Consequences Of Living With A Would-Be Mathematician
We took the girls to see a local professional production of The Nutcracker yesterday. Their good friend had two small parts in the ballet, and has for the last couple of years. Yet this is the first year I've been coordinated enough to get tickets early and make our way there. Aaron expressed zero interest in seeing the production, and we thought that Melina was a little young to come. So, Tim, the girls, and I made the short drive downtown.
Both Zoe and Talia are practicing pieces from The Nutcracker for their piano lessons, and they are really enjoying them. I have always loved the music, but I had never seen a live production of the ballet. Tim says he saw one so long ago, he really coudln't remember.
Our seats were awesome! Mrs. D picked them out for us, and she placed us right in the center part of the lower balcony. We could see everything at once, and no one tall was sitting in front of us. In fact, for most of the show, no one at all was sitting there. The girls were excited for the ballet to start, and once the lights dimmed, I could tell by the smiles on their faces that it was going to be a lovely afternoon.
In short, the production was nice. There were a few minor mishaps: one ballerina fell briefly, some of the movements were not completely coordinated, etc. But all the little children in the production were adorable, and of course, the big things all went well. There were no lighting issues or scene structure problems.
In fact, the only problem really had to do with me. I guess I am not really a fan of the ballet. I can truly appreciate the hard work and dedication that go into being a part of the dance and I could never purport to be able to do anything near that. (Why do I enjoy running? It is easy to put one foot in front of the other, and even then, I sometimes trip!) But I wasn't moved by the production. It could be the lack of story, as I mentioned to Tim; it could be that The Nutcracker is geared toward children. I don't really know how to explain it. But the part that really did me in came just before the intermission. And this problem is all of Tim's fault.
The last scene of Act I shows a smart little dance with the Snowflakes: 12 ballerinas dressed in light, fluffy, snowflake-like costumes. Melina would have loved to see these young ladies twirl. I saw the twirling, all right, but then I noticed something. The groups of 3. Four groups of 3 to be exact. Then, they were in groups of 4. Three groups of 4, of course. At some point, the girls lined up in two lines of 6. I think you can see where this is going. I could not get out of my head the factors of 12! It was like a scene from the old Sesame Street episodes where they would show a number of dancers and say things like, "Twelve." And just repeat that number, over and over and over. "Look boys and girls, how many ways can you come up with 12?"
The same thing happened in Act II, when the Flowers came out to dance. It didn't happen during the scene with the German children, so there must have been something in the choreography of the Flowers and Snowflakes that just lent itself to math.
At some point during the production, I whispered to the girls, "Did you see that? Four groups of 3s. Twelve. Math is just about everywhere."
It was really dark, but I am sure I heard them both roll their eyes.
Both Zoe and Talia are practicing pieces from The Nutcracker for their piano lessons, and they are really enjoying them. I have always loved the music, but I had never seen a live production of the ballet. Tim says he saw one so long ago, he really coudln't remember.
Our seats were awesome! Mrs. D picked them out for us, and she placed us right in the center part of the lower balcony. We could see everything at once, and no one tall was sitting in front of us. In fact, for most of the show, no one at all was sitting there. The girls were excited for the ballet to start, and once the lights dimmed, I could tell by the smiles on their faces that it was going to be a lovely afternoon.
In short, the production was nice. There were a few minor mishaps: one ballerina fell briefly, some of the movements were not completely coordinated, etc. But all the little children in the production were adorable, and of course, the big things all went well. There were no lighting issues or scene structure problems.
In fact, the only problem really had to do with me. I guess I am not really a fan of the ballet. I can truly appreciate the hard work and dedication that go into being a part of the dance and I could never purport to be able to do anything near that. (Why do I enjoy running? It is easy to put one foot in front of the other, and even then, I sometimes trip!) But I wasn't moved by the production. It could be the lack of story, as I mentioned to Tim; it could be that The Nutcracker is geared toward children. I don't really know how to explain it. But the part that really did me in came just before the intermission. And this problem is all of Tim's fault.
The last scene of Act I shows a smart little dance with the Snowflakes: 12 ballerinas dressed in light, fluffy, snowflake-like costumes. Melina would have loved to see these young ladies twirl. I saw the twirling, all right, but then I noticed something. The groups of 3. Four groups of 3 to be exact. Then, they were in groups of 4. Three groups of 4, of course. At some point, the girls lined up in two lines of 6. I think you can see where this is going. I could not get out of my head the factors of 12! It was like a scene from the old Sesame Street episodes where they would show a number of dancers and say things like, "Twelve." And just repeat that number, over and over and over. "Look boys and girls, how many ways can you come up with 12?"
The same thing happened in Act II, when the Flowers came out to dance. It didn't happen during the scene with the German children, so there must have been something in the choreography of the Flowers and Snowflakes that just lent itself to math.
At some point during the production, I whispered to the girls, "Did you see that? Four groups of 3s. Twelve. Math is just about everywhere."
It was really dark, but I am sure I heard them both roll their eyes.
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