Bruising ballet

(L-R): Dancing in the snow are Clara and the Snow Queen, played by Laura Jeffery and Michelle McClelland.

It is that most Christmas of stories—the fist fight that breaks out in the audience of a children’s matinee performance of The Nutcracker.

It began simply enough with a misplaced seat assignment for the afternoon performance of the classic Tchaikovsky ballet as performed by the County School of Dance. The audience, consisting mostly of parents and grandparents, had their choice of seats in the largely empty auditorium of the Regent Theatre on Sunday afternoon. But one family loudly objected when they arrived at their accorded seats only to find that they were already occupied. Demands were issued. Refusals were returned. Threats ensued. And quickly ignored. Then the fists started flying. Kids, parents and grandparents watched in horror—unable to understand how this handful of seats were more valuable than the 300 other unoccupied seats, how the were worth fighting for.

At last, some of the dads intervened to pry the pugilists apart.

When the curtain opened to begin the performance—peace had been restored. Everyone found seats. Some tended to bruises. The performances onstage were graceful and uplifting—very different from the performance in the audience.