Raising the Barre: Big Dreams, False Starts, and My Midlife Quest to Dance the Nutcracker

Raising the Barre: Big Dreams, False Starts, and My Midlife Quest to Dance the Nutcracker

<div>Like generations of little girls, Lauren Kessler fell in love with ballet the first time she saw <i>The Nutcracker</i>, and from that day, at age five, she dreamed of becoming a ballerina. But when she was twelve, her very famous ballet instructor crushed those dreams-along with her youthful self-assurance-and she stepped away from the barre.<br /><br />Fast forward four decades. Lauren-suddenly, powerfully, itchingly restless at midlife-embarks on a "Transcontinental <i>Nutcracker</i> Binge Tour," where attending a string of performances in Chicago, New York, Boston, and San Francisco reignites her love affair with the ballet-and fuels her girlhood dream.<br /><br />What ensues is not only a story about <i>The Nutcracker</i> itself, but also an inside look at the seemingly romantic-but oh-so-gritty-world of ballet, about all that happens away from the audience's eye that precedes the magic on stage. It is a tale told from the perspective of someone who not only loves it, but is also seeking to live it. Lauren's quest to dance <i>The Nutcracker</i> with the Eugene Ballet Company tackles the big issues: fear, angst, risk, resilience, the refusal to "settle in" to midlife, the refusal to become yet another Invisible Woman. It is also a very funny, very real look at what it's like to push yourself further than you ever thought you could go-and what happens when you get there.</div>