Nutcrackers and Social Geometry

One attends The Nutcracker, naturally, not for Tchaikovsky, but for the tableau. This particular iteration, a Summit Dance Project production at the Eccles Center, was, predictably, brimming with Park City’s youngest set. The matinee crush was considerable, a sea of hunter green velvet and—regrettably—a splash of that unfortunate cranberry red. I spotted several members of the Kimball Art Center’s board, though they appeared more interested in assessing each other’s outerwear than Clara’s dream. The parents, predictably, leaned forward, documenting every plié with a dedicated fervor. The sheer logistical feat of wrangling that many tiny dancers—and their even tinier stage parents—is, frankly, more impressive than any Sugar Plum Fairy. Randi Sidman-Moore's photography, while competent, captured mostly the predictable blur of motion and glitter. One wonders if the Park City Institute might consider a slightly more…exclusive guest list for these affairs. The lobby, post-performance, felt less like a celebration and more like a holding pen for mini-van transport. It was, in essence, a perfectly acceptable—if entirely predictable—display of seasonal affluence.