Nutcracker! Majestic. At Rudder!

I'm more Mantracker or weed-whacker than Nutcracker, but this was eye candy for anyone with a trace of good taste... Besides, the Nutcracker ballet is not really about a nutcracker!

For exactly sixty years people have enjoyed various versions of the Nutcracker ballet as an American classic holiday tradition, ever since the Russian George Balanchine adapted Tchaikovsky's 1892 score to the modern stage. ABC40 sent me and the crew to the Rudder Auditorium on the Texas A&M campus to catch the local ballet company's rendition of it. My crew got trapped in a festive traffic quagmire outside... but luckily I got a parking place just in time to catch their performance...

In Texas we pride ourselves with town names like Winchester and Cut and Shoot, and The Nutcracker fits right in. The show really got cranking when they pulled out their swords and started hacking.  Believe it or not, the first performance of this ballet was a failure, and Tchaikovsky was very displeased with his creation, having been given some artistically restraining creative boundaries. That should be an inspiration to every struggling artist.

Look at it now! No matter the story, which is sort of a Christmas toy fantasy, I knew this would be a crowd pleaser for these Aggies. I may not now much about dance but I know athleticism and grace when I see it... Ballet is the epitome of artistic discipline.

The mix of grace and perfection would make anybody watch while forgetting to breathe. Still, the dancers wore genuine smiles of joy as if they were really having fun. That is the mark of natural talent... or just obliviousness to it. Either way it was a joy to watch. 

A packed crowd inside Rudder Auditorium endured the cold, impossible parking and busily milling crowds who were attending multiple campus events to get a glimpse of this ballet mega-hit. But there were many smiles and stares of wonder in the audience. The Christmas season had begun.

THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! This was a prima ballerina worthy of the name.

She was exquisite, and if she was  not actually enjoying herself, then she is a great actress as well.

It went really fast... before you knew it they were done. And I was finally learning how to photograph them!

They always give them flowers at the end... and it never seems like enough for all that work.

BRAVO! I failed to get a program, so if somebody wants to give me some names I would love to recognize these artists... This was a real jump-start for getting into the Holiday spirit. But they are going to need a much bigger auditorium when the word finally gets out about the quality of art you can see right here in the Brazos Valley.

First Yell... Lasting Moments

Music is a great unifying force. In this case bringing young and old, new and classic, Anglo and Tejano music, Aggies and some grateful bystanders, together for an evening rich with the sounds of Aggieland.

The Yell Leaders of the Aggies at Texas A & M know all about yelling. But they also know how to put on one Yell of a show!

Below are some highlights of Friday night's entertainment which preceded the annual "Yell Practice" at Kyle Field... This was a fabulous show, a blend of that eternal Aggie Spirit, and deep traditions, and some performances that will live forever...

Fellow Aggie and former A&M Corp officer Max Stallings kicked things off with his easy Texas lyrics and homegrown charm.

The State's Monster Aggie, Roger Creager, blew out some earphones no doubt as he gave the Aggies his romping best. Here is how those Fightin', Dancin' Texas Aggies responded...

Creager even brought his dad into the act as they sang El Rancho Grande. It was a hoot. Or a whoop, or something like that. He explained he was about to leave Texas for awhile and tour in the west and needed to get a dose of Texas Aggie love to last him for awhile... And he got it, not to mention a standing ovation.

THEN, Gary P. Nunn, Joe Ely and Johnny Bush made a rare combined performance, sharing the stage and the "house band" ( a combination of each of their bands) as they played some favorites. Nunn gave us what we all wanted when he sang The London Homesick Blues, first sung with Jerry Jeff Walker here in College Station many years ago.... ( I want to go home with the armadillo...) The transplanted Oklahoman did his own version of his song Willie Nelson made famous, The last Thing I Needed, and he also sang his classic, What I Like About Texas, which started out as a Lone Star Beer commercial... "You ask me what I like about Texas..." he sings as he points into the crowd.

Yeah, Gary, it's the people... and especially the Aggies!

Johnny Bush thrilled the hard core dancers as he stepped up to the mic. He is approaching eighty but still has that beautiful voice. And it still makes Texan's SWING! He bragged that he did not have to use glasses. He said he just drinks straight out of the bottle. He gave us Whiskey River and There Stands the Glass... AS FRESH AS THE ORIGINAL RECORDINGS-  and suddenly we all had separate out-of-body experiences to wherever we were when we heard those songs the first time. But we all came back before the show was over...

Bush can still compete with his voice of fifty years ago... But he's probably more charming  now. "I've been divorced so many times UHAUL rental company sends me a Christmas card!"

Joe Ely renders I'm Gonna Live Forever.

The most special treat of the night may have been the appearance of Joe Ely. Yes, he's still around and as these pictures attest, stronger than ever. Joe rocked the Yell with an Aggie standard, The Road Goes On Forever, and did his version of Billy Joe Shaver's "I'm Gonna Live Forever." Yes Joe, in a way you will, through your hearty music. And the connection you made to everybody who was there, and that spirit in the Reed Arena... it will last forever too.

But Ely is only beginning to unfold his "forever" connections...

Of special interest is the film documentary Joe is producing about Brazos Valley legend, "Stubbs" Stubblefield, who has become a famous barbecue icon... Stubblefield was born in Navasota, and became a major music patron in west Texas. I was able to capture a brief explanation of Ely's inspiration for this long overdue documentary... We look forward to the completion of this worthy project.

MEANWHILE, PUT FIRST YELL ON YOUR BUCKET LIST!