull together this amazing annual event for a growing audience of children, parents, families, ballet & arts lovers and those celebrating the season.
In fact, this adaptation of the show, in addition to utilizing professional ballet cast members engages kids, teens and even toddlers to participate in a uniquely exuberant and undoubtedly life-enhancing experience of expression, connection, community and pure joy of immersion into the world of ballet and the arts.
It is so exciting to see southern California audiences packing a large theatre with great enthusiasm as they are introduced to the culture of ballet through a spellbinding story growing more and more familiar.
What is not yet familiar to us is the understanding of the capacity of ballet to shape us into creative channels of expression living a life of value, purpose and joy.
Ballet is a most complex and challenging artform which demands olympian-level athleticism and the most refined artistic sense. In this unique realm, you are the canvas of your art, you literally channel it through your mind and body, bringing the two aspects of yourself together into one harmonious unit.
This caliber of mental and physical discipline takes a superhuman level of strength, behind which stands will, and in turn, behind which stands purpose. And this is where we are hurting: purpose.
In order to have this we must be educated in seeing ballet for what it really is, beyond the tights and tutus, and effeminate stereotypes.
The ultimate purpose of ballet is to elevate ourselves and inspire an elevated state of being in others.
Without being presented with the real picture and value of what ballet really holds for us, we see it in a limited capacity, evidenced in the scarcity of male dancers and a lacking presence of power – which is actually an inherent part of true classical ballet.
In a new, more comprehensive light, the end goal of ballet training is not necessarily to become a professional dancer, it is to become a more elevated being with the capacity to express your unique talent and share it with the world in a most gratifying way.
Pictured in this article is Mamuka Kikalishvili, who is both a ballet dancer and martial artist combining the two facets of his composition in an exemplary manner. He is both prince and warrior, embracing each aspect of himself and taking his art and his state of being to the next level. Mamuka’s inspiring mentor is ballet dancer, choreographer & multi-discipline black-belt martial artist George Birkadze.