The Nutcracker

 

Saturday night was Rylan's Nutcracker performance with the Loveland Dance Academy. She was one of the Reed Flutes (3rd from the left in above pic). Her class started learning their dance in October. There were about five extra evening practices (at a half hour each), a technical rehearsal, a dress rehearsal, and then the performance itself. So, not bad at all in the whole scheme of things. I'm sure the older the performer gets the longer the rehearsal time. For me though, I was a mess for the past six weeks. I was constantly checking my calendar for fear I was forgetting an extra rehearsal or something. I am very relieved it is now over.

 

The performance itself was absolutely wonderful. There are a ton of very talented dancers at this academy. I like that the classes are not too strict or rigorous, and that the instructors are dedicated but not snooty. I didn't really interact with too many of the moms up until the Nutcracker, but from what I can tell, there are only a small handful of 'dance moms'. They are the ones in yoga pants who constantly pick apart their daughter's appearance and loudly complain about the 'No Glitter' rule for stage make-up. The fact that their six year old can apply tube lipstick w/o help is scary to me.

 

When I first asked Rylan about the possibility of her dancing in the Nutcracker (there are no try outs - if you want to dance, you pay a small fee and you're in) she freaked out about the thought of dancing on a stage in front of people. But when it came time, she walked out on stage and did not look a whit nervous. I credit karate for that. Rylan has gained loads of confidence, and she felt that she could comfortably perform in front of a hundred people (after sizing up the auditorium). But if it was a 101, that was too many.

 

We were extremely lucky to get front row seats, so she knew exactly where we (Dean and I, my mom, and my dad and step mom) were sitting. She came out on stage, and just had a huge smile on her face. When they reached a part in their routine where they came up to stage front, she gave a little wave... hehe. I think she has caught the performance bug! It is intoxicating!

 

 

Afterwards, Dean presented her with flowers and a Nutcracker doll. She has wanted a Nutcracker ever since mom and I took her to see the Nutcracker last year. At the time, I was thinking in the back of my mind that this would be a fitting way to give her one. So I told her that she gets a Nutcracker for a Nutcracker (performance). Then Dean piped up that we should being labeling the year on the underside. Just how many of these is she going to rack up?

 

 

By the looks of it...a lot.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy