The Nutcracker Ballet 2009

It has been an awesome weekend! Annah was able to participate in the Nutcracker Ballet this year, as a baby mouse. I have to say that those little girls were adorable, all prejudice aside. They are just so cute dressed up as the mice!

There are four performances of the Nutcracker each year; the Creative Movement class is required to participate in at least two. We signed up for three. I wanted to do all four, but wasn't sure how Annah would handle it...I'm glad I made that decision. She was so tired after the third performance that I'm not sure she could have physically done the forth. But she was so good!!!

I signed up to be a backstage helper, and it was fun. I did makeup for lots of the little mice...their moms were thankful that I knew how. I pinned hair up and put mouse ears on, and tied costumes and ballet shoes. Next year will be different...there will be a lot more moving, since Annah will be in several different scenes.

Friday morning's performance was a good one...there were very few mice there, so you could see Annah very well. However, Saturday night was fantastic! We were able to watch on Saturday night, and Annah was the first mouse through the mouse hole. As soon as she spotted us, she started smiling and waving...and kept on. Everyone laughed, but it was in good taste. She was just so cute! Our wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Christopher Bowers, and his wife came to watch, as did Jonathan's teacher from last year, Mrs. Johnson.

Of course, I got lots of great pictures....

The mice come out to play...


Running from one of the Toy Soldiers!


Baby Mouse Annah with the huge mousetrap behind her!

Dance with me....til the music ends!

Annah's first ballet/dance recital was this weekend, and it was wonderful! The rehearsal was Saturday morning, and although it started out a little rocky, it turned out great. We arrived early to take the professional photos, then waited our turn til it was time for the class to get on stage.

Unfortunately I hadn't thought to prepare Annah for how loud it would be. She has extremely sensitive ears, and when the music started over the sound system, she didn't respond well at all. She covered her ears and froze, refusing to do any dancing. About halfway through their number, I met up with her in the wings and gave her a little pep talk, which worked; she jumped back on stage and did wonderfully with the last part!



Annah and best friend Tatum




warming up for rehearsal



all the classes together

Creative Movement class

An invitation

The final spring class....on stage!

Annah had her final dance class today. Rehearsal for the spring dance recital will be Saturday, with the actual recital itself being Sunday afternoon. I'm not sure who's more excited...me or her! Probably me, but it's a close race. We've been practicing making the "ballerina bun" with her hair, which isn't easy, since she has so many short pieces, but darn if it isn't cute when we get it up! She loves being pretty, and it's easy for her....she's so stinkin' cute! She's excited about the recital, and has invited several people, including her daycare teachers.

She was a real little ham up there on that big stage for the first time, and kept turning around giving me the "thumbs up" sign with a big grin. I'm glad she wasn't scared, but I hope she won't do that on Sunday! Although I won't be in the audience...I have to stay backstage with her, since she won't be going on til last.

Annah-bug the ballerina! One of my mommy dreams come true!

Dance partners!

 

This is a picture of Annah and her best friend Tatum. Tatum and Annah both go to the same daycare and are great friends, so it was a welcome surprise to walk into dance the first day and find Tatum there too! Miss Amelia, the dance instructor, has partnered them up in dance for the spring recital, since they do so well together. This past Monday, Annah and Tatum, along with the two moms, took a small detour on the way home after dance to Dairy Queen, and were rewarded with ice cream cones filled with creamy cold goodness!

Aahhhh...the joys of little girl friendships

Do a little dance...

Back in the fall, I tried to sign Annah up for dance classes at the college here. Unfortunately, they weren't taking anymore students at the time. They do a major production of The Nutcracker each Christmas, and costumns had already been ordered and classes had been closed to new students. I was disappointed, but the timing actually worked out. However, they told me to call back in January to see if there were any available spaces, since people tend to drop out after The Nutcracker.So a few weeks ago, I managed to get Annah into one of the few available spaces in the Creative Movement class (pre-ballet), and she was thrilled! And so was I.

Seeing her all dressed up in her dance clothes and so eager was exciting for me; I've dreampt of having a little ballerina probably as long as I've dreampt of having a little girl. She loved her first class, and it turned out that one of her friends from daycare, Tatum, is in her dance class as well. I was worried about her being shy, but the teacher said she did wonderful. There will be a Spring Recital in May, and if she sticks with it (and I don't see a problem with that!), she'll be one of the baby mice in The Nutcracker at Christmas.

So....here's my girl, in all her ballet beauty!