NEW RESEARCH FINDS PEACE BREAKING OUT IN THE WORLD
Honestly, how many times has any headline news been so wonderful? It reminded me of one of the reasons why we might see far more dismaying items about humanity than we do hopeful ones. I recently saw a study showing that human beings are more drawn to sorrow than happiness. We look for sadness, or for fear and anger. This may be because for so many thousands of years we had to protect our caves and our grains and our children from marauders of some kind. But, if the trends the research cited in this recent article continue, we may soon find that we are, as a species, choosing hope over cynicism, creativity over destruction, and love over the violence and discord our fears can engender.
I truly believe that when you choose to attend something beautiful, excellent and idealistic, as you do when you buy a Ballet Memphis Nutcracker ticket, you are coming down on the side of peace, hope and optimism. If there ever was a story that celebrates the capacity of our innocent childlike nature to triumph, to imagine a beautiful world where dreams come true, it is in this ballet. The world of giving, of sharing, starts at the beginning of the story when Clara is given her party dress, and it goes on until the curtain descends. A lovely party is given for friends and family. Gifts are passed out to all the children. A fallen rose is passed on to a shy teenage girl. Gingerbread cookies are available to each departing guest. And when the Nutcracker is broken, he is given care by Herr Drosselmeyer's bandaging him, and of course, by even more of Clara's love.
And when Clara is given a struggle to overcome in the Battle Scene, she does so, and then journeys to a more perfect world, where all await to dance their particular culture’s dance in gratitude for the young child’s bravery, and celebrating her affection for her Nutcracker. Weapons have been cast aside in favor of dancing, frankly. If that isn’t looking forward to better, more peaceful times, what is?
In this wonderful time of the year when many people of many faiths gather their loved ones together, Ballet Memphis is honored that you chose our Nutcracker as a place to experience these moments of hope, of peace, of delight, of real human beauty. We would love for you to gather with us elsewhere as well, in the rest of our professional company’s performances this season, in our nurturing Ballet Memphis School and our excellent STOTT PILATES® classes, in support of our reach into the community with our Stax mentoring, Youth Villages work, Dance Avenue programs in the public schools, and our childhood obesity dance program with community centers.
When you leave this theatre, we hope you will return throughout the year to the feelings you brought here and left with, when you stopped to choose what is hopeful about human beings giving joyfully to one another, so that the peace of this season will continue to grow and spread in our lives and throughout the world.
-- Dorothy Gunther Pugh
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