Snowflake Waltz

You've probably seen The Nutcracker once or twice in your life. For a long time, I professed to hate it. My ballet teacher was vehement in her hatred of the oft performed tale, and it does appear to be the most overly performed ballet of all time. Everywhere you go in the month of December, all you hear is Nutcracker music. The Waltz of the Flowers is probably the most often played, but right behind it would be the March of the Soldiers.

Nutcrackers are all around the world, everywhere you go. They are an overused symbol of Christmas.

The Nutcracker here to stay. And I performed bits and pieces of it for different shows, but I was never in a complete performance.  My dance teacher hated The Nutcracker, so I did as well. Even though, I secretly really loved the Waltz of the Snowflakes. I performed in many ballets of my life, but I considered it personally epically tragic that I never did the Waltz of the Snowflakes. I think that would've been an absolute blast.

If you listen to the music, it's very deceptive. It starts off light, airy, almost like a real snowfall does. If you haven't heard it, or you don't remember it - find it on youtube and listen. It's light and fluffy, and increases in tempo, speed and ferocity.

Much like my life. Wake up in the morning with your day ahead of you. Nothing exciting, nothing earth shaking. But slowly, as the day goes on, it gathers steam and speed, much like the Waltz of the Snowflakes. If you listen to the music, it becomes frantic – this is the part often referred to as the deathspiral, or the reverse spiral. Dancers dash from one side to the other, crisscrossing back-and-forth, dodging each other, weaving throughout, and snow was falling everywhere. It's a scene of chaos. It becomes more and more frantic, faster, faster, faster– and then it slows down. Becomes peaceful, allows you to catch your breath. Just like life. There's even some beautiful singing.

It's a deceptive calm.

Suddenly, without warning, it speeds up, and it feels almost as if you're caught in a blizzard. And it gets faster and faster, and if you were dancing it, you would become breathless.

This past week, my life has felt like this. Brief, intermittent patches of calm, followed by more increasing and ever more intense cycles of frantic running. Dashing from one thing to do next, putting out this fire in time to turn around and put out that fire. Everyone in my life has needed more, more, MORE of me, And it just seems so stressful. So frantic, so - much. I can seem to make no one happy, no matter how much I do, how hard I work, how much I sacrifice of myself to make them happy - it's never enough.

I keep reminding myself that the Waltz of the Snowflakes ends. It is frantic and scattered, stressful and appears infinite - but it does come to an end.

Comments

[Headless Mom]

This is a crappy time if year to feel that way but January is right around the corner. We're all going through it. And march is only 3 short months away!'

[Karen]

Thank you, I so needed this reminder right now.

[Brandy]

I think we all go through times like this. This week has been rather stressful with a brief lull this morning and now again its back to stressful. Thank you for the knowledge that others feel this way. Thank you also for the extra knowledge that this too shall pass. Hugs and Blessings for you!

[Annika]

I grew up around ballet. I can't remember a time when I didn't have every note Tchaikovsky wrote etched into my psyche, but one of the problems with knowing something by heart is never stopping and thinking about it. Your description of The Waltz of the Snowflakes is so so so perfect.

[Sonja]

I so enjoy your description of the dance!! I can picture it in my head (also I have seen The Nutcracker waaaaay too many times). Growing up, my sister was into ballet. One of her friends danced "Clara" for several years in Chicago's biggest production of the show so every year, we went. You can only see it so many times and then it's like enough already!! But my mom was determined to carry this tradition on with my children. She took them once and I had to put my foot down. Which is what YOU need to do!! Try really hard to separate out the wants from the needs, the musts from the maybe I don't have to's. Sometimes we get so caught up in the frenzy of the season that we forget to slow down and really think about what is necessary and what people can live without.
However, the hardest part is the waiting, for the kids - my son has asked me almost daily why it can't be Christmas yet, and I don't even think any of what he is getting as presents is that spectacular! Hang in there, Carmen.

[JMB]

My three girls dance and have danced a swath of roles in the Nutcracker for the past 8 years. I love your analogy of the Waltz of the Flowers to this time of year! How apropos! My favorite part is the waltz in the beginning of the first act with the parents at the party.