It’s Friday, which means it’s time for some silliness, and this is kind of impressively silly.  And also brilliant.  Though I imagine Tchaikovsky is spinning in his grave right now…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeQfKyzvte8?rel=0]

I have a long-standing fondness for The Nutcracker Suite, ever since we did it as a school play when I was six, and I got to be Clara (we were at an international school, and the teachers had all the children perform dances from their own countries.  Australia wasn’t considered exotic enough, so I got to be Clara, which was doubly good, because I’m an awful dancer).

I also have a long-standing hatred for Jingle Bells, which dates back to my years of carolling in shopping centres at Christmas.  One year I counted how many times we had to sing Jingle bells, and the number was 105 (with Silent Night just behind on 103).

I never thought I’d see them combined quite like this, though.  I can’t watch this video without giggling – it’s adorable, especially the fact that the kids are clearly still at the shouting stage of singing development, but have definitely mastered the singing in tune part.  And they are actually very good.

Incidentally, if one lot of demented Tchaikovsky isn’t enough for you, here, have the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies, as performed by the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus, who are camping it up about as much as you might expect.

And if you watched all of that, you deserve some proper Tchaikovsky.  So here is a rather gorgeous and creepy modern production of the ballet itself, by the Mariinksy Ballet, produced by Mihail Chemiakin.  (Yes, it’s the full ballet, so you probably shouldn’t watch it at work)