Arrive Magazine - November/December, 2007

Detour

Everything

Is Illuminated

New York Theatre Ballet’s The Nutcracker

DEC. 14– 30
Purists may sniff at anything
other than the gold-standard
New York City Ballet pre-
sentation of The Nutcracker,
choreographed by George
Balanchine. But if you have
children—or a short attention
span—you’ll love the New
York Theatre Ballet’s one-hour
version of this Christmas
classic. Presented at Florence
Gould Hall in midtown, the
production is half the length
and half the price of the other
Nutcracker, making it a much
less risky proposition for
your antsy brood, and a more
enjoyable one for you.

Gifts, grog and good cheer may symbolize the holiday season, but in New York City glittering events light the way

BY HEATHER JOHNSON

Every city has its season, but there’s something spectacular about the holidays in New York. It’s as if the moment that the air carries those first chilly notes of autumn, the whole city works in concert to offer a season bigger, brighter and more resonant than any other. From late October through December, New York grows steadily colder. But instead of driving people indoors (that comes in January), the nip in the air puts a spring in their step, creating camaraderie among everyone on the sidewalks and streets.

“There’s nothing like it in the world,” says Diana Byer, artistic director of the New York Theatre Ballet. “You can see the excitement in people’s eyes and it rubs off on the next person and the next person and the next.”

For the estimated 12 million people visiting New York during the holiday season, the challenge isn’t finding something to do, it’s choosing from the feast of rich opportunities available. Many come in search of the classics: Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes or Rockefeller Center’s enormous Christmas tree and iconic skating rink. But if giant trees aren’t your cup of tea, you can partake in traditional African dance at the Kwanzaa festival at the American Museum of Natural History. Of if you don’t care to spend New Year’s Eve watching the ball drop in Times Square, you can spend Christmas Eve at “The Ball” (nicknamed the “Matzoh Ball”), in which 3,000 Jewish singles crisscross the city, hobnobbing at the year’s hottest clubs. No one can cover everything there is to do in New York during the holidays, but here are a few options guaranteed to please.