Mel,
I loved your original post. (Loathe, hate, etc).
Seeing a grown up Clare (dead give away it isn't Balanchine) makes me cringe.

ABT's version makes you want to dive head first into your chair. The choreography, the costumes, oy what an embarrassment. Last time I saw that one was 2001, maybe it has been updated. At least they have the good sense not to dance it in NYC.

Regarding Balanchines' Nutcracker, there are moments of pure joy and magic. When the Nutcracker's costume comes off of him towards the end of the first act with the crescendo of the music, when the bed sweeps across the floor, when the boys in the first act march to the front of the stage and salute one by one in time to the music. I love Chinese Tea and the music to Hoops. If you watch the mice in the battle scene, you will see different, funny things that these corp members do to keep that part interesting, sometimes there are laugh out load moments but you have to catch them. The costumes and the sets are the best of any company doing whatever version they do (it helps to be one of the richest companies in the world). So while everyone is going on about this SPF or that Cavalier, I like the many small things of the Nutcracker that makes it a whole.

On another note (and please correct me if I am wrong) except for the wonderful Peter Boal, no other Prince and no Marie that I am aware of has made it into NYCB.

Judith Fugate danced Marie as a child in the late 60s.

Hi, printscess.

We actually list a number of Princes and Maries who went on to careers with NYCB here. But if any FRITZes have gone on to professional careers, I am unaware of it. Maybe that's because Fritz is a trouble maker , and maybe he's cast to type. But I don't know.

Does anyone know of former Fritzes who grew up to be professional dancers?

My sister was visiting the area recently, and as we were trying to find a time to get together, I turned down one of her suggestions because it conflicted with a Nutcracker I wanted to see. She was taken aback: "Does anyone really take Nutcracker seriously?" Yeah. Lots of us.

My son was Fritz, even got a write up in the NY Times , and is now dancing professional

Excuse me a moment as I try to extract my virtual foot from my virtual mouth.

no need for foot in mouth. You wouldn't have known about him and btw, he IS Fritz...still 8 years later (so much for typecasting). I think the NY Times called him a scamp!!! But in the nicest way possible.

Somogyi also danced Marie as a child.

And Jean-Pierre Frohlich had to go through a Fritz phase before he became a Nutcracker Prince.