A Nutcracker Christmas

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1

(Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker)

(woman):
They say in dance,

the things that look

the most effortless,

the most beautiful,

require the most amount of work,

but they're worth it.

The same can be said of love.

- Let's go.

- I grew up

in Marietta, Georgia,

home of peanuts and football.

(all shouting)

Only I hated peanuts,

and the big game

never really captured

my attention.

My passion was ballet.

Oh! Oh my goodness!

For heaven sakes, Lily Jamison!

Look at this mess!

Here are your peanuts, boys.

Half of them are on the floor.

Don't worry, Lily.

- I'll take care of this.

- Thanks, Beth.

- That's my older sister, Beth.

- It's OK. You just keep

practicing. And don't forget,

just one pli at a time.

Right from the start, she knew

how important ballet was to me.

(Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker)

(applause)

For as long as I could remember,

my dream was to dance

The Nutcracker's

Sugar Plum Fairy.

(applause)

Only this wasn't exactly

what I had in mind.

As I got older, I became

consumed by ballet.

It was my entire world.

Hey, hey, hey. Lily,

you've got this, OK?

You are a wonderful dancer.

Just remember, one pli--

One pli at a time.

I know, I know.

Now go get a seat, or you'll be

standing in the back the entire show.

Well, it wouldn't be

the first time.

- I love you, Beth.

- I love you too.

(breathing deeply)

Up to that point, Beth had

always been my biggest fan.

(squealing)

And then there was

my littlest fan.

Beth's daughter,

my niece Sadie.

Christmas was always

my family's favorite time

of year-- delicious food,

new ballet outfits

under the tree,

and our traditional family Christmas

song, The Twelve Days of Ad Lib.

Three digital cameras

Two Falcons tickets

And a part in

the New York Ballet

Every time I put on

my pointe shoes,

I knew I wanted a career

as a professional ballet dancer.

But I wasn't the only girl

who felt that way.

If you haven't heard

of the American Ballet

Invitational, it's sort of like the

World Series, but for non-professional

ballet dancers. I didn't realize there

was gonna be so many great dancers.

Lily, relax, OK?

You can do it.

Remember, just one--

Pli at a time.

(applause)

(announcer):
Next, from

Marietta, Georgia, number 129,

Lily Jamison.

(Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker)

(applause)

And the winner of the 2003

American Ballet

Invitational is...

- from Marietta, Georgia: Lily Jamison!

- Whoo!

(applause)

Two weeks later,

I got even bigger news.

I was offered a spot

at the New York Ballet,

home of the world's most

famous Nutcracker.

I wasn't in Marietta anymore, and this

wasn't another dance competition.

Alright, boys,

go to this corner.

That is where you will begin.

Grand allegro, ready, and...

This was the New York Ballet,

and they were even

better than I imagined.

Into position for the adage.

But I wasn't gonna let that

stop me from achieving my dream.

Ready, and...

Remember, keep

your legs high. Higher!

- Higher!

- First, I just needed

to start breathing again.

Uh...

Oh! I'm so sorry!

It's OK. It's OK. I'm Mark.

Hi. I'm Ellie--

Lily! I'm new.

- Hi, new Lily.

- Hi.

Come on, Mark.

Let's warm up.

(Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker)

[You have no idea, Beth.

I have never worked so hard. ]

Well, you knew that was coming.

- [So, what part did you get?]

- Well, right now I'm a snowflake.

And what about

the Sugar Plum Fairy?

[Yeah, that's kind of

a big prize around here.]

Honestly, I'm not sure

I'll ever get it.

Fortunately, I had one thing

to look forward to that year:

Beth and Sadie's

Christmas visit.

Alright, you two, which one of

these trees has our name on it?

How about this one?

Well, it's very nice, Sadie,

but I think we need

something that's bigger.

- How about this one?

- I love it!

Beth always knew how to make

the holidays extra special.

(applause) While Sadie always shared

her mom's love for Christmas,

to my surprise, she also shared

my love for ballet...

and my ballet friends.

After Beth and Sadie met

my director, Dimitri,

he insisted that they attend

his annual Christmas party.

Christmas lights

In the middle

of a Christmas night

All the colors

shine so bright

Ha, ha!

(foreign language)

And welcome, my little Sadie.

Please, come in, make

yourselves comfortable.

So, everybody, jingle the bells!

Sadie's here! Our little

Christmas princess!

Ew.

Oops. You weren't supposed to see that.

- (laughing)

- Gross.

Well, then you definitely don't wanna

know what I did to the coleslaw.

(laughing)

Hey, can I...

ask you something?

- It's not about the coleslaw, is it?

- No, um...

I was just wondering

how you got into dancing.

I mean... you don't

really seem...

- (laughing)

- Graceful?

No, I wasn't gonna say that.

- Obviously you're graceful.

- I was on the football team

in high school. Someone told me

ballet would help my footwork.

Ah, so you did it

to meet the girls.

Yeah, that and... ballerinas don't try

to crush you on the line of scrimmage.

(laughing)

Obviously, that ballerina

wants to crush you.

She's just mad 'cause things

aren't going well with us.

Are you kidding?

You guys dance

- so beautifully together.

- Actually, we broke up last week.

And a Lamborghini

under the tree

On the fourth day

of Christmas

My true love gave to me

(He improvises.)

I always thought I'd go

into the military. My dad,

my uncles,

my grandfather,

they all served.

But then I got into ballet and

found out I was pretty good at it.

Let me guess-- you're more

of a lover than a fighter.

- That's what I tried to tell Dad.

- Mark!

No, guys,

I'm all dance, no sing.

- What? Oh, come on, Mark!

- Come on, Mark, don't be party pooper!

(laughter)

On the fifth day of Christmas,

my true love gave to me

Five onion bagels

- (cheering)

- Four?

- (hubbub) Three?

- Diamond bracelets.

- Two?

- Black bears dancing

Everybody!

And a Lamborghini

under the tree

(soft guitar music)

During the next few years

I spent dancing

in New York, some things

kept improving.

(bell ringing)

(applause)

Now, next,

the role of Sugar Plum

Fairy goes to...

Jade Parker.

(applause)

Some things didn't.

Congratulations, Jade.

But it was OK.

Mark and I were happy.

(laughing)

I was sure he was The One.

Merry Christmas, Frank!

- Merry Christmas, Lily.

- Careful down, please!

Take your seats. First of all,

this year's Prince

will be danced by...

Mark Anders.

(applause)

And this year's

Sugar Plum Fairy...

Lily Jamison!

- (applause)

- What?

I can't believe this.

My goodness!

- Are you shaking?

- It's called nerves.

(breathing deeply)

(cell phone buzzing)

- Do you want to get that?

- No,

it's probably just my parents

letting me know they arrived.

They're gonna see their baby

girl's big solo debut, hmm?

(cell phone buzzing) Get the phone.

I've pinned enough.

Thank you.

Hi, Mom! I hope you're

calling from the hotel

and not the airport. Curtain's

in a couple of hours and--

What do you mean,

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